BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

07/08/2007

Belarusian Opposition Leader Appeals To Europe Over Devastation Of Historic Buildings

Former opposition presidential candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich has urged Terry Davis, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, to help save historic buildings in Hrodna, a city in northwestern Belarus, Belapan reported on August 6. Milinkevich wrote in his appeal that authorities have planned to demolish around 70 "valuable" buildings in Hrodna as part of a project to redevelop its historic center. "Construction work is being carried out in violation of Belarusian regulations governing the conservation of cultural heritage, with archeological fundamentals ignored. To attempts by representatives of the intelligentsia to begin dialogue about the most optimum way of preserving Hrodna's historic complex, authorities reply with police patrols, administrative sanctions, and the defamation by the official media of alternative projects," Milinkevich added. Last week, construction workers in Hrodna completed the demolition of a building that was part of the 18th-century palace of Hrodna's administrator. The demolition was condemned by local history enthusiasts as an act of vandalism. JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/08/3-cee/cee-070807.asp

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