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Svetlahorsk Activist Addresses UN Human Rights Committee

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Svetlahorsk Activist Addresses UN Human Rights Committee
ANATOL ZMITROVICH
PHOTO: TUT.BY

Anatol Zmitrovich seeks the right to hold protest rallies.

On July 12th, Svetlahorsk eco-activist Anatol Zmitrovich filed an individual complaint to the UN Committee on Human Rights. He is challenging at the international level the decisions of the Belarusian courts related to the ban on holding a protest rally in the 70 thousandth town related to its environmental problem, Homel Viasna reports.

Last year, Anatol filed an application for a protest rally in the district center, but was refused. That was because the town had decided to allow rallies in the only place - at the Bumazhnik stadium. It is forbidden anywhere else, and the people disobeying the authorities risk being subject to sanctions - a large fine or arrest for up to 15 days.

In fact, there is a taboo on everyone's right to freedom of peaceful assembly and public expression in our town.

"The authorities send us to protest at the stadium, and when we agree, it turns out that there is no place for us even there, as children's events are held there on these days. In other words, the authorities are cynically hiding behind children, forbidding us adults to discuss aloud the environmental problem of the town, related to the Chinese bleached pulp mill," - Zmitrovich added.

Human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka says that although the so-called "cosmetic" amendments to the basic law on mass events came into force at the beginning of the year, allowing in some cases not to ask for permission to hold peaceful assemblies, the situation, according to him, is still completely under the control of officials.

"It is known that it is forbidden to hold several events in the same place. In Svetlahorsk, such a place is the stadium, where different events take place - if not the training of athletes, then the children's festivals, which the authorities organize to prevent the opponents of the bleached pulp mill from gathering. It turns out to be a vicious circle, the right is there, but it is impossible to implement it," - the human rights activist says.

In addition to establishing violations of his rights to peaceful assembly and expression of opinion, Anatol Zmitrovich asks in his complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee to oblige the Belarusian government to change the basic law and the decision of the local authorities on mass events in such a way that everyone has the opportunity to speak out publicly in defense of public interests.

This is not the first complaint of Svetlahorsk eco-activists to Geneva. On 4 February this year, human rights activist Alena Maskliukova filed an individual complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee.

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