Yurн Korzun: Are We Miners Going to Hide Behind Girls?

• 10.09.2020, 16:17

A Salihorsk protester in the mine gave an interview.

"I bought the handcuffs in an online store, they are strong, and the chain was at work, "says Yury Korzun, a Belaruskali miner, who handcuffed himself to mining equipment in the mine this morning. The man says that even his wife did not know about his plans. The day before, he posted a post on Vkontakte with a delayed publication time, in which he wrote about his planned action. Yuri told why he decided to organize a single protest and what demands he makes, writes tut.by.

Yury says that he had been ill with COVID-19 in the summer, was on sick leave until the end of August, and on September 9, he went to work after a vacation - that day was 24 years as he worked at the enterprise. And on September 8, by the way, it was his birthday.

— It just happened to be a coincidence; I didn't do it on purpose. I decided to do it (my action - Ed. note) on the first working day after vacation, - says Yury. -I bought the handcuffs in an online store, they are strong, and the chain was at work.

According to the man, he did not warn his family and colleagues that he planned to handcuff himself in the mine. On the eve of the night shift, he posted a post on Vkontakte with a delayed publication time, in which he wrote about his planned action.

His wife, Katsiaryna, says that she was surprised by the news about her husband's action.

— I saw a post in the corporate chat this morning. I was very scared; I called the 1st mining Department. I went straight away, but they wouldn't let me into the mine. The person who issues the passes was in the mine," says Katsiaryna. To the question, does she support her husband, she answers in the affirmative: "Yes, by loving."

Yury, meanwhile, says that the handcuffs with which he chained himself to the equipment in the mine, he purchased in an online store, and took the chain at work. "The shift ended at about 5.30. I threw away the key to the handcuffs so that no one could open them. When the shift was leaving, a colleague handed the dispatcher a paper with their requirements," says the miner. According to him, it took about three hours from the moment he chained himself to the time he was untied from the chain. Yury recalls that the shift foreman came to him first, and then the head of radio control also came down.

- In total, 10-12 strong men came down to me; they pushed me back and cut the chain with the help of tools. They cut it with a tool that works on petroleum. The handcuffs remained on me, they could not cut them off," says the miner.

Yury says that those who went down to his mine said, among other things, that "no one can fulfill the requirements, only one person, but he is not going to do it."

Among his demands are to ease pressure from the company's management on the strike, the resignation of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, and the release of political prisoners. He also calls for stopping violence by security forces against civilians.

— I am against the lawlessness and default of rights that we have in our country. We have returned the legal field so that we don't have masked people who beat people up. Security forces are now waiting for a forceful response from the protesters. But there is no need to respond with violence to violence, Yury is convinced. — It is necessary to conduct a dialogue between the protesters, who are now many, and the authorities. Moreover, Lukashenka stated that he was ready to talk to labor collectives. The more the authorities use violence, demonstrate their permissiveness, and the fact that there is no responsibility for it, when they detain OSVOD employees who saved people, when they dismiss dissenting doctors or the Kupalauski Theater's team, the more dissatisfied people appear.

Yury believes that the strike Committee formed in Belaruskali can also act as one of the private participants in such negotiations, since "the labor collective nominated its participants".

— We need a President elected in fair elections when every vote is taken into account, - says Yury) — And it is strange that he (Aliaksandr Lukashenka. - Ed. note) does not recognize election fraud when there are so many differences in the protocols, when there are hundreds of evidence of fraud.

About whether there were fear and doubts about performing this action, and when he got rid of them, Yury began to answer from afar. He said that Viktar Babaryka was his favorite in the electoral campaign and recounted one of his interviews. The miner recalls that in it the ex-banker spoke, among other things, about how one day he doubted whether to take part in the elections, because he could lose comfort, but decided to move on, since he would not be able to explain to his grandchildren why he didn't do anything when he could.

- What will I tell my grandchildren? That I was afraid of losing my job and did not protest against lawlessness and violence? See what our girls lose when they take to the streets. We are miners, should we hide behind them? - says Yury. - I understand those workers who are afraid, who are not on strike, and are not part of the strike committees. When I arrived at work yesterday, when I found myself in a familiar environment, there was a feeling that I did not want to change anything, do nothing. Finish your job, get your salary ... It's hard to cross, start doing something. But if you leave it as it is, without doing anything, then how then to look the child in the eyes? (Yuri has a daughter, she is almost 15 years old. - Ed. note). I have to, I must, I do.

Yury says that after he left the hospital, he went to work to change. According to him, his pass has already been blocked. The man assumes that he will be fired after his action.

He plans to sleep it off after the night shift, and then he intends to join the static movement at the enterprise.