Milinkevich meets with voters in Mozyr :: Charter'97 :: News

Belarusian opposition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich on Sunday held a meeting with voters in Mozyr despite a ban on it. The meeting was meant to be a campaign rally for opposition activist, Vladimir Telepun, but the man had his registration as a candidate in the coming local elections unexpectedly annulled two days before for the distribution of material "inciting social discord." The local media warned that Mr. Telepun`s campaign rally had been cancelled because of his withdrawing from the race.

However, around 200 local residents gathered at the Palace of Culture of the Mozyr oil refinery on Sunday afternoon to meet with Messrs. Milinkevich and Telepun.

Police at the scene ordered the gathering to disperse. They told Mr. Telepun to go away, threatening him with a charge of organizing an unsanctioned rally.

The gathering dispersed an hour later. Some people approached Mr. Milinkevich to greet him and ask questions.

Earlier in the day, police demanded that Mr. Telepun should give a written pledge to cancel the meeting. He refused.

"People want to know the truth about what is going on in the country. TV tells lies!" Mr. Milinkevich commented. "People want a normal friendly talk and they are being deprived of it. Increasingly more people understand that the government is not a government if it cannot debate, come and tell the truth."