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Parent association fights government’s suit

The Supreme Court of Belarus began on Wednesday hearing the government’s suit seeking the suspension of the activity of Dobraya Volya, an association of parents of three and more children and adoptive parents.

The education ministry asked the justice ministry to bring the suit against the organization shortly after the group highlighted multiple illegalities committed by education ministry officials.

“The first accusation against our organization was that we engage in activity outside the scope of our charter. In particular, they accused us of writing complaints and posting information on the Internet without having the right to do so,” Dobraya Volya Director Leanid Skarabahaty told BelaPAN in the courthouse. “They failed to prove that and the accusation was followed by a fresh accusation of the illegal use of an emblem. We asked them to explain to us what illegal emblem we were using. The justice ministry replied that it could show an illegal emblem only to an authorized person and only inside an office of the justice ministry.”

“We have a registered logo, which we have been using. We don’t know what kind of emblem they mean,” Mr. Skarabahaty said. “The ministry’s court papers are evidence that the accusation has been dropped. But a new accusation has been brought, they now seek to have our office rent contract declared null and void. That would leave us without the legal address, which is grounds for suspending our activity.”

The activist condemned the suit as an attempt by the education ministry to “silence the parent community.” //BelaPAN