Will improvised guards ensure safety during Chernobyl March?
In the framework of the Month of Fight against Homophobia, launched on April 14, the activists of the campaign have also pledged to take part in the Chernobyl March.
Syarhey Androsenka, a moderator of http://gay.by.org web-site and one of the campaign organizers, says that activists of the homosexual movement will join the Chernobyl March not because of PR, but in order to support the victims of the Chernobyl accident and speak out against the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus.
“Our activists realize very well what happened back in 1986. They understand very well the consequences of the accident for Belarus and the whole world. Therefore, the activists want to show their solidarity with the victims of that human irresponsibility. We will not announce any slogans. We will simply come to support the action. Moreover, Belarus currently has plans to construct a nuclear power station, but may homosexuals object to these plans”, Androsenka said.
The activists of the gay movement are aware that not all of the pro-democracy movements and organizations in Belarus have a tolerant attitude to gays, but it will not stop them.
“In 1990, the World Health Organization crossed homosexuality from the list of psychic diseases. It is absurd for pro-democracy activists to treat aggressively the followers of our movement. We understand that we can fall victims of violence from both the police and democratic activists, but we will make this move anyway”, Androsenka said.
Zmitser Dashkevich, the leader of Malady Front, does not hide his attitude towards gays but says there will be no aggression on behalf of Malady Front.
“On condition that they participate peacefully and avoid provocations, we will treat them quietly”, Dashkevich said.
Remembering clashes between the representatives of the White Will group and regular participants of the opposition actions, the European Radio for Belarus asked the organizers if they were prepared for possible clashes between demonstrators. Moreover, nobody rules out the participation of the White Will in the Chernobyl March on April 26.
Alexander Milinkevich: “I would not like to see any provocations by either the authorities or the participants. We will be doing everything to avoid it. We are preparing our own guards who will make sure that there are no provocations. If anything happens, they will be handing provocateurs over to the police”.
Alexander Milinkevch sees no big problem in how to ensure safety during the rally and says that organizers have enough experience to maintain order and they have shown it numerously in the previous years.
According to Yuras Hubarevich, a member of the organizing committee, the guards will be deployed by all the organization which applied for the event. However, he declined a comment on how those improvised guards would operate.
Several dozens of people will be deployed by the organizers to guard the column. “I think that the guards will act according to the situation. But all their actions will be directed at preventing any clashes among the demonstrators”, Hubarevich said.
If conflicts burst out, decisions will be taken by professional who will actually comprise this corps of guards.
“These are the people who know very well what mass events mean. They were trained and took part in numerous mass evens to maintain order and safety”, Hubarevich said.
On March 25, the opposition also deployed guards to avoid clashes between demonstrators and the police and to ensure a peaceful nature of the rally.
