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[dracula_x]

BBC:

Police in Belarus have arrested hundreds of people during protests against a so-called "social parasites" tax on the under-employed.Thousands defied a ban to protest, taking to the streets of Minsk and other cities. Demonstrators shouted "Fascists!" at riot police.

There have been weeks of sporadic protests against a $230 (£185) levy on those unemployed for six months.

President Alexander Lukashenko insists the tax will not be scrapped.
He says it instils discipline in the workshy, though he has suspended it for this year.
Opponents say it punishes those who cannot find a job.

Organisers called the protest Freedom Day, evoking the independent Belarus that lasted just six months after the First World War, in 1918. The march in the capital Minsk took place on the 99th anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People's Republic.
Demonstrators tried to march down one of the major streets in Minsk, but were blocked by police who began arresting them, along with journalists covering the protest.

→ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39393351

^ yes, you heard this right: people should pay here to government if they don't have a job

The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/25/belarus-lukashenko-protesters-riot-police-attack-minsk

The European Union lifted most of the sanctions against named individuals in Belarus's ruling elite in February 2016 in what was seen by some critics as being a reward for the role Belarus took in hosting peace conferences between Russia and Ukraine. The move horrified many human rights organisations, which point to the deeply repressive regime led by Lukashenko, who was described by former US president George W Bush's secretary of state as ”Europe's last dictator".

”It is a geopolitical game, Belarus is barely on the radar for the EU and yet it is dangerous to ignore what is happening there – not just dangerous for people in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, but for the whole world," said Kaliada.

other sources:
https://www.ft.com/content/2fb6270e-1181-11e7-b0c1-37e417ee6c76
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/...ying-belarus-protest-ban-170325151427123.html

photos:

videos:
https://twitter.com/VKL_Vitayt/status/845704777384312837
https://twitter.com/CurrentTimeTv/status/845675627168645120

and, in meanwhile, "Lukashenko invited to U.S. for events on centennial of entry into WWI"

The U.S. embassy in Minsk has sent an invitation to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to attend a ceremony marking the centennial of the United States' entry into World War I, the embassy told Interfax on Friday.

→ http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=743049

edit: also, it seems Google news algorithm is broken

 

[capitalCORN]

Disgusting,

 

[B-Dubs]

Why would you levy a tax on people who can't find a job? That makes no sense!

 

[mcarlie]

Isn't it illegal to be unemployed there?

 

[Skyzard]

Why would you levy a tax on people who can't find a job? That makes no sense!

Maybe they'll bother to get a job if they had to give money they don't have!

Dumb as fuck.


Those photos show just how pathetic they're being. Seniors protesting getting forced into armoured trucks. Hope this backfires spectacularly.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to convince yourself that financially penalizing people unemployed for too long will motivate them to find a job quicker and ignore the reality that it's just fucking stupid

 

[frontovik]

Surprised the tax is not something the Trump administration has done .... yet.

 

[old]

Do the unemployed receive money or other benefits?

 

[dracula_x]

Do the unemployed receive money or other benefits?

about $10 per month (which is laughable for european country), and only for first 6 months. After that – no money from government and you must pay a tax

 

[hobblygobbly]

I seriously don't understand what the fuck Lukashenko is playing at, he is creating instability within Belarus but has also been antagonising the Kremlin lately which is weird because of the relationship of Belarus and Russia.

He's a straight up dictator (even calls himself one), and the sentiment of revolution has been growing in Belarus, if it continues it will end in bloodshed under Lukashenko because he will never go peacefully.

His government's anti-Kremlin approach lately and calling other European powers such as Germany provocateurs causing instability in Belarus plus isolating himself and having no allies is really weird.

 

[Screaming Meat]

A tax on the unemployed? That's some Brasseye level insanity.

 

[RinsFury]

A tax against the unemployed???

Evil, facist, motherfuckers.

 

[dracula_x]

one interesting moment,

after sanctions against the regime in Belarus were lifted last year, the first thing what Belarusian government did is ordered those guns from Germany:

and also this from UAE:

 

[Horp]

Shhhhhh!!! We dont want trump or his pack to hear about this law. Dont give them ideas!!

 

[Onlinehero]

about $10 per month (which is laughable for european country), and only for first 6 months. After that – no money from government and you must pay a tax

So it's pretty much forcing people into exploitable situations and/or criminal activity, or they just die? Are there no social safety nets?