Biaroza District Executive Committee establishes new rules for preparation of mass events
Biaroza human rights defenders T. Shchapiotkina and Siarhei Rusetski asked the executive committee how the organizers of mass events could enter into service agreements with the police, hospital and public utilities, if p. 4, regarding the obligation of the organizers of mass events to attach the copies of service contracts with these agencies to their applications, had been removed from ruling No. 1070 “On amendments to the decision of Biaroza District Executive Committee” of February 9, 2010”.
The human rights defenders received the reply that entering into such contracts would be possible after the executive committee issues a permission for the mass event.
According to Siarzhuk Rusetski, in this situation, even if the executive committee authorizes a mass event, there will be no time for entering into such contracts. As a rule, the executive committee gives an answer five days prior to the event, whereas the aforementioned agencies demand to be given at least two weeks in order to conclude such contracts. The situation is even worse when the answer is given five days before the event, and the five-day term includes days off for state agencies.
Let us remind that the human rights activists have been struggling for three years in order to make Biaroza District Executive Committee put p. 4 of its regulation in line with the Regulation of the Council of Ministers No. 207, according to which it is the executive committee needs to coordinate the securing of the public order with the police after receiving an application for a mass event.
The first amendment, made by Biaroza DEC in September 2014, was so absurd that it failed to pass the expert examination at Brest Regional Executive Committee: the district executive committee stated that it would inform the police about the receipt of applications for mass events, but simultaneously demanded that the applicants attach copies of the service contracts with the police to their applications.
