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Outraged Minskers Hold Night Protests

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Outraged Minskers Hold Night Protests
PHOTO: SVABODA.ORG

Residents of the Hrushauka neighborhood are outraged with the greed of the authorities.

Passions rage as construction works begin in the Hrushauka Public Garden in Minsk. Residents went out at night to protect their garden, and their rights. The night before, builders began to enclose the territory on which another high-rise building should appear instead of trees, Belsat reports.

Local residents turned to the police, as well as to the administration of the Maskouski district of the capital, to which the Hrushauka Public Garden belongs.

“It seems that money is making them blind! They are ready to destroy every living thing on their way. These trees - they are alive! They don’t have legs to just get up and walk away! And so they are ready to kill everything that only stands nearby. If there were people,or animals standing in their way, they would cut their heads off!” resident of Hrushauka is indignant.

Recently, the construction of an additional section of the high-rise building of the Dutch Star construction company has been started here. To build additional 4 entranceways, it is planned to cut down 40 trees, Radio Svaboda informs.

Residents of the neighbourhood wrote a collective complaint against the Minsk city executive committee to the prosecutor’s office, but the complaint was “lowered” back to the Minsk city executive committee for further consideration.

Local residents say that earlier, according to the project, they planned to build a kindergarten here, but unexpectedly they refused to build it. A resident of the district, Katsiaryna Busel, explains: “We appealed to the appropriate authorities regarding the fact that the builders, who began to install a fence in the morning, violated safety rules. In addition, there are activists who are looking for a lawyer, and we are determined to go to court. There are people who are ready to finance this, ordinary citizens. We just need to decide how to do it competently. Only the court remains.”

On January 23, local residents are going to meet with representatives of the administration of a nearby school #3 to discuss the situation with the Public Garden.

Why are people against all this?

The Hrushauka Public Garden is located between high-rise buildings at the Hrushauka metro station. The Dutch Star, according to local residents, contrary to the detailed planning project, decided to complete the construction of the Grand House residential complex. The new construction will affect part of the Hrushauka Public Garden.

In a video message to Lukashenka, local residents say that without discussion with the residents of the neighbourhood, the authorities gave away a plot of the square for the sake of “personal, selfish interests.”

For two and a half years they applied to the Minsk city executive committee, the administration of the Maskouski district, the prosecutor’s office, and the Ministry of Natural Resources. They called the Dutch Star to comply with laws, not personal interests.

Over the past two years, the square has been cut by almost a quarter: from 2.16 Ha to 1.72 Ha.

How were they met in the administration of the Maskouski district?

Yesterday, local residents tried to find out from the head of the administration of the Maskouski district Tatsiana Kalyadka why the builders began to enclose the site.

“After that, they will start sawing trees,” one of the meeting participants told the Radio Svaboda correspondent. “We wanted to know: on what grounds is this happening? What is the detailed design plan and passport? They didn’t show us a single paper, referring to the fact that this is the decision of the Minsk city executive committee, and they cannot comment on it.”

Residents in the administration of the Maskouski district were told that builders sawed off 40 trees.

“The administration told us that the new plan and passport of the Public Garden will be approved after the construction is completed. But this is a violation of the law. One of the officials said - they say, you understand, the laws are “alive”, that they may change anytime.”

The residents also say that the son of the Deputy Chairman of the district administration works for a real estate developer. And the deputy himself told them, like, “do not touch my son, he works there as a small clerk for 700 rubles.”

Local resident Anton Matveychyk told reporters that the construction on the territory of a part of the square is illegal. He spoke about this to the leadership of the Maskouski district administration in Minsk.

“About half of the land allotted for construction falls under the territory on which no development is planned in accordance with the current detailed planning project. The project has not changed since 2004. It can only be changed after the public discussion. And to my question why this is happening, they refer to the decision of the Minsk city executive committee. The decision to allocate the plot was not shown. Like, if you do not like it, go to the court. That is, claims must be presented to the city executive committee. There is no benefit from today's meeting, there is no new information either,” said Anton.

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