Justice ministry moves to close down Georgian, democracy promotion associations
A picture from the 14th Festival of National Cultures, in which Mamuli took part in September
February 1, Pozirk. The Minsk City Court may shut down two more associations this month.
It will hear on February 13 the justice ministry’s liquidation suit against Dyplamatyja, a group established in 1993 to strengthen democratic institutions.
Dyplamatyja listed “freedom, respect for human rights and fair elections” among its values.
Siarhiej Čeračeń, leader of the outlawed Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada who ran for president in 2020, has headed the association since 2017.
The same court is scheduled to hear a suit against Mamuli (Fatherland), a Georgian cultural and educational association, on February 16.
Mamuli has been promoting Georgian culture, language, traditions, literature, music, dancing and fine arts in Minsk and the Minsk region since 2006. Separate associations of Georgians reportedly operate in Hrodna and Mahiloŭ.
The website mamuli.by has been updated sporadically, with only three posts published in 2023, while the news section of the Georgian Embassy in Belarus has not been updated since September 2021.
Mamuli.by had reportedly posted news about the 2020 postelection protests in Belarus and demonstrations of solidarity with the Belarusian political opposition in Georgia, but has taken down those posts.
Earlier, the justice ministry secured court rulings for closing down several national minorities’ associations, including Armenian, Lithuanian and Syrian ones.
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