Homel UCP Activist Leanid Sudalenka Is Fired

11.02.2005.

According to RFE/RL

On 11 February the administration of Homel joint-stock society “Lokan” fired the member of United Civil Party, legal advisor Leanid Sudalenka.

Leanid Sudalenka commented on it in his interview:
-- My director insistently proposed to me to retire. They have no pretensions to me as a lawyer. The demand to fire me comes from the authorities. The director said that if I wasn’t fired she would lose her job. I had to retire. This kind of pressurization demonstrates the wish of the authorities to show oppositional activists as idlers who don’t work anywhere.

Leanid Sudalenka also reminded that before the parliamentary election of 2004 10% of his compatriots, electors from Brahin and Khoyniki districts signed in support of his nomination as a candidate, but the circuit election commission refused to register him because he “incorrectly filled the column “occupation” in his form”. Sudalenka wrote that he worked as a legal advisor at “Lokan” and the commission took the opinion that he was to write there his public seat – the head of Homel city branch of the public association “Legal Initiatives”. Central Election Commission also supported the circuit election commission.

Some other democratic candidates in the region were pressurized as well. In the town of Kalinkavichy the UCP activist Liudmila Krasnaselskaya is persecuted. At first she was accused in illegal business activity. Next week Kalinkavichy Town Court will consider the suit of the tax inspection for exaction 3 million rubles from Krasnaselskaya.

Homel Employment Center also accuses the former candidate to the Parliament Tatsiana Marchanka in having illegally received social aid seven years ago. The politician Viktar Karneyenka, who collected more than 12 000 signatures in support of his candidature, is now not let abroad.