12:00 pm The Council of Ministers instructs management to warn employees of state-owned enterprises about the consequences of the strikes. According to the urgent memo, participation in strikes is a violation of labor discipline which entails a response in accordance with Belarusian labor legislation.
The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus
Very urgent
To the heads of Republican Government Bodies and other state organizations managed by the Government (according to the list)
- To inform all employees of such organisations (on the list) not later than August 18th, of the liability to follow labour law norms and job responsibilities.
Participation in wild-cat strikes or assemblies held without following Labour Law is a violation of labour discipline which requires an appropriate response. - To warn the employees not carrying out their labour responsibilities of the implications of their actions in terms of labour discipline violation in accordance with Labour Law.
The choice of individual disciplinary action should be consistent with the economic interests of the Enterprise.
12:30 pm German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the situation in Belarus in a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin and underlined the necessity to launch a national dialogue in Belarus to overcome the crisis.
12:35 pm Belarusians, beaten at peaceful rallies, have made a video demonstrating their injuries and wounds.
12:42 pm A website with a database of detained Belarusians from 10th to 16th August 2020 has been launched:
The site contains information about the detainees´ current status (whether they are still imprisoned/hospitalised or not), as well as the place where they are being or were held/treated. At the moment, the site contains information about people under arrest in the Temporary Detention Ward in Akrescina, the Temporary Detention Ward in Zhodino, as well as in hospitals. The database will be kept updated.
12:45 pm The Head of the Catholic Church in Belarus, Archbishop Tadeush Kondrusiewicz, appealed to Yuri Karaev, the Minister of Internal Affairs, with a request to allow priests to visit the detainees to provide them with psychological assistance. Also, the archbishop asked the Minister for a personal meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in more detail.
01:00 pm Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has recorded a video message to Belarusians to mark her husband’s birthday:
She reiterated that Sergei is being falsely imprisoned and noted that “propaganda makes criminals from patriots”. Svetlana also passed on her husband’s request to the people of Belarus, “you shouldn’t just stay in detention, waiting for something, but instead do everything you can to make this country one you want to live in”.
01:05 pm Artyom and Aleksandra Molodov, campaign staff for ex-presidential candidate Viktor Babariko, who were detained on August 12th in Gomel, have been transported to the Akrescina Central Detention Center in Minsk.
01:23 pm Vladimir Karanik, the Minister of Health in Belarus, has sent an open letter to the editorial office of TUT.BY. The letter stated, amongst other things, that not a single ambulance was used by the officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It also denied that the Temporary Detention Wards in Akrescina in Minsk and in Zhodino detained participants in street protests who needed medical assistance.
01:30 pm It has been suggested that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has been forced to stay in Lithuania since August 10th, may soon return to Belarus. This was reported, with reference to the politician’s representative, Olga Kovalkova, by Telegram channel Belsat.
02:00 pm Minsk band, NEMIGA, has released a clip called “The Whitest Flower”, dedicated to the victims and those killed during peaceful protests. The video uses footage from the protests and the words: “Did this white flower seem dangerous to you? Petals of this white flower won’t see freedom”.
