The upper house of the Belarusian parliament adopted the changes to statue on mass events.
Should the president sign it, the new regulations will become the law. All unregistered street actions will become illegal. The law is targeting silent protests. Also, informing about such events will be punishable by law.
The new regulations make it illegal for the non-governmental groups to accept financial support form the foreign donors. They are also banned from storing their assets on foreign accounts.
The new regulations were adopted by a lower house during a closed-doors session on October 3rd. Today’s voting and debate were open for public. Belarusian Minster of Interior, Anatol Kulyashov said that changes are intended only to ensure public order, and that Belarusian laws are more liberal than those in the developed democracies.
Chairman of the parliamentary legal commission, Jauhen Smirnov stressed that organizers of the silent protests were not acting for the national interest, but rather they attempted to use economic crisis to realize their own goals. That is why the new law was necessary, according to Mr. Smirnov.
Belsat
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