Justice ministry denies registration to youth group :: Charter'97 :: News

The justice ministry has denied registration to a group formed by young members of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party "Hramada."

In its letter to members of the organization named "Young Social Democrats — Young Hramada," the justice ministry explains that the organization has failed to specify in its founding documents how often its audit body will meet, a violation of Article 9 of the Non-Governmental Organizations Law. Apart from this, the group has not presented to the justice ministry a list of its audit body`s members that should include, among other things, information about their home address and place of work.

When reached by BelaPAN, members of the group declined to say what they planned to do next.

Speaking last month, Dzmitry Kruk, the group`s leader, said that the organization would focus on educational activities and social work with youths.

In particular, the group sought to tackle such problems like unemployment and alcohol abuse among youths. "The issues that concern Social Democrats in the first place deal with the efficient civil education of youths. We hope to make our contribution to the effort to solve them," Mr. Kruk noted.