THE RAW STORY– The opposition in Belarus on Monday criticised a parliamentary bill that would give Alexander Lukashenko’s regime the legal right to crack down on protesters engaging publicly in “non-actions”.
The bill — submitted by top ministers to the lower house of parliament last week — proposes a ban on “previously-agreed actions or non-actions.”
This is apparently aimed at the numerous “silent” protests the opposition has held in recent months, where protesters chanted no slogans and merely stood clapping their hands.
Under existing legislation, the regime can act against protesters engaged in “hooliganism”, while the new bill also covers “the mass gathering of people at a previously-agreed location — including in the open air — at an agreed time to conduct previously-agreed actions or non-actions”.
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