Founding congress BCD

Official statement of BCD international committee

THE FOUNDING CONVENTION OF THE BELARUSIAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY TOOK PLACE ON OCTOBER 31 IN MINSK

In spite of the fact that the venue for the congress was provided only a day and a half before the event, the organizers managed to gather 311 delegates and app. 300 guests. Among the guests there were Stanislau Shushkevich, Viachaslau Siuchyk, Aliaksei Janukevich, Viktar Karnienka, Juras Hubarevich, Ales Lahviniets, Liudmila Hraznova, Ambassadors of United Kingdom and Hungary in Belarus, representatives of the diplomatic missions of the USA, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Lithuania, Latvia, delegates from Christian democratic parties of Norway, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Ukraine, representatives of the European Parliament, priests of different Christian churches.

The participants of the Congress were also greeted by the leader of Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Ronald Pofalla, the leader of the European Parliament delegation on Belarus affairs Jacek Protasievicz, Prime-Minister of Lithuania, Chairman of Christian Democratic party of Lithuania Homeland Union Andrius Kubilius, and also Christian democratic parties of Moldova, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Finland and Georgia.

The most important political decision was taken regarding participation of BCD in local elections in the year 2010 and presidential elections in the year 2011.

The delegates of the congress decided to support their party candidate for presidency, Vital Rymasheuski, and to form his initiative group. Vital Rymasheuski will be suggested as a single candidate from the Belarusian Pro-Independence Block, and he can withdraw his candidature to the advantage of another candidate in case the latter forms a bigger initiative group.

ATTEMPTS OF THE AUTHORITIES TO INTERVENE THE CONGRESS OF BCD

The delegates from Kobryn were stopped by the traffic police three times on their way to Minsk the night before October 31. The policemen checked the passport details of the BCD members. The delegates arrived to the Congress only in the morning.

Three cars from Babruisk were stopped on their way to the Congress as well. The whole delegation with Taisia Kabanchuk as a head was kept for more than an hour - the police checked the cars and the documents. In the end two women were fined for not wearing the safety belts in the back seat.

Two cars were stopped in Slutsk early in the morning on October 31. The first one, driven by the leader of the local BCD organization Viktar Dvurechanski, was soon released; the other was kept for several hours in the police department to check the passport details of the delegates. As a result the car with the Vice-Chairman of the Slutsk BCD organization Maksim Jurchankou was late to the Congress for several hours. The delegates arrived only to the second half of the congress.

The delegate to the Congress from Pinsk Paval Dzenisevich was stopped by the police at the local railway station after he bought a ticket to Minsk, and was kept for passport control until his train left. As soon as the last train which the delegate could possibly take to get to the Congress on time left, the policemen apologised to Dzenisevich and let him go.

The BCD member from Brest Aliaksandr K. was called for interrogation to the office of KGB. They demanded that he should withdrawal hissignature as a BCD founder. Moreover, KGB threatened that Aliaksandr and his girlfriend, who studies at the local University, would have problems.

On October 31 in the morning there was a picturesque view at the Kastrychnickaya square in Minsk (possible variant of location of the Congress). The members of BCD Mikalai Artsiuhou and Ales Ilkevich who came to the square reported on the following: 4 traffic police cars, riot police and police motorcycles rode around the square in a chain.

I never saw something like that in the center of Minsk. I think it is connected with the promise of the Minister of Internal Affairs Kuliashou to break up the BCD Congress in any case. It proves that the authorities wanted to interfere with the Congress and took certain actions towards it, but this wish was kept on a short leash due to the coming decision of the EU with regard to the sanctions, - stated the leader of BCD Paval Sieviarynets in his interview to the press-center of the Belarusian Christian Democracy.