English

Makey dissolves Public Advisory Council

Uladzimir Makey, head of the Presidential Administration, has dissolved the Public Advisory Council that he chaired.

Mr. Makey has sent out notifications of his decision to the Council’s members, in which he expresses gratitude to them for their work, Uladzimir Karahin, chairman of the National Confederation of Enterprise who was a member of the Council, told BelaPAN on Friday.

According to him, Mr. Makey explains that he decided to dissolve the Council because its members were subject to “undeserved defamation on the part of both external and internal enemies of a sincere dialogue.”

“I did not feel any defamation,” Mr. Karahin commented, adding that he viewed discussions held in the framework of the Council as useful, and that he would continue to meet with former members of the Council to discuss social and political issues.

Another member of the Council, Stanislaw Bahdankevich, honorary chairman of the opposition United Civic Party who headed the National Bank of Belarus between 1991 and 1995, said that the Council should have been dissolved long ago because it produced no results. However, he dismissed Mr. Makey’s explanation as unsatisfactory, saying that it was not serious to accuse the Council’s members of cooperating with the authorities because the Council had been established for cooperation.

Established on January 27, 2009, by consent of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the Public Advisory Council under the aegis of the Presidential Administration consisted of 30 members, including prominent critics of the government. The first meeting of the Council, which focused on the rules of procedure, was held on February 6, 2009. At a meeting in April 2009, the Council discussed the development of the Belarusian economy amid the global financial crisis. At its third meeting, which was held in June 2009 at a correctional institution in Zhodzina, Minsk region, the Council discussed the issue of the death penalty.

Mr. Makey suspended the Council in November 2009, linking his decision to media reports in which "certain opposition figures," including members of the Council, dismissed it as a sham and decorative body.

After consultations with members of the Council, Mr. Makey announced in February 2010 that the Public Advisory Council would resume its meetings.

The Council held its fourth meeting in June 2010, with a draft presidential directive aimed at economic liberalization being the main subject on the agenda. The Council held its next last meeting in September 2010 to discuss education reform.

On September 6, members of the Council met with Mr. Makey to discuss preparations for a new meeting, which was expected to be held in late September and focus on the role and functioning of civil society in Belarus.