Lawyer: It's too early to say goodbye to Halavanau

Euroradio: What was the life on NGO's under Victar Halavanau's administration?

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Harry Pahanyayla: It's worth mentioning that Victar Halavanau made his career back in Soviet times in the party bodies. When he first came to the Ministry of Justice he was a communist with a fully formed vision. Mr. Lukashenka needed him exactly in this quality as a Minister. He kept to the ideologically correct course, set by Lukashenka, and this included attitude to the civil society in Belarus - he set various obstacles to its development. He refused to register civil associations due to made-up reasons, especially this concerned democratic or political organizations, human rights organizations. Many human rights organizations were liquidated when he was the Minister of Justice. Basically, only the Belarusian Helsinki Committee remained at the national level today. So, he was a devoted servant of Mr. Lukashenka.

Euroradio: So why did his star fall down then?

Harry Pahanyayla: Probably, Halavanau generates no new ideas at present moment, he does not maintain proper activity of institutions, subordinate to the Ministry of Justice. I think that the events with lawyers, whom he pressed really firmly recently, also played their part. There are some shortcomings in the administration of the organizational activity of the courts during consideration of cases, with regard to terms, personnel management in courts and other issues, which were in the Ministry of Justice's competence. Alongside with that< I think that re-building of force structures and law-enforcement agencies is coming, and the old official just does not fit in it, as he has no initiative, no talent to unite people. Therefore he gets discharged. I don't exclude though that he may work at another position in the President's Administration where he came from, or at some less important positions in the state apparatus. I think that it is too early to say goodbye to Halavanau.