The (non) registration of NGOs like Nasha Viasna (Our Spring) by the Belarusian authorities challenges the seriousness of a dialogue currently started between the Belarusian government and the EU.

 

For some years Nasha Viasna has been campaigning against the ministry of justice in order to abolish the prohibition of the organization. Under the name of Viasna 96 (spring 96) the human rights center was registered in 1999. In 2003 the registration of Viasna 96, the biggest human right center in Belarus, has been cancelled groundlessly. Since then the members of the organization determinedly continue with their activities but are acting in Belarus officially illegal.

 

Since August 12 2009 it is evident that the struggle of the human rights activists for their official recognition is for the time being lost. Their appeal against the refusal of the ministry of Justice for the third consecutive time to register the organization again was rejected by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus in a hardly appealable ruling.

 

The Ministry of Justice based the refusal of the registration on the incomplete declaration of the place of work of 4 out of 70 submitters in the registration documentation. A confirmation letter on the office of the organization was considered being without legal capacity because an inspection of the office by representatives of the ministry were not possible. Furthermore, the submitted papers did not document that the office were disposing of an entrance. Criticized was also, that the responsible persons failed to submit their so called action plan to the ministry. Another shortcoming was according to the ministry of justice, that the name Nasha Viasna could not logically be deducted from the articles of the organization and even were contradictory to them.

 

Apart from the mentioned accusations Mister Kharyton, representing the ministry, also put forward personal accusations during the process against the Viasna representatives Belyatsky, Stefanovich and Labkovich, which were not suppressed by the judge.

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