SCC has become another KGB

Lukashenka has endowed the State Control Committee with the task of ensuring “the country’s national security”.

For this purpose the SCC can now even suspend or fully stop the activities of any economic entity, Ezhednevnik reports.

According to the decree number 360, which Lukashenka has signed on 15 August, chances have been introduced into the decree number 647 “On certain issues of the activities of the State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus” as of 27 November 2008 that established the SCC’s tasks and functions.

Previously the State Control Committee had the right to control the activities of economic entities with the purpose of making sure that the legislation was being observed in the areas of consumer rights, the security of lives and health of the population, environment, and also protected the state’s economic interests. Now the situation is about to change significantly.

According to the changes introduced, the SCC will from now on take control over the observance of the national security legislation. At the same time, considering how broadly this term is interpreted in Belarus, the new SCC’s functions make one at the very least alert.

Thus, for example, the SCC will now be able to “suspend or ban the production (sales) of goods (execution of works, provision of services) in the case violations of national security legislation have been revealed”.

This is far being all. In the case, a national security violation is detected, the SCC will even be able to make decisions on “the suspension (ban) of the entity’s, workshops (production lines), equipment activities and transport exploitation”.

In fact, the controllers have obtained a right to fully paralyze the work of any economic entity, should they believe its activity violates the current legislation and creates a threat to the national security.

Considering that in Belarus even journalistic publications are often considered such a threat, the SCC will have the right to at once stop the functioning of any media, or even a publishing house that have issued a photo album, without any warning

In essence, another politicized body has appeared in Belarus in addition to the KGB for protecting the interests of the incumbent authorities.