NGO Assembly Congress in Minsk cancelled

Another, 7th congress of the Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations and Initiatives, planned for May 5-6 in Minsk Educational Centre IBB, will not be held.

As BelaPAN was told by the head of the executive committee of the NGO Assembly Syarhei Lisichonak, the administration of IBB refused to offer premises for holding the congress.

The NGO Assembly is the largest association of non-governmental democratic organisations and initiatives. It was founded in 1997, and now it includes more than 300 organisations. The NGO Assembly was denied registration in Belarus for three times. In 2011 the association was registered in Lithuania.

As noted by Lisichonak, IBB “would be glad to host this forum.”

“However, Minsk city executive committee, which has a share of property in the premises, suddenly denied us leasing the premises. Talks at Minsk city executive committee lasted the entire day today, but it ended in nothing. We had to reschedule the event for a different day. We shall inform about that additionally,” he said. “The denial in holding a major forum of the civil society in Belarus shows once again that the authorities of Belarus continue to set themselves against the society. It is obvious that it is a politically motivated decision, which had not been adopted inside Minsk city executive committee.”

As said by him, now the organizing committee of the congress is discussing shift of the event for June.

As he press-service of the NGO Assembly informs, representatives of about 200 organisations of different kind were going to take part in the congress. Within the tow days they planned to elect new leadership, discuss the situation of the civil society, development of regional initiatives, mass media, advance of the public dialogue, interaction with the political sector, the role of the NGO Assembly in Belarus.