Many Belarusian NGOs have been already liquidated on the initiative of the Ministry of Justice for invented or insignificant reasons. Human rights activist say it has turned into a liquidating organ instead of the registering one. Now the Ministry of Justice proceeds to political parties. At the same time, it continues to initiate liquidation of new NGOs. (12-APR-2005)
In the end of 2004 the ministry sent a letter to a number of political parties and NGOs with the order to re-register their units at non-tenantable buildings by 1 February. In 2000 the minister of justice allowed registration of the primary units at private flats, which was widely used by political parties and NGOs. Obviously, the majority of the primary units failed to find new addresses – partially because of the lack of finances and also because of the reluctance of the authorities to lent room to them.
As a result, in the end of March the Ministry of Justice sued to the Supreme Court with the proposition to liquidate the 80 organizational structures of Belarusian People’s Front that were situated in private flats and dwelling houses.
The Party of Communists of Belarus decided to act first and complained against the letter of the ministry that ordered the party to transfer its structures to non-tenantable buildings by 1 February 2005 and the warning that was issued to the party for the failure to re-register its primary units at new addresses. The NGO Frantsishak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society did the same. Despite the fact that no legislative facts demand from units of NGOs and political parties to have juridical addresses (and therefore the claims of the ministry were groundless), the Supreme Court rejected both complaints.
The Ministry of Justice also warned the Union of Poles in Belarus (for the non-presentation of the results of the organization’s 6th assembly that was held on 12-13 March in Hrodna) and initiated the liquidation of the Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies that monitored the political processes in Belarus.
