Young Front not allowed in Crown Plaza

The management of Minsk-based Crowne Plaza has terminated a rental contract with Malady Front, a Czech-registered opposition youth group, that wanted to hold an awards ceremony at the hotel`s hall.

The group planned to stage the ceremony on February 14 to present its “I Love Belarus” award honoring people who have made prominent contributions to the promotion of the Belarusian language and culture.

The Crowne Plaza management notified Malady Front of the termination of the contract on the evening of February 4.

Malady Front leader Zmitser Dashkevich told BelaPAN that the group would apply to other organizations for a venue, but it harbored no illusions.

"In the last three years, our organization have been denied venues for its events more than 100 times," Mr. Dashkevich said. "Quite recently, more than 10 educational and cultural establishments have refused to provide venues for our founding conference."

"We don`t believe in coincidences," he stressed. "The contract was executed in accordance with law. We, as the clients, didn`t breach any of its provisions. We think that a third party interfered and there is politics behind the denial."

Mr. Dashkevich warned that Malady Front would appeal to the management of InterContinental Hotels that operates the network of the Crowne Plaza hotels across the world, and lodge an action against the Belarusian-based hotel with the Minsk City Economic Court.

"The list of winners will be announced on the eve of February 14, and it is likely that the awards will be handed to them in person," Mr. Dashkevich said.

He noted that Malady Front considered staging a demonstration on February 14 over the denial of the venue.

The decision of the hotel`s management is detrimental to not only the image of Crowne Plaza but also the image of Belarus, because it shows that there is no transparent environment in the country for business operations, Mr. Dashkevich added.