Belarusian Christian Democracy Party was denied registration again
The Belarusian Christian Democracy Party has been denied state registration for the fourth time, said Minister of Justice Aleh Slizheuski at a press-conference on 19 January 2012.
According to Aleh Slizheuski, the BCD’s application featured a number of irregularities, including those in the lists of the party’s co-founders and in the BCD’s charter. “Considering this, according to the legislation, the Ministry of Justice had to order dismissal of the BCD’s application”, Mr. Slizheuski says as quoted by the BelTA government news agency.
On 11 January, the leaders of the Belarusian Christian Democracy received a letter from the Ministry of Justice dated 6 January saying that the party’s registration procedures had been suspended for a month to reportedly re-check the submitted papers. Meanwhile, on 13 January, the BCD’s Secretary Dzianis Sadouski said that the party’s co-founders came under unprecedented pressure from the law enforcement agencies, with over 20 incidents of harassment and threats reported to have been used against those who announced their affiliation to the opposition movement.
“We have not received any official documents informing that the registration has been denied. The Ministry of Justice is acting in a completely boorish way. Recently they said that the registration of the BCD is suspended for a month, and today we learn from BelTA that the Party was denied registration. We were not aware that the MoJ had re-started the registration process. They do whatever they want. Massive repressions were launched across the country against the founders of the BCD. New facts were registered at Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ), where workers are forced to write explanations to the chief of department and other managers.
The lists of the founders of the BCD submitted to the MoJ were transferred to the police, managers of enterprises, which is absolutely illegal. Ministry officials’ behaviour is illiterate. I am ashamed that in our country such people represent the law, “- said Vital Rymasheuski, the BCD co-chairman.
