Picketing in Minsk with the requirement to accelerate the construction of the Union State of Belarus and Russia

April 2, 2020, Belarus celebrates the national holiday "Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia." The situation surrounding the construction of the Union State of Belarus and Russia is complicated. In connection with the protracted process of integration of the two states, nationalist forces revived in Belarus, but the majority of citizens, as the republican referendum of 1995 showed, for integration. The requirement for the full implementation of the Union Treaty of December 8, 1999 is firmly and unequivocally supported by the public associations of Belarus that formed the Unity Coordinating Council: the Patriotic Public Association "Fatherland" (which is based on members of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks), the Public Association "For Democracy, Social Progress" and justice and the Republican public association “For the Union and the Communist Party of the Union”.

The above-mentioned public associations sent a notification to the Minsk Executive Committee (Minsk City Executive Committee) about the decision to picket on April 2, 2020 in connection with the Unity Day of the Union State of Belarus and Russia with the number of participants up to 50 people. In a notification letter, the leaders of associations asked the Minsk City Executive Committee to release them from payment for this mass event, since the theme of the picket is consistent with the theme of the national holiday. However, the Minsk City Executive Committee refused this, recalling that the decision of the Council of Ministers does not provide for exemption from fees for holding mass events.

ROO SKPS, in protest and in the absence of funds, refused to participate in the picket and sent a message to the chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus V. Andreichenko urgently canceling the decision on the introduction of fees for public events, and the Paternity Fatherland and OO DSPPS notified the Minsk City Executive Committee about the reduction in the declared number of picketers to 10 people, since in this case the fee is reduced by 8 times.

The picket was carried out in the Kiev square of the Belarusian capital. Picketers in the amount of 10 people held a banner “The Union of Russia and Belarus is eternal and indestructible”, flags of the USSR and the Republic of Belarus, posters:

- “A lot of documents on integration have been signed, but there is little sense”;

- “We are opposed to delaying the union of the currencies of Belarus and Russia”;

- “Rather, sign the Constitutional Act!”;

- “We demand to accelerate the process of creating the Union State”;

- “We are for the ONE Union State with the ONE leadership”;

- “Combine the armed forces of Russia and Belarus into a single military organization!”;

- “Brotherly peoples! Join the Union State! ”;

- “Long live the friendship between the Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian and other fraternal peoples!”

In accordance with the requirement of the Minsk City Executive Committee “in connection with the spread of COVID-19 infection ... to take additional sanitary and epidemiological measures”, the picket participants carried out an action with wearing hygiene masks.

In conclusion, the picketers unanimously adopted the appeal “We demand acceleration of the construction of the Union State of Belarus and Russia!” and the statement “There is no bourgeois democracy in the interests of the rich!” which are published.

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