Volunteerism Development Center denied registration
The Ministry of Justice
refused to register the Volunteerism
Development Center
because of “a number of incorrigible violations of the legal requirements”.
According to the ministry, one of such violations is that the question of the
establishment of the Belarusian and the Swiss branches is not mentioned in the minutes
of the constituent assembly and the sitting of the NGO’s Board.
Lawyer Volha Smalianka states that this decision is not grounded on any legal
norms. “According to the Ruling of the Ministry of Justice On issues of execution and consideration of documents concerning the state
registration of political parties, trade unions, other public associations, their
unions (association), as well as the state registration and removal from the
state register, registration and removal from the register of their
organizational structures, if the registering agency finds that the
applicant failed to file all necessary documents for receiving the state
registration, the application is left pending and the applicant is given term
for filing the lacking documents. However, the Ministry of Justice didn’t do
it.”
Moreover, according to the organization charter, the establishment of the
organization branches is beyond the powers of the general assembly.
Bear in mind that two weeks ago the head of the organizing committee of the
NGO, Mikalai Kvantaliani, had made a public statement about the attempt of the
KGB to recruit him. They promised that his organization would be registered if
he agreed to collaborate with them and pay them 50,000 Euros a year. He was
threatened with the non-registration of the Center and problems during foreign
trips otherwise.
Nevertheless, Mikalai refused from this proposal. Last week he drove to Vilnius together with his
family and friends. When they returned back, the display of the passport
control computer flashed red while scanning his passport. As a result, the car
was subject to a thorough examination. No explanations were offered.
