BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

22/04/2008

Minsk Authorities Ban Belarusian Opposition March

The Minsk City Executive Committee has denied permission for opposition activists to rally in downtown Minsk on April 26, the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, Belapan reported on April 21. The organizers planned to assemble in front of the National Academy of Sciences and march along Independence Avenue, Minsk's main thoroughfare. However, city officials suggested on April 21 that the march should instead run from the National Academy of Sciences to Bangalore Square on the outskirts of the city. Ihar Rynkevich, one of the organizers of the march, told Belapan that the organizers had assured the officials that they would bear all responsible for preventing disorder during the demonstration. Under President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, marches marking the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have become an occasion for massive protests staged by opponents of the government. AM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/04/3-cee/cee-220408.asp

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