19 September 2002
Several dozen demonstrate in Brest against identification numbers in passports
Several dozen people demonstrated in front of the regional government building in central Brest for more than three hours on September 18 protesting against the use of identification numbers in Belarusian
passports. The demonstrators, mostly Orthodox believers,
held icons and prayed.
"Ukraine and Russia no longer use personal numbers, while our passports are issued with such numbers," demonstrator Galina Gordeyeva told BelaPAN.
The police, whose orders to disperse fell on deaf ears, did not try to make arrests, although the protest had not been sanctioned by the city authorities. The protest ended after the demonstrators met with Nina
Shpak, the regional government's information chief. Demonstrators told BelaPAN that the regional government head, Vasily Dolgolyov, had agreed to meet them within the next few days. They intend to hand Mr. Dolgolyov an appeal against the use of personal numbers. The demonstrators hope that the appeal will be delivered to Belarusian leader
Aleksandr Lukashenko. "We went to Minsk and handed the same papers to officials, but they seem to have thrown them away. We think the president did not receive them. He meets with Dolgolyov from time to time, so we will ask him to deliver our message of protest to the president."
http://brestonline.com/en/news/news278.html