30 shops of Minsk refuse to sell independent periodicals

26.04.2005.

In the past year 30 Minsk shops refused to sell independent periodicals including the Belorusskaya delovaya gazeta, the Belorusskaya gazeta, Salidarnasts, informed the Belorusskaya delovaya gazeta at the end of April. The periodical found out that the refusal had been brought on by the actions of the deputy heads of the borough administration departments for ideology. They refer to the decision passed by Minsk City Executive Committee #2520 dated 9 December 2004 and signed by the first deputy chair of Minsk City Executive Committee Leanid Anfimau. According to the document, all organizations that retail periodicals (with the exception of UP Minharsaiuzdruk and RUP Belposhta) had by 1 April this year to submit a list of goods supposed to be on sale. Minsk City Executive Committee ordered this list be agreed with the ideology departments in the borough administrations of Minsk.
When adopting the decision, Minsk City Executive Committee referred to the regulation passed by the Council of Ministers #384 dated 7 April 2004 "On Approving Rules of Retailing Individual Types of Goods and Publicly Provided Food". However, according to the official answer provided by the Ministry of Trade in response to the inquiry of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, trade organizations and individual businessmen have the right to independently choose on the range of retailed goods (including printed periodicals). Only the assortment list (so-called assortment minimum) of goods required on sale should be agreed with the local executive and enforcement agencies.