Minsk authorities ban May Day rally

Minsk city executive committee dismissed an application of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BCDTU) asking for permission to hold a rally in support of workers’ rights on 1 May, bdkp.org reports.

The Trade Union Congress was expected to hold a meeting in the Park of the 50th Anniversary of the Great October Revolution. From a telephone conversation with the head of the department of social-media work of the executive committee Yury Uralski the BCDTU leader Aliaksandr Yarashuk learned that the answer had already been sent by the executive committee, and it noted that “on May 1 all the five park areas will host official mass celebrations, therefore it is not appropriate to hold any additional events.”

The BCDTU leader says the decision of the city authorities did not surprise him, since over the last three years, the independent trade union association has been repeatedly refused to hold public events on May Day. The BCDTU decided to mark May Day in the regions of Belarus, where its offices could be able to get permission from the local authorities.