29 March 2024, Friday, 10:05
Support
the website
Sim Sim,
Charter 97!
Categories

Who's Taking Responsibility For Bloody Salute On July 3?

11
Who's Taking Responsibility For Bloody Salute On July 3?
PHOTO: DZMITRY MALAKOVICH

The Belarusians ask logical questions.

The head of the Investigative Committee, Ivan Naskevich, has said that the Russians, detained in the case of the explosions on July 3, are detained and the charges will be brought against them within 10 days.

Belgazeta has asked some representatives of the Belarusian public who they consider responsible for the tragedy in Minsk.

Aleh Vouchak, head of the Human Rights Center "Legal Assistance to the Population" (registered in Ukraine):

- First of all, the responsibility falls on the Ministry of Defense. It bought the fireworks, was supposed to check the quality of the charges, there were those responsible for the preparation of fireworks, responsible for security measures. In such a tragedy, there comes political responsibility: any Minister of Defense (without surnames) must offer his resignation himself.

Obviously, the taken security measures were insufficient. Why did people find themselves in the danger area? The Investigative Committee does not hurry to initiate criminal proceedings against the Belarusian officials, whose actions can be seen as negligent, but is arresting the ordinary "scapegoats": two engineers from Russia, who accompanied the cargo.

In May, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Niamiha tragedy. Any mass event, especially in urban conditions, must be 110% worked out with regard to security measures. As a former Afghan war veteran, I would like to note that the border guards were very attentive to all the details, and therefore suffered minimal losses among the personnel. In any mass event where weapons are present, the maximum security measures must be ensured. And in principle, it's time to put an end to the city festivals with shelling and shooting - all the asphalt in Minsk is broken.

I do not hope that the authorities will move the salute parades outside Minsk. If people had been heard, the authorities would have already apologized for the loss of life and damage to the city - but neither the Minister of Defense, nor the head of the presidential administration, nor Lukashenka has done so. There' s nothing but silence. If there were an adequate investigation, the officials of the Ministry of Defense would have been arrested. And the scheme of purchasing fireworks should be studied for the corruption component.

Miachyslau Hryb, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the 12th convocation:

- The one who organized the fireworks is to blame. The organizer must be responsible for everything. People don't care who made fireworks, who supplied them, from what mortar they were launched, who was in charge of it - people don't care, because the authorities that hold the event guaranteed their safety. And they did not fulfill their guarantees. And who will be appointed a scapegoat is a secondary issue.

If the driver of a car of a state-owned company commits an accident (hurts a person or causes property damage), then not the driver of the car, but the owner of the transport, i.e. the state will be responsible in the first place. And only then the company has the right to file a claim against the driver regarding the compensation of damage. There is no difference for the people, the organizer is to blame - whoever it is: the government, the Ministry of Defense, the Interior Ministry.

Political consequences? They can come today, they can come tomorrow, they can come at the drop of a hat. Nobody explains anything to anyone in Belarus about what is going on, why and when. It is difficult to predict the authorities' reaction, because the legislation does not regulate the actions of the leadership in such situations. The state will react in the way it wants, and will not consult with anyone.

The state should have already drawn conclusions from the terrorist attacks on Independence Day in 2008, from the tragedy on Independence Day in 2019. It is obvious that the fireworks can be seen from afar - the main events are taking place high in the sky. Now people are forbidden to stay within a radius of 500 meters from the fireworks, so why not move them a kilometer, a kilometer and a half away - the explosions of fireworks in the sky will still be seen. But people would be safe.

Signatures for taking out salutes and parades outside Minsk are collected on the Internet. This initiative should be listened to: not only people die, but there is also serious damage to the city itself (blocking traffic, creating a lot of problems for drivers, destroying the asphalt, the practice shows that heavy equipment can lead to a serious tragedy). And outside the city - the risks are reduced to a minimum.

This is how it should be. But it is difficult for the authorities to gather a sufficient number of people in the city, and it will become even more difficult outside the city. I am sure the authorities will not agree to such a step. Look at what they are demonstrating at the parade and to whom: old Soviet equipment against the background of modern Russian technology. A logical question arises: what and to whom do we demonstrate that? Should we spend state money on this? Unfortunately, no one asks us...

Write your comment 11

Follow Charter97.org social media accounts