Andrei Sannikov: These are panic convulsions of authorities

Leader of civil campaign “European Belarus” Andrei Sannikov commented today’s searches and detentions.

“I connect today’s events with my recent statement about intention to take part in forthcoming president elections as a candidate and with crackdown on independent journalist that is on in Belarus. Several days ago my computer was confiscated. Today they confiscated another computer that we had borrowed from our friends. They also seized great amount of old materials from my wife Iryna Khalip. They took CD’s, DVD,s and even three-inch floppy-disks.

They searched offices of “Charter’97”, Narodnaya volya”, dispersed solidarity action near the court. The trial against political prisoners Mikalay Autukhovich and Uladzimer Asipenka continues. This is the real face of the regime, and it has nothing in common with the image that stooges of the regime are trying to create in the West.

The authorities are strengthening fight with dissidence. Any objective estimation of the situation they consinder as dissidence. These are panic convulsions of the authorities who can’t deal with the economy and afraid that much more dissidence will appear as people learn about real situation in the country,” – said Andrei Sannikov.