Belarus Supreme Court shuts down literary foundation
Besides, the foundation is to pay Br93,000 in duties to the state. Samaliuk said the decision was final and could not be appealed.
The Belarusian Literary Foundation was established in 1934 and was subordinate to the Literary Foundation of the Soviet Union. Re-registered in 1991, the foundation has offered stipends to young writers and provided financial assistance to the relatives of the departed writers.
Viacaslau Korbut, the former chairman of the foundation, compares this organization with a trade union of writers. The activities were funded by the International Literary Foundation.
Viacaslau Korbut: “Recently, the foundation has ceased to operate as an efficient organization both in legal and economic terms. It has become a bankrupt organization. Under the Belarus laws, legal entities that have been loss-making for several years are subject to liquidation.”
Ales Danilcanka, who is chairing the organization today, has a different opinion in this regard. He says that back in 2003 the Ministry of Justice sent him a letter, ordering to introduce our emblems to the National Heraldic Register. In January 2006, the foundation was officially reprimanded.
Ales Danilcyk: “We met the requirement and changed our stamp. We also stopped using the old heraldic signs that had been in use before.”
It was like a bolt from the blue for the staff of the foundation when they heard the news that the court opened a liquidation case, according to the chairman.
Ales Danilcyk: “On May 2 at 1130 court officials visited our office and tabled a summons to the Supreme Court. The hearing was scheduled for 1430 on the next day, so we had no time to prepare ourselves and our lawyers.”
That’s why nobody defended the interests of the foundation and none of the staff was present at the hearing, says Ales Danilcyk.
The Supreme Court refused to comment on the ruling or give the phone number of Judge Valery Samaliuk. The court’s spokeswoman Anastasia Cymanovic was very brief.
“The ruling has been issued and there is no need to comment on it,” she said.
Vacaslau Korbut describes the liquidation of the foundation as a big tragedy.
“This is a big tragedy. For decades or maybe centuries, writers have invested their brains and funds in the development of the Belarusian literature. Now they are legally unable to receive the dividends that they have earned.”
Ales Danilcyk hopes that writes will still be able to save the foundation by re-registering it, while the liquidation process is still in progress. To do this, they need to find donors that could provide financial assistance to the Belarusian writers.
Photo by photo.bymedia.net
