Salihorsk activists support campaign for protection of Belarusian language

Mikalai Sharavar, chairman of the Salihorsk office of the Frantsysk Skaryna Belarusian Language Society, has sent an appeal to the Constitutional Court against discrimination of the Belarusian language.

“The initiative was launched back in June by a known lawyer and human rights activist Hary Pahaniayla and was supported by the Assembly of Belarusian NGOs. Some residents of our city have also sent such appeals to the Constitutional Court,” says Mikalai Sharavar. “Now our office is also joining the initiative. Our petition has been signed by fifteen people. The letter with the signatures has already been sent to the Constitutional Court.”

A new law “On Constitutional Justice” was introduced in April, allowing citizens to directly access the main court of the country in case of legal flaws, conflicts and uncertainties. Now anyone can try to protect the Belarusian language from discrimination. Guidelines and a sample petition are available online. They can be edited, supplemented with examples of language discrimination and independently sent to the Constitutional Court.