Biaroza officials ban Freedom Day picket
The organizers of a picket scheduled for March 25, Freedom Day, have received a ban from the executive committee. The answer is signed by the deputy chairman of the executive committee Yauhen Tarasiuk.
The letter says that the picket was banned due to the fact that one of the goals of the picket contained inciting ethnic hatred. However, officials failed to specify which of the two objectives they meant. One of the goals was the commemoration of the 97th anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic, the other – expression of solidarity with political prisoners and demanding their release.
Judging by the previous experience, when the authorities banned a picket marking December 10, International Human Rights Day, the incitement of ethnic hatred, according to the executive committee’s lawyer Yauhen Kashtalian, was contained in the expression of protest against the presence of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine, this item was withdrawn from the goals of the picket planned for March 9. But even after that the picket was banned for the same reason. The applicants believe that it is because of protesting against the deployment of Russian military bases on the territory of Belarus. The goals of the March 25 picket did not mention this item. But again, the ban refereed to incitement of ethnic strife.
The activists are going to file a complaint in the Biaroza District Court.
