Activists meet with culture officials over restaurant row in Kurapaty

Opposition politician Pavel Sevyarynets talked with Deputy Culture Minister Aliaksandr Yatsko about corruption. On Wednesday, the Kurapaty defenders were invited to the Ministry of Culture. Sevyarynets was accompanied by Hanna Shaputska and Uladzimir Ramanouski.

Pavel Sevyarynets says they heard nothing concrete from Yatsko as the Ministry of Culture "has not clear stance."

The Kurapaty defenders demand the closure of the newly opened restaurant near the memorial protected area. "They have no reaction to the corruption accusations," says Sevyarynets. He says that the Kurapaty protected area could have been revised because of the corruption in the government agencies. The Ministry of Culture insists they are not to blame and refer to the Belarus laws.

The politician has called on citizens to continue the defense of the Kurapaty memorial site where tens of thousands people were executed by Stalin's secret police in the late 1930s.

Sevyarynets is indignant that the deputy culture minster spoke Russian with the activists. "I feel ashamed to have such a ministry of culture," he said.