The small action of the “Immortal Regiment” in Minsk on August 3 could have been sanctioned by the authorities in connection with the visit of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to Belarus.
Elvira Mirsalimova, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Republican Party of Labor and Justice, wrote about this on her Facebook, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Wasn’t it possible that a demonstration event was allowed for the arrival of the Moscow guest? So that, driving through the streets of Minsk, you can point your finger at a small group: “Wow! Vidzice, stand! And you’re from Gavar – we’re going to make a lot of trouble here!” Let’s wait for May 9 and see how the Belarusian authorities really feel about the march of the Immortal Regiment,” Mirsalimova wrote.
She recalls that the Belarusian authorities, led by President Alexander Lukashenko, have so far prevented the holding of Immortal Regiment rallies.
“The Immortal Regiment has always been banned in Belarus, and the attempt to pass off this action as “national support” for a specific political figure looks very strange.
Did Lukashenko ban the Immortal Regiment? Forbidden. Did he say that he is “katsegarycheski protsiv”? Why on earth should the Immortal Regiment come out in his support?
Vitebsk regional officials from “Belaya Rus” opposed the banner of the Immortal Regiment in Vitebsk? Yes. As a result, we got a big banner on the porch of the regional executive committee! Those who forbade one thing received another. This is the whole essence of the prohibitions and allowances in the Belarusian ideological presentation,” Mirsalimova wrote.
Let us remind you that this year, on May 9, the Minsk City Executive Committee did not allow public activists to hold the “Immortal Regiment” action due to the threat of the spread of coronavirus, although a large-scale parade, attended by 11 thousand spectators, was held in the Belarusian capital.
Until now, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has consistently fought against the people's initiative “Immortal Regiment”. By analogy, he established his official campaign “Belarus Remembers,” but without St. George’s ribbons.
At the same time, the organizing committee for the creation of the public organization “Immortal Regiment” was refused three times by the registration authority - the Main Department of Justice of the Minsk City Executive Committee.