Family Questioned After Demanding Classes In Belarusian

[W. R.]

Family Questioned After Demanding Classes In Belarusian

Uladzimir Khilmanovich (left) and the Astrouski family rally for a Belarusian school on September 2.

September 04, 2010

HRODNA, Belarus -- Police have detained and questioned a family in the western city of Hrodna who demanded Belarusian-language instruction at schools, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

Ales Astrouski, a professor at Hrodna Medical University, his wife Aksana, and their three young children, along with journalist Uladzimir Khilmanovich, picketed the Hrodna mayor's office to demand education in the Belarusian language for children in the city.

The six held placards saying: "There is not a single Belarusian school in Hrodna, what kind of country do we live in?" "Ethnocide is the silent killing of the nation," and "We want to study In Belarusian!"

Astrouski said they were invited into the mayor's office to meet with Deputy Mayor Iryna Senchankava, who promised them during their meeting to create one class in which teaching will be in Belarusian. Astrouski said he told Senchankava that he would withdraw his children from school and hire a private teacher if such a class was not opened.

He said that when they left Senchankava's office, five policemen intercepted them and took them to a police station, where they were informed they should have filed an application with the city administration 15 days in advance of asking permission to hold a public protest.

Astrouski told them he and his wife were hoping until the last moment that their daughter, Svyatlana, would be able to start her elementary school education in Belarusian. He said they only found out on September 1 that their request for a Belarusian class had been ignored.

Aksana Astrouskaya told RFE/RL that the police asked her who initiated the action, who made the protest signs, and why they chose Lenin Square near the mayor's office to stage the protest.

The police agreed to Astrouskaya's demand that she be questioned in Belarusian, not Russian.

Police told the Astrouski family and Khilmanovich that they might be brought to trial as they had violated the law.

Although both Belarusian and Russian are state languages in Belarus, usage of Russian dominates the country.

SOURCE

FUCK!!!

What a freakish paradox: there exists a Belarusian school in the Latvian capital Riga but there is not a single Belarusian school in the Belarusian city of Hrodna (more than 300.000 inhabitants).

[Turkophagos]

White Russians don't want classes in russian?

[W. R.]

White Russians don't want classes in russian?

Okay, you made a joke - I giggled.

No they don't. They want classes in the other state language. The Belarusian language is not outlawed yet.

[Turkophagos]

Okay, you made a joke - I giggled.

No they don't. They want classes in the other state language. The Belarusian language is not outlawed yet.

You mean belarusian dialect? Doesn't the majority of the people of your state feel part of a greater Russian nation anyway?

[W. R.]

You mean belarusian dialect?

There are many Belarusian dialects.

I mean the standardized literary Belarusian language.

Doesn't the majority of the people of your state feel part of a greater Russian nation anyway?

Sort of. But these people obviously don't feel "part of a greater Russian nation". All they want is to have their children taught in one of the two state languages. And it are officials who are supposed to kiss their asses and to do their best to provide for these children the possibility to study in Belarusian, no? Not vice versa.

[W. R.]

Complaint Withdrawn In Belarusian-Language Protest Case

September 23, 2010
HRODNA, Belarus -- Police in the western Belarusian city of Hrodna have withdrawn their complaint about a family that protested in an effort to secure Belarusian-language teachers for their children, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

Ales and Aksana Astrouski were accused of holding an unsanctioned public action on September 3, when the couple, their three children, and independent journalist Uladzimir Khilmanovich picketed the Hrodna Mayor's Office to demand classes in Belarusian for their children.

The local authorities agreed to provide the Astrouskis' eldest daughter, first-grader Svyatlana, with Belarusian-speaking teachers starting October 1. But the couple and Khilmanovich were still accused of staging an unsanctioned public protest.

Hrodna Lenin district court judge Natalya Kozel, who opened the hearings into the case today, announced that the city police have retracted the complaint and the case has been closed.

No further details were given. Journalists were barred from the courtroom.

SOURCE