ANOTHER 70 PARTICIPANTS IN DEMONSTRATION AGAINST
CONSTRUCTION OF CHURCH
IN EKATERINBURG ARRESTED
Interfax-Religiia,
16 May 2019
The number of detainees as a result of an unsanctioned
demonstration
against construction of a church on the embankment in the center
of
Ekaterinburg, occurring Wednesday evening, reached seventy
persons, the press
secretary of the Russian directorate of the MVD for Sverdlovsk
oblast, Valery
Gorelykh, reported.
"Seventy persons were arrested, of whom three are
minors,"
Gorelykh specified.
As of now, the total number of charging documents in
several days of
the conduct of demonstrations is 102 with respect to 98 persons.
As reported, the decision to build a cathedral of the
Great Martyr
Saint Catherine on October Square of Ekaterinburg, where at the
present time
there is a park, was made in September 2018. . . .
On 13 May a fence appeared in the park, enclosing the
site of future
construction. On the same day, residents of Ekaterinburg
gathered for the first
protest demonstration, which began in the evening and lasted
until morning. On
14 May, a second demonstration was conducted in the park, during
which 26
persons were arrested and three were hospitalized. A protest
demonstration also
was held on Wednesday, 15 May. (tr. by PDS, posted 16 May 2019)
PUTIN SUGGESTS CONDUCTING SURVEY OF POPULATION ON
SITUATION OF
CONSTRUCTION OF CHURCH IN EKATERINBURG
Interfax-Religiia,
16 May 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the necessity
of taking into
account the opinion of local residents in the matter of building
a church in
Ekaterinburg and of conducting a survey of the population to
have regard for
the interests of both the supporters and the opponents of this
project.
"You know, I heard about this, and just a little, only
yesterday.
I am even a bit surprised and do not understand what is
happening there. This
is often your regional story," Putin said on Thursday at the
media forum
ONF, responding to a request of one of the participants to
comment on the
situation concerning construction of a church in Ekaterinburg.
He said, "as a rule, people ask for a church to be
built; here
somebody is objecting."
"But all people have a right to their own opinions. And
if we are
talking about residents of this microdistrict, then certainly it
is necessary
to take this opinion into account, if it is not a matter of
hardcore activists
who came from Moscow in order to make noise there and promote
themselves,"
Putin emphasized.
"If we are talking about local residents," the head of
state
said, "then of course this must be taken into account."
The Russian president noted that a church is supposed to
unite people,
not divide. In this regard, Putin said "some steps are necessary
on both
sides in order to resolve this matter in the interests of all
people who really
reside there."
"There is a simple device—conduct a survey. And the
minority
should submit to the majority. The principle of democracy
consists in this. But
at the same time, certainly, it is necessary to consider the
opinion and interests
of that minority," Putin declared.
He noted that in the situation that has arisen,
investors and city
authorities who intend to build the church should ensure that
another forest is
planted near the right spot for people so that the park that
people need will be laid out."
"There
is no
need for a tug of war and cursing one another, but for sitting
down and
agreeing. And the city authorities should do just that—find the
best resolution
for the people living there," Putin declared. . . . (tr. by PDS,
posted 16
May 2019)
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