English

«Tell the Truth!» movement launches SuperBelarus campaign

The "Tell the Truth!" movement, which is led by former presidential candidate Uladzimir Nyaklyayew, has launched a campaign aimed at promoting a positive vision for the country's future.

The decision to launch a campaign called SuperBelarus was made at a conference that the "Tell the Truth!" movement held in the Mahilyow region on September 10 and 11, Andrey Dzmitryyew, who was Mr. Nyaklyayew's campaign manager during last year’s presidential race, told BelaPAN.

"More than 30 delegates gathered to discuss our future activities and preparations for coming political events," he said. "We decided to change our strategy and start promoting a positive vision for Belarus instead of complaining about the current situation. Residents of Belarus should be proud of their country and want to live and work there rather than anywhere else. However, it is impossible to be proud of what the government does today."

Activists of the "Tell the Truth!" movement concluded that the movement should once again focus on social issues while they were collecting signatures for

holding a referendum on the privatization of key state assets and requiring government officials to declare their income, Mr. Dzmitryyew said. "We've already gathered 15,000 signatures," he said. "While talking to people, we realized that we should go back to where we began and explain to people where we should go and how."

Mr. Dzmitryyew stressed that the ultimate goal of the "Tell the Truth!" movement had not changed. "On December 19, we fell slightly short," he said, referring to the main voting day in the presidential election. "However, small victories should lead to one big victory."

The "Tell the Truth!" movement was established in mid-June 2011 by activists of the "Tell the Truth!" campaign. The initial purpose of the campaign, launched in February 2010, was to raise the awareness of the public of social and economic problems in the country and press the government to solve them. During the 2010 presidential race, hundreds of the campaign's activists collected ballot-access signatures and electioneered for Mr. Nyaklyayew.