Militia hindered marking of students day (Photo)

• 26.01.2009, 12:38

Vitsebsk militiamen hindered holding of a street action of the youth dedicated to Tatiana Day and Students Day.

As Radio Racyja reports, a big banner “No holiday for a madman. Stop outrage of militia! Don’t beat women!” appeared on the fence of the infectious hospital on Frunze Avenue in Vitsebsk on Sunday morning.

A banner near trolleybus stops attracted attention of dozens of people. it remains unknown who removed this banner, but as a response to this, militia hindered a youth street action dedicated to Tatiana Day and Students Day.

This street action on Lenin square in the frames of the civil campaign “Our Home” was organized by youth activists. They were offering passers-nu to write congratulations to their friends and relatives on posters. They also were spreading postcards. Young people and people of ripe age were happy to use this opportunity. Some people had no sooner wrote down their congratulations as militiamen with a camera and some people in uniform armed with assault rifles leaded by lieutenant colonel, deputy head of Kastrychnitski district militia department, appeared.

The senior officer checked documents of people and demanded to stop the action, because according to him, Tatiana Day is marked on February 14, and the street action should have been carried out in a place, where people do not walk. The young people didn’t argue, and walked down the main street of the city, congratulating Vitsebsk dwellers and handing out postcards.

Such an attitude of the Vitsebsk militia to an ordinary non-political holiday was a surprise for many city dwellers. Some people, in spite of the ban, came and wrote down their congratulations, one of the passers-by even wrote congratulation in Latvian.