Pickets near monuments to Lenin are banned

Minsk city executive committee didn’t permit holding a picket near a monument to Vladimir Lenin in Independence square on 8 December.

The application for a picket filed by the activists of the Young Front Nasta Palazhanka, Aliaksei Yanusheuski and Nasta Loika, was not satisfied, website mfront.net reports.

In its refusal Minsk city executive committee referred to article 9 of the law On mass actions, saying that holding of mass events is forbidden:

• Near metro objects;

• At the distance less than 200 meters from buildings of president’s residence, the National Assembly, underground pedestrian subways, metro stations;

• At the distance less than 50 meters from buildings of republican bodies of state government, local representative, executive and administrative bodies, territories of organizations providing defensive power, state security and life-sustaining activity.’

Bear in mind that members of opposition Party of Communist of Belarus laid flowers to the monument to Lenin without hindrance on 7 November, and members of the pro-governmental Communist Party of Belarus organized a small meeting near the monument.

In Mazyr Pavel Nazdra, the Young Front coordinator in Homel oblast, also received a refusal for his application. He intended to hold a picket near the monument to Lenin in Mazyr. In both cases the applicants intended to hold their pickets on 8 December, the day when the Soviet Union had dissolved.

In its refusal Mazyr town executive committee stated that ‘the stated place is one of the places meant for public use and provide the life activities of the society and it therefore holding any mass actions there is prohibited by the law On mass actions.

All in all, applications for pickets on 8 December were filed in 11 citizens and towns of Belarus.