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Opposition activist launches mock bid for parliament

An activist whose stunt during an opposition march earlier this year was watched by hundreds of thousands on YouTube and landed him in jail launched on Monday a mock bid to win a parliamentary seat.

Ivan Amelchanka met with reporters in a decrepit, abandoned building in Minsk to announce his plans to run for the House of Representatives. The reporters were greeted by a Belarusian-speaking man dressed in a hare's costume and two dancing scantily clad young women. Adding to the clownish atmosphere was a worn-out carpet, a staple in many Soviet apartments, behind Mr. Amelchanka and a turtle with a sign saying, "I am rushing to the polls" on its back.

"My main task is to get a job, MPs are paid a normal salary, more than $500. You get an apartment, a car, an easy job that involves nothing but pushing three buttons," said Mr. Amelchanka.

Speaking about his platform, Mr. Amelchanka suggested that "Welcome to Belarus" signs must be replaced with "Welcome to Mongolia" posters at the country's border in an effort to discourage illegal migrants from coming. "The military must not forget that all countries want to encroach upon our homeland, that's why the shipyard in Homyel must build several river aircraft carriers," he said.

Sitting by Mr. Amelchanka's side, Pavel Vinahradaw, leader of the "Tell the Truth!" opposition movement's youth wing called Zmena, said that the mock campaign was aimed at emphasizing the absurd nature of elections in Belarus.

"I know several types of candidates for parliament - some run [for the House of Representatives] to pleasure their ego, some want to tell the public that we have no elections, some do want to change something and believe in elections for some unclear reason and the rest are pro-government contenders who know for sure that they will be elected. We are the fifth type who will be hanging around and having fun," Mr. Vinahradaw said.

During a Chernobyl anniversary march in Minsk on April 26, Ivan Amelchanka sneaked up to a plainclothes policeman busy filming the crowd, got to the left of him and unfurled a sign that featured an offensive slang term for a policeman with an arrow beneath pointing right at the officer. The crowd responded with roars of laughter and applause. The young man was later sentenced to 15 days in jail over the incident. //BelaPAN