Self-employed entrepreneurs stage spontaneous protest in Homel - in pictures

Self-employed entrepreners gathered for a spontaneous rally at 1600 in Lenin Avenue next to Homel Regional Administration, reports BelaPAN.

The rally participants chanted: "Give Us Labor!" Simultaniously, local officials were holding the meeting of a working group, with some delegates representing vendors selling at local merket places and tax authority officials attending. The meeeting's agenda focused on the work of self-employed entrepreneurs in the new year.

Elvira Karnitskaya, head of economics department at Homel Regional Administration, came out to the protesters and invited them to proceed to a venue in the House of Culture for negotiations. However, the protesters refused saying they had stayed outdoors in freezing temperatures for 20 years and that it was the boss' turn to talk to them in cold weather. Karnitskaya said nobody was going to negotiate with them outdoors.