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Two protests against construction projects held in Minsk in two days

 

Two protests against controversial construction projects took place in Minsk in two days.

More than 200 people held a rally in Urucha outside the Minsk Beltway on July 31 to protest the construction of more residential buildings in an already dense neighborhood, Dzyanis Kobrusew, deputy chairman of a civil society group called European Perspective, told BelaPAN.

The protesters signed a petition urging Andrey Kabyakow, head of the Presidential Administration, to meet with them to discuss their demands.

The crowd included residents of other neighborhoods who are campaigning against more housing construction in their areas.

On August 1, some 100 people held a rally on Kalinin Street near the city's thoroughfare, Independence Avenue. They signed a petition to the Presidential Administration and also recorded a video appeal asking Alyaksandr Lukashenka to intervene.

Officials of the Pershamayski district administration had attempted to disrupt the rally, scheduling a meeting with local residents for the same time. It was attended only by some 20 people.

There was a police presence at both events. At the rally on Kalinin Street a man was seen filming the crowd. However, the police did not intervene. //BelaPAN