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- 06.08 / 16:03 Tempers ran high at parking lot for agricultural show guests and participants
- 06.04 / 12:29 Deputy Prime Minister Kalinin updates reporters on government’s plans regarding mobile phone network, modernization of Minsk National Airport
- 06.01 / 13:49 Advising on medications is physician's job, says official
- 05.30 / 12:22 Pardoned post-election protester Parfyankow condemns his new trial
- 05.29 / 12:52 International equestrian tournament held near Minsk
- 05.28 / 13:29 Villages, dacha colonies may soon be demolished to make way for Chinese factories
- 05.25 / 12:22 Woodcutters, forwarder operators show off skills in Minsk
- 05.23 / 13:38 Trial of Belarusians in Libya may draw to close on June 4
- 05.19 / 16:02 Yakub Kolas` private letters go on display for one hour as part of Night of Museums event
- 07.06 / 16:05 Президентский декрет № 6 «взорвет» регионы
- 07.03 / 16:09 Лукашенко приехал на парад в немецком «Мерседесе»
- 06.28 / 13:04 «Вопрос недели». Продадите ли вы свой «Мерседес» по совету президента?
- 06.25 / 17:59 На парламентские выборы Партия БНФ понесет правду
- 06.23 / 13:00 Хью Лори «сорвал маску» на концерте в Минске
- 06.19 / 15:55 Петр Мамонов: все, что построено от оппозиции — пусто
- 06.15 / 14:38 «Вопрос недели». Почему футбольные фанаты самые агрессивные?
- 06.13 / 18:20 Кирпич, вылетевший из кузова грузовика, убил пассажирку ехавшей навстречу машины
- 06.07 / 13:47 В Минске милиционер-безбилетник пытался сбежать от контролера
- 03.26 / 12:09 Belarusian Popular Front leader describes Freedom Day as most important date for Belarusians
English
Nothing changed for wheelchair users in last five years, activist says
Wheelchair users held a rally in a remote park in Minsk on May 5 to demand greater opportunities and rights and express protest against discrimination.
Some 100 people with disability attended the sanctioned rally, which took place in Peoples’ Friendship Park. Participants displayed signs “Our legs is a car,” “I want to visit my parents, but there are steps on my way,” and “My home is my prison.”
“The slogans on the signs that you are holding are the same as they used to be five years ago,” Yawhen Shawko, chairman of the Belarusian Association of Wheelchair Users, said at the rally. “Nothing has changed over the past five years.”
Syarhey Drazdowski, leader of the Office for the Rights of People with Disabilities, thanked the crowd for coming to the rally and openly discussing their woes. “Our placards reflect our thoughts. For some reason, it is we who feel shame for them.”
In his speech, he called on the Belarusian authorities to join the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which he noted 153 countries, including even Papua New Guinea, had signed. “Belarus has been pondering on whether it should join it for six years. Are we, Belarusian people with a disability, deserve less respect for our human dignity and rights than our neighbors -- Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Poles or Russians? I believe that we are not.”
The gathering adopted an appeal urging Alyaksandr Lukashenka to ensure that the constitutional rights of wheelchair users and bedridden people are respected. They also demanded that the government sign the UN Convention. //BelaPAN
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