Congress of Assembly of Pro-democratic NGOs
The VI Congress of the Assembly took place in Minsk on March 6-7, 2009. With 330 participants, more than 30 foreign guests, and representatives of all major independent media present, the VI Congress was the biggest NGO Forum in the Assembly’s 12-year history.
In a report assessing the situation of the Belarusian third sector in general and the Assembly of Pro-democratic NGOs in particular, Siarhiej Mackievič, the Chairman of the Assembly’s Working Group, emphasized: “We have not observed any systemic changes, neither at the national nor at the regional level. The language the authorities use might have become milder, but their actions remain based on existing repressive legislation. Their goal is to ban opponents of the authorities from any type of legal activities. Unfortunately, new forms of repression, such as forced conscription and house arrest, have started to be used against democratic activists, even during the EU-Belarus dialogue period. We call for real, not cosmetic changes in Belarus.”
The Congress heard reports on the findings of six regional and six topical round tables that had been held in January-February, 2009, in frames of the Congress preparation. The roundtables covered topics such as human rights, youth, social and women’s NGOs, the environmental movement, civic education, and new media as a form of civic activism.
A new Working Group – the governing body of the Assembly consisting of 39 NGO representatives from throughout the country – was elected Siarhiej Mackievič, head of the Minsk-based “Supolnaść” Civil Society Center, was reelected chairman.
On the second day, a “Festival of Civic Activism” was held, which featured the winners of an earlier competition. At the Festival, 28 NGO stands, 11 video spots and 17 presentations of unique programs, campaigns and projects were presented.
Finally, the Congress adopted a series of resolutions calling on the government to undertake a fundamental liberalization, normalize relations with and the operations of the Third Sector, abolish all forms of political persecution, and include civil society and the public in the debate over the building of a nuclear power plant in Belarus.
This article appeared in
Belarusian Review, Vol. 21, No. 1
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