Hrodna region’s authorities intend to shut down Lithuanian minority association

April 20, BPN. The Hrodna Regional Court will consider shutting down the Lithuanian public association Gimtine on April 28, the electronic court schedule says.

The Hrodna Regional Executive Committee’s main justice department filed the liquidation suit.

Gimtine is one of the oldest ethnic minority associations in Belarus, founded back in 1993 at the Lithuanian-funded school in Pialesa, located in the Hrodna region’s Voranava district. In September 2022, authorities closed the Pialesa school over alleged safety issues.

The Lithuanian foreign ministry criticized the decision as a violation of bilateral agreements between Lithuania and Belarus. Funded by the Lithuanian government, the Pialesa school had provided instruction in Lithuanian since 1992.