Bialynichy: defender of interests of families with many children called representative of "fifth column"

According to the chairman of the Bialynichy building society "Dvanattsats" ("Twelve") Piatro Shymbaliou, the deputy head of the Bialynichy District Executive Committee Andrei Yarashenka called him a representative of the "fifth column" during a private meeting at the executive committee.

The reason was that Piatro Shymbaliou, who represented the interests of families with many children, tried to receive from the official explanations about the new Decree of the President of Belarus № 246 of 30 May 2013 on concessional lending and also asked to be given a copy of the minutes of the meeting with officers of the district and the regional executive committee which took place on 30 May.

"I came to Andrei Yarashenka on 4 June, the day of the meeting with President Aliaksandr Lukashenka on house building", says Piatro Shymbaliou "We had a conversation with the deputy chairman of the executive committee, in the course of which I once again required to provide members of the HBC "Twelve" with a minutes of the meeting with the officials of the executive committees, held on 30 May. Then Andrei Yarashenka called me a representative of the "fifth column" for defending the interests of large families."

According to Piatro Shymbaliou and other parents of many children, on 30 May members of the building society "Dvanattsats were gathered at the Bialynichy District Executive Committee. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Mahiliou Regional Executive Committee and the National Bank. During the meeting the officials exercised pressure on members of "Dvanattsats" and asked them to take extra or non-concessional loans, or refuse from apartments in a newly built house. They demanded that parents of many children give their answers within a day's term, threatening to exclude them from the building society otherwise.

"Now we understand that they just tried to intimidate us in order to report to Lukashenka at the council that the question of "Dvanattsats" was successfully solved (during the meeting with the president on 4 June the question was raised about the problem of large families of Bialynichy was raised). Later, the deputy head of the executive committee Andrei Yarashenka and the head of the committee, Aliaksandr Varonin, refused to issue to me copies of the meeting. I think they did it so the citizens of Belarus were unable to read and find out what the officials of the regional executive committee and the head of the Mahiliou Regional Department of the National Bank Raisa Lychkouskaya really thought about the economic situation in the country. Also, officials do not want Bialynichy residents to know how the "public servants" talk to the people, whose only fault is that they gave birth to and raise many children and demand a human attitude towards themselves, defending their interests," says Piatro Shymbaliou.

According to Mr. Shymbaliou, the pressurization of the parents stopped after the 4 June meeting council with the Head of State.

"We were going to an audience at the presidential administration on 7 June in order to tell about our problems and to defend their rights", says Piatro Shymbaliou. "However, as I was told at the Bialynichy DEC on 6 June, a general assembly of the building society "Dvanattsats" would be held on 6 June, at whih parents with many shildrens would be proposed the ways of solving their problems."

Earlier, large families in Bialynichy were getting only formal replies to their appeals to various state agencies.