Dance rehearsal instead of picket
5- 7.08.2013, 7:31
- 13,885
In order to forbid an opposition’s picket the authorities in Homiel arranged a 15-minute dance rehearsal.
Activists of a leftist Just World party planned to hold a picket in the region’s capital on 6 August in order to inform city residents of the party’s ideas and disseminate printed materials. But the city executive committee did not authorize the mass event based on the grounds that on 6 August at the same site near the Palace of Culture of the deaf association Vipra there will be a rehearsal of the Sozh Round Dance festival. The festival is scheduled for 14-15 September, the human rights center Viasna reports.
At the time, stated in the party’s appeal as the start of the picket (4 p.m.) there were around a dozen dancers jumping under the burning sun near the Vipra Palace of Culture. But in 15 minutes the dancers moved to another location to continue their rehearsal.
“This was the reason for the refusal, stated in the letter from the city executive committee. Already in 15 minutes there were no dancers, which means this is an artificial obstacle, created to prevent people from expressing themselves. As we see, the authorities take even such silly steps. The city executive committee could have changed the day or the site for the event, there was nothing and no one before 4 p.m. and after 18 p.m. nothing would be there”, - the chairman of the party’s regional organization Uladzimir Siakerka commented.
He will appeal to court against the city executive committee’s decision.
“We will apply again, and not for one day, but for three, for a week. We will see what new they come up with”, - the regional leader added.
Together with activists he did hand out around 750 units of the party’s printed materials among Homiel residents. In the leaflets there were the statements on the “threat of the annihilation of the foundations of democracy”, and a statement on “another decisions by the authorities, which lead to the worsening of socio-economic wellbeing of the citizens”.
We would note that the authorities of the region’s capital in the past several years have been forbidding holding any opposition actions for farfetched reasons.
