Close retirement age and drawn lots are reasons for joining “Belaya Rus”

Not only BRYU’s party nucleuses are being created at enterprises on a voluntary-coercive basis. The same is happening with “Belaya Rus”. ERB was told a story about choosing people for membership in the new organization.
There are about one thousand people working at Andrei’s enterprise. The deputy ideologist ordered to organize nucleuses of “Belaya Rus” in every department in December. The way the order was being followed was put under control. It meant that heads of departments were to be made responsible if nucleuses were not created.

Andrei: “They sent a statute to every department. It was a regular vapid bravura. We looked through the statute and there were no volunteers. Not to mention that we read that 0.3% of our wages would have to be paid for it every month. It is not big money but it should not be given to them. Why should we pay for their pompous meetings? Do not think that this is an opposition enterprise.  This is an industrial enterprise and different people work here, there are people supporting the authorities. But even those people were not enthusiastic about joining, at least in our department. So we sent the statute back”.

Such a reply did not satisfy the deputy ideologist. So he started using other methods.

Andrei: “The reaction of the deputy ideologist was simple and clear, it must have been elaborated over years of work. He called our head of department and said: “Who have you hired to work in the department! What does it mean?! We are planning a reduction of the staff and now we know what department we should start with!!!” And so on and so force. In fact, those are not groundless threats because the deputy ideologist is responsible for staff matters and the staff department is subjected to him”.

New members of “Belaya Rus” were chosen in every department in different ways. Andrei’s department decided that people close to retirement age would suffer least if they became members of the organization.

Andrei: “The boss came back very aggravated. He said that there were nine people and four had to join. It is necessary…. Necessary! On a voluntary-coercive basis. Well… I have to do it for sure… and you (points at the deputy head) and lets make other “pensioners” join. It does not matter much for them because they do not have much time left till their retirement age and money will probably not be subtracted from their pensions… People from the neighbouring department had to draw lots because the majority of them were young and somebody had to join. Those who drew their lots joined “Belaya Rus”.

Andrei has already left the state enterprise for a private company. He says he did not do it because of “Belaya Rus” but it was one of the reasons anyway.

The head of the steering committee of “Belaya Rus” Victar Huminski told ERB that nobody would be forced “to join’ “Belaya Rus”. We phoned him again to listen to his comments.

Victar Huminski: “I do not have such information. Give it to me if you do and we will see to it. If somebody is forcing people to join… We have warned them against it… People will lose their posts if they do wrong things! I do not haveу such information, on the contrary… I met a person when leaving the Minister yesterday and he started asking me how and where to join. I explained it to him. Those are facts. Some people have already reported that they have become members and thanked us for it”.

You will be able to believe the official only if there is someone to lose his or her position or when people stop drawing lots.

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