Vitsebsk and Haradok: civil activists are banned to hold pickets for resignation of the government

The district authorities explained their refusals to authorize the actions by saying that neither the site near the Summer Amphitheatre in Vitebsk, nor the central square in Haradok were included in the list of areas identified for public events. However, civil activists don’t see any sense in holding such actions in the unfrequented places that were determined for such actions by the authorities.

Leanid Autukhou, a Haradok activist of the Speak Truth civil campaign, was proposed to hold the picket in a wood on the town outskirts. He wanted to discuss such vital issues as the growth of prices and devaluation of the Belarusian money with other action participants.

Aliaksandr Kuzniatsou, a coordinator of the youth movement Free Way in Vitsebsk, also believes that discussing such things should be public: "We would also like to collect signatures for the resignation of the government who can not lead Belarus out of the current economic crisis. This event is symbolic, and we wanted to make it noticeable for as many people as possible,” commented the activist.

In the answer of the Kastrychnitski District Executive Committee of Vitsebsk toAliaksandr Kuzniatsou it is also stated that he was to have supplied his application with written contracts for serving of the action by the police, medics and public utilities.

This is a standard run-around for civil activists who are deprived of any chance to hold an authorized protest action in the region. The police, the medics and the public utilities refuse to conclude any agreements with them in the absence of an official permission for their actions, and the authorities, in their turn, ban the actions referring to the absence of such agreements.

Human Rights Chronicle