English

Vasil Parfyankow speaks in interview with BelaPAN

 

Young opposition activist Vasil Parfyankow, who was released from jail Saturday on completion of his six-month term, told BelaPAN that he was not going to give up political activity.

“I remain what I’ve always been,” said the 29-year-old Parfyankow, who had spent more than seven months in prison in 2011 for participating in a post-election protest in Minsk on December 19, 2010.

“I’m prepared for various kinds of trouble that may be created by authorities,” he said. “I’m not afraid to be jailed again because I do nothing criminal. I express my opinion, which is guaranteed by the constitution. I have the right to do so and I’ll exercise this right.”

Mr. Parfyankow noted that he did not think which political group he should join because he would support “everyone who stands up for Belarus.” “At present I’m not a member of any political party or non-governmental organization. If I see people are doing something useful for the cause of Belarus, I’ll always support them and be with them whoever they are, be them members of the Tell the Truth! movement, Malady Front or European Belarus,” said Mr. Parfyankow, who was a member of the campaign team of candidate Uladzimir Nyaklyayew, leader of the Tell the Truth! movement, during the 2010 presidential race.

Mr. Parfyankow noted he could not say that he had been mistreated when he served his six-month sentence in the Baranavichy jail. He said that he had received private newspapers, such as Nasha Niva and Narodnaya Volya, and given them to other inmates to “enlighten” them. “There were people who did not understand many things and I had to explain,” he said. “Some people said the opposition was doing nothing and Belarus was a lifeless hole and I had to interrupt them by saying, ‘What have you done yourself for Belarus to be a better place?’”

Mr. Parfyankow noted that he had felt great support from the outside. “In the New Year’s period, I received more than 300 letters from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland and even Washington,” he said. “There were also letters from the Belarusian community in Canada.”

After being pardoned by Alyaksandr Lukashenka and released from prison in August 2011, Mr. Parfyankow was repeatedly arrested and punished under the Civil Offenses Code for participating in unsanctioned demonstrations.

In January 2012, a district judge in Minsk placed him under police supervision after the police claimed that he "has not stepped on the path of reformation" and "has repeatedly disturbed the public peace."

Mr. Parfyankow said that he would now have to report to the police within three days to get registered. He noted that he would continue to be under police supervision for five to seven months.