Een forum van NGO’s vindt plaats in Minsk op 6 en 7 maart, met naar verwachting 250 deelnemers en 50 buitenlandse gasten. Syarhey Matskevich, een van de organisatoren, zegt: “Liberalisering vindt plaats en de tijd voor NGO’s is rijp om te praten over een gezamenlijke positie.”

Bron: http://www.democraticbelarus.eu

Iryna Zhyhar, chair of the Belarusian Organization of Working Women, said that one of the major priorities would be to mull the situation with civil society in Belarus.

Another organizer, Vatslaw Areshka, emphasized the importance of the coming discussion, expressing the opinion that Belarus would come closer to other countries’ levels in several years.

“I think it will be easier for our organizations to breathe in the context of culture liberalization,” Mr. Areshka said. “And we see the number of music concerts and other cultural events increasing already today. “On the whole, the cultural sector of civil society, under the ruling regime, does more than the state is supposed to do. It helps keep national culture at high levels, supporting something what should not die. And I think that this important role of civil society will be taken into account in the future.”

“I would like to hope that real progress is being made on liberalization in the country, but there are strong doubts if this regime, this government, is indeed able to change,” he added.