Mahiliou authorities ban street rally
The official
reason for the denial of the mass gathering expected to be held on 11 November
was the fact that the organizer failed to undertake the obligations required in
the law.
The initiator of the "Slavic March" Dzmitry Dzenisenka said that the ban
on the event was none other than a formal reply.
"The law does not say that the absence of this commitment is the ground
for banning an event. Within 15 days, the authorities should have addressed the
issue and contacted me, but they did not do this," says Dzmitry Dzenisenka.
The activist said that he had already filed a new application for the
"Slavic March" and hoped to receive a positive response the following
week.
"The purpose of the event is the exercise of constitutional rights of the
freedom of expression. We want to support the idea of Slavic unity, national
and social justice and protest against globalization. Slavic unity is a
brotherhood of the Eastern Slavs and, more
generally, the entire Slavic world. All Slavs should unite and, above all,
Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians, to meet the challenges of
globalization", says Dzmitry Dzenisenka.
The activist also said that, according to the application, the "Slavic
March" should have involved up to 350 people. Both the picket and the
procession were to be held at the locations and route determined by the city
officials – in the stadium "Khimik" – and followed by a march along
the street.
Dzmitry Dzenisenka says that he and his friends do not belong to any political
organizations and parties, but are simply a group of people.
