Salihorsk officials misinform people about existence of Belarusian-language kindergarten

The head of Salihorsk District Council, Lidziya Klishevich, and the head of Salihorsk District Executive Committee, Aliaksandr Rymasheuski, mislead the public.

In their March reply to the inquiry of the head of Salihorsk city branch of the Belarusian Language Society concerning the equality of the language rights in Salihorsk they stated that "everything is done in Salihorsk district to ensure to preserve the status of the Belarusian language". The officials backed their words by saying that a group with the Belarusian language of instruction had been established in Salihorsk kindergarten #38 on parents' request and about 20 children went to it.

The head of Salihorsk BLS branch Mikalai Sharavar decided to check this information: "The Internet publication about the appearance of the Belarusian-language group in the kindergarten. At the same time, I started getting information that there was no such group there. I phoned to kindergarten #38 and was shocked to learn the truth. The group ceased to exist long ago and the educator who used to work with these children was dismissed.

Taking into account these circumstances, Mr. Sharavar also puts to doubt some other facts, drawn in the officials' answer, such as the statement about the existence of 19 Belarusian-language schools, 10 kindergartens and pre-school upbringing centers in the villages of Salihorsk district, visited by 1814 schoolgoers and 821 children. Mr. Sharavar intends to pay visits to some of these institutions in order to find how well the rights of Belarusian-speaking citizens are observed in them.