Zhlobin: nominee to electoral commission is pressurized by financial police

11.07.2008. Tags: entrepreneurs, elections-2008.
Source: RFE/RL.

At 10 p.m. on 10 July the resident of Zhlobin, entrepreneur and public activist Anatol Papou received a telephone call from a man who introduced himself as a worker of the financial police Karotki. He explained that he was standing at the door of Papou’s private house and needed to hand a writ to him. By this writ the activist was invited to the local department of financial police on 14 July for filling in an income declaration. ‘I don’t have to do it, because my only source of income is my business activity. As I haven’t ever been summonsed to the financial police before, I think it is connected with my public activities and my nomination to a district electoral commission,’ commented Papou.

In addition, the financial police started a sudden check-up concerning the activist’s son.

Anatol Papou does not believe that the electoral campaign will be free and fair. ‘I have heard the president’s words that the elections will be free and democratic, but I do not believe it, because I felt it on my own that the persons who want to take part in the organization of the elections are pressurized. Those who demonstrate loyalty to the authorities have one conditions and all the rest have quite different ones. May be the president does not know about it – then let him know,’ Papou said.