Supreme Court upholds registration denial for United Civic Party’s youth wing

The Supreme Court of Belarus on Wednesday upheld the justice ministry's decision to deny state registration to the United Civic Party (UCP)’s youth wing called Maladyya Demakraty (Young Democrats).

"This ruling by the Supreme Court was predictable," Maladyya Demakraty’s member, Dzmitry Kavalhin, told BelaPAN. "Authorities will use any excuse not to register pro-democratic organizations. Even so, we plan to continue our activities as representatives of the founding committee for our organization."

In its reply to Maladyya Demakraty, the justice ministry said that its registration papers contained numerous flaws, including incomplete information and incorrect information about founders of the organization in the Hrodna region.

In addition, it is clear from the papers that the identities of those present at the organization’s founding conference were not verified, the ministry said.

Maladyya Demakraty held a formal founding conference in Minsk on April 14 in yet another attempt to obtain legal status.

Alyaksandra Vasilevich, a 26-year-old Hrodna-based activist, was elected the organization’s chairperson. Almost all of the 34 delegates voted for her. She was elected unopposed.

The delegates summed up the results of the organization’s activities in the past two years, describing them as satisfactory. They announced that its activities would focus on education, sports, and the prevention of corruption in these areas as well as youth employment.

The organization, which has de facto existed for many years, applied to the justice ministry for registration back in 2010, but the application was turned down. The ministry explained that some fundamental provisions of the organization's charter were inconsistent with laws.

The previous chairperson of Maladyya Demakraty, Aleh Korban, quit the UCP in the summer of 2012 and founded an opposition youth group called Alternatyva (Alternative).