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Zmitser Vajtsyushkevich to sue Minsk ideologists

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Zmitser Vajtsyushkevich to sue Minsk ideologists
PHOTO: BUDZMA.ORG

Ideologists have banned the concert of Zmitser Vajtsyushkevich as it poses “a threat to the national security.”

It is written in the official document signed by the first deputy head of the main directorate of the ideology work of Minsk city executive committee Vitalina Rudzikava (Rudikova), Radio Svaboda informs.

Zmitser Vajtsyushkevich was to put on a concert on July 22 in the House of Moscow with a programme based on poems of Vladimir Mayakovski, a Russian poet. The administration of the institution gave its consent to the concert, however the ideology work department of Minsk city executive committee put into question advisability of the concert. In the written answer addressed to the organisers the official of the ideology department, Vitalina Rudzikava, explaining her denial to issue an authorization document for the concert, referred to Sub-section 5 of Part 2 of “regulations for organizing and holding mass cultural events”, authorized by Lukashenka’s decree №257.

This sub-section states in particular that it is banned to arrange and hold concerts which aim is to conduct war propaganda or extremist activities, which represent a threat to the national security, public order, morality and health of the population, rights and freedoms of citizens. In addition, Rudzikava stressed that she had personally listened to audio materials and watched videos of the singer before coming to the decision to ban the concert.

Zmitser Vajtsyushkevich himself says that he is not going to “swallow” such arbitrary decisions and self-will, and is going to challenge the decision at a court. As said by him, the time has finally come to create a precedent.

“I know that Viasna human rights centre has agreed to support all legal proceures related to that, and I think that the things are to move off the starting block in September. And in August we are going to prepare for the trial without ruffle or excitement. There are questions related to poetry and specifics here. I have no doubts that they can easily distort that in any way they want, however, I would like to establish a precedent regarding that. Such occasions should not be overlooked or “swallowed” by us, as we are “swallowing” this or that endlessly. I think this matter should be dealt with. And specifically a concrete person should be sued, she must answer her words in any way. Moreover, it turned out that she was a teacher at an academy of music, which is completely incomprehensible for me – how musicians could act this way?” the musician said.

The unofficial black list of musicians, whose creative works contradict tastes of officials, appeared in Belarus in late 1990-ies, and was regularly updated before or after significant political campaigns of recent years. Zmitser Vajtsyushkevich is “a veteran” of black lists. He is accompanied by Syarhei Mikhalok, whose appearance on the radio or TV is impossible.

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