Weapons and white-red-white flags to be searched on Victory Day in Belarus

• 6.05.2010, 12:21

In many Belarusian cities on May 9 access gates would be mounted in the squares. Citizens would be carefully searched there.

On May 9 26 access gates would be placed in the centre of Vitsebsk for people wanting to take part in festive events. As informed by Radio Svaboda, people with weapons, alcohol drinks, and also "with flags and emblems, except for the state symbols and attributes".

The fact that metal detectors will appear in the central streets of Vitsebsk during the mass rallies, does not surprise anyone any more. Dwellers have got used to policemen's searching their bags, looking for "weapons or deceptive devices "., as well as "alcohol and other beverages in Tetra Pak cartons, glass bottles and non-transparent plastic containers", reads the special warning on behalf of the police of public security of the Interior Ministry of Vitsebsk executive committee.

But the "banned" flags and other symbols would be searched during the personal search for the first time. Some citizens believe that such measures are adopted by poliuce after the local activist Syarhei Kavalenka managed to hoist a white-red-white flag on the main Christmas tree of the city. It happened right duinrg the mass even, a New Year concert on January 7 this year.