Lower house approves first reading of people’s militia bill

May 31, BPN. The House of Representatives of the Belarusian National Assembly has passed a bill concerning the people’s militia in the first reading, the lower chamber’s press office reports.

Drafted by Defense Minister Viktor Chrenin and MP Jaŭhien Zajcaŭ from the parliamentary standing committee on national security, the bill defines procedures for organizing people’s militia units. It contains provisions on command, manning, and deployment and the powers of state agencies and officials.

People’s militias would be authorized to use physical force and weapons while assisting the interior ministry’s forces in maintaining martial law and protecting property, says a version of the bill published on the National Legal Internet Portal on May 23.

A year ago, Alaksandr Łukašenka announced his intention to set up people’s militia units at the village-council level “just in case,” citing “negative Ukrainian experience.” These units can regroup into a partisan movement and become a reserve for territorial defense in wartime, he said.