Officials Fear Social Protests

Applicants for holding pickets against repeal of social benefits in Baranavichy were reached on the phone by local officials and offered to give up the idea to hold the protest.

Recently representatives of the city executive committee were persuading two applicants for holding the rally, activists of the Party of Communists of Belarus, to take away their applications for holding pickets. “Such “conversations” are viewed by us as a form of pressure of local authorities on representatives of the democratic forces,” the BelaPAN was told by the member of the Central Committee of the Party of Communists of Belarus Viktar Tsyapin.

Activists of the city branch of the Party of Communists of Belarus in Baranavichy filed 11 applications for pickets on December 16, on the Day of solidarity with political prisoners, and in the run-up of entering into force of the law “On state social allowances, rights and guarantees for certain categories of citizens”.

“So far no official replies have been received by the city executive committee to any one of the applications. However, under the law answers should be given at least 5 days before the event,” V. Tsyapin said.

As the politician specified, all applications were submitted in time, with indication of the place of the protest rally, which had been officially reserved for mass rallies by the city executive committee, the Park of Culture. It is planned that pickets would be held in turn from 11 a.m. till 4 p.m. Representatives of the United democratic forces of the region plan to take part in the pickets.