BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

07/12/2006

Belarusian Catholics Granted Construction Permit Following Protest

The authorities in Hrodna, northwestern Belarus, have granted a local Roman Catholic community permission to build a new church in the city after a priest and a dozen parishioners launched a hunger strike last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 4, 2006), RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported on December 6. "We are satisfied with the decision and are stopping the hunger strike for the time being. But we are resolute to continue our fight for justice if need be," Reverend Alyaksandr Shemet told RFE/RL. Meanwhile, the Cabinet of Ministers' Committee for Religious and Nationality Affairs has told seven Polish priests and five Polish nuns working in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hrodna to leave Belarus by the end of this year. The committee refused to renew their work permits, citing the need to provide jobs for Belarusian graduates of the Roman Catholic seminaries in Hrodna and Pinsk. JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2006/12/3-cee/cee-071206.asp