Brest officials ban May Day demonstration

Local Social Democrats planned to hold a mass action in defense of social and economic rights under the slogan “The State does not fulfill obligations to its own people”.

The application was submitted by the Brest regional office of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada) in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the law “On Mass Events in Belarus” and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“First of all, we wanted to draw the attention of the public and the authorities to the systematic failure of the state to fulfill obligations to its own people, as enshrined in the Constitution. The state has not created conditions for the full employment of people and does not guarantee its citizens an income, which provides them and their families with a free and decent existence. The country has cut jobs, at the same time introducing a tax on unemployment. Throughout the world, there is a practice of imposing a tax on the rich, but not vice versa. Therefore, we were going to demonstrate against the adoption of Decree No. 3 “On prevention of social dependency” and to demand its abolition,” said BSDP leader in Brest Ihar Maslouski.

The formal reason for the refusal was the fact that the protesters intended to pass closer than 50 meters from the institutions of education, health and government. “In the city center, there are practically no places to hold a demonstration with the specified distance, but for some reason it does not prevent Russian bikers from going along the route, though their actions are also a “mass event”. And by the way, the Constitution guarantees the right of citizens, not the buildings,” says Ihar Maslouski.

Over the past fifteen years, local authorities has allowed only one May Day demonstration.