Hunger strike has rallied Belarusian people, says MP.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

The hunger strike has awakened Belarusian society, one of the hunger-striking Belarusian parliamentarians, Syarhey Skrabets, has said in an interview to a Belarusian weekly. He added that he was surprised by the number of people who came to see them daily. He added that the hunger strike was a drastic measure but it was the only option open to them. Skrabets stressed that they were not seeking to destabilize the country. The following is the text of the interview by Vadzim Dawnar, published by Belarusian independent weekly Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta. p 4. The original title is "We certainly do not want to die, but we cannot live like this any longer".

[Vadzim Dawnar] Is the hunger strike proceeding as planned?

[Skrabets] Yes. The only surprise is the popular reaction it has triggered. We had never thought that so many people would come to us daily, expressing support. All we intended to do was to get the authorities to meet our demands. However, our actions have rallied together people holding differing views. We have been joined by activists of several parties, including the Belarusian …