Smaliavichy dissenters pass signatures to district authorities

On Friday, 2 August, activists of the movement against the construction of the Belarusian-Chinese industrial park passed to the Smaliavichy District Executive Committee 749 signatures under the protest statement.

"We will continue to collect signatures”, said the activist of the campaign Aksana Zelianeuskaya, “The formal public hearings end on 3 August, but we will not end collecting signatures on that day. The authorities must know about the public opinion! After passing the signatures to the Smaliavichy DEC, we walked downtown Smaliavichy and talked with the people. Not a single person supported the idea of the industrial park. The main argument is that many people with other culture and traditions will come there, and how will Belarusians live in their own country then?"

The activists continue to collect signatures not only in Minsk and Smaliavichy district. "This is not a special campaign”, says Aksana Zelianeuskaya. “The activists will communicate with people in all parts of Belarus, explaining how unreasonable it is to construct the industrial park in Smaliavichy, in an ecologically clean area. After all, it is a question on the scale of the whole country! And the authorities will not be able to leave the views of many citizens without reaction. The decision whether to build or not to build the industrial park must be taken by all citizens of Belarus, best of all – by means of a referendum. We are struggling for it."