Andrei Shved, Prosecutor General, held a meeting with BSUIR’s students

Andrei Shved, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus, has recently visited the students and trade union representatives of the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (hereinafter – the BSUIR). 

The event started with Andrei Shved expressing his gratitude towards Vadim Bogush, Rector of the BSUIR, who has contributed a lot to the establishment of a long-lasting cooperation between the two institutions: “It’s already become part of prosecutors’ routine to hold meetings with the youth, one can say that we’re literally part of universities, especially the ones where the overall atmosphere and mood are tense. We’re aware of the situation as we keep in touch with rectors, teaching staff and students. And I can happily admit that if previously unauthorized public events were joined by a decent part of the students, today we’re talking about a few individual cases.” 

The Prosecutor General expressed his readiness to hold a frank and trustworthy discussion, give answers to any questions, listen to, and take into account every opinion. 

It should be noted that the audience showed interest in the issues concerning the organization of academic and scientific activities, in particular, the possibility to take a more active part in making laws on education or subtle aspects of serving in the military regarding scientific staff members. Andrei Shved promised to discuss the issues in question with relevant authorities, and he also provided practical recommendations regarding other matters. 

Social and political issues, such as the electoral system adjustment, perspectives for the development of a multi-party society in Belarus also didn’t go unnoticed. 

During the discussion, Andrei Shved reminded the participants: “It is forbidden to create political parties and exercise their activities within universities, what is, by the way, true for all other non-governmental associations pursuing political aims. And this is a universal practice.” 

Among other topics, the Prosecutor General recommended to study the relevant pieces of international legislations and find out for sure that the corresponding parts of Belarusian legislation might seem to be even more liberal on that matter. 

Andrei Shved pointed out that a person will be held liable for any illegal activity, and that the state has enough resources to find out and prosecute the offenders. He called upon the youth to think twice before participating in different demonstrations and choose the ways to express their civic positions that will not lead to violations of the law. 

“Non-attendance of a number of classes without an excuse might lead to expulsion. If a student has been sentenced to an administrative arrest, the latter cannot be used as a good excuse. The only advice I could give is to think about your actions and the possible consequences beforehand,” the Prosecutor General summarized. 

Andrei Shved emphasized that it’s vital to analyze critically all the current news: “If you’re a public servant, you bear responsibility for every word you say. Every such word carries objective and undeniable truth. And only these words can be trusted.” 

“One must not ruin one’s own life. It’s sad when people fall victim to provocations by those who freely use others to pursue their own ambitions. As of today, such individuals remain unpunished, but it might change in a minute… We live in this country. We got used to the idea that Belarus is clean, peaceful, and safe. We took the foregoing as granted, which, to a certain extent, led to the conflict… Don’t make swift decisions. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Therefore, you should realize that one terrible step, stirred up by dishonest masterminds, may darken your future.” 

In the end of the meeting, Vadim Bogush, Rector of the BSUIR, thanked the Prosecutor for an open discussion: “Currently, we find ourselves in a situation that requires unordinary approaches. With all that in mind, it’s very important to provide grounds for multidirectional information analysis, which will allow to come up with some well though-over decisions and establish public cooperation all across the country.” 

The Rector pointed out that the students and trade unions are ready to show active support in relevant law-making activities. The Prosecutor General’s Office, in return, promised to support the above-mentioned initiatives. 

Photo: Newspaper “SB Belarus segodnya” 

Press Office,
Prosecutor General’s Office