16 members of European Parliament have signed a declaration concerning protection of the historic ce

According to the press office of European Parliament, the written declaration was initiated by Mr. Tadeusz Zwiefka, a member of European Parliament from Poland, on September 24. If more than half of the 785 members of Parliament has signed before December 24, the declaration will be forwarded to the EU-Commission and The Council as an official appeal, from the signing members. 

The written declaration says that in 1996 Belarus signed a decree on joining the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage. According to the International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (the Venice Charter), the concept of a monument does not just cover large works of art but also those of cultural importance. At the same time, as the declaration goes, the local authorities in Belarus have no comprehensive regeneration programme for the historic centre of Grodna. Besides, the building of a four-lane road through the historic centre of Grodna, without any prior excavation work, has destroyed the mediaeval layout of the former marketplace, and plans to build a new road from the heart of the Old Town may lead to further damage to the monuments in Grodna's historic centre.

That is why the European Parliament has called for UNESCO to set up an international commission that can draw up specialist reports in favour of the preservation and restoration of Grodna's Old Town with a view to including it on the UNESCO list.

Moreover, the declaration condemns the reconstruction programme for the historic centre of Grodna carried out thus far in breach of all Belarusian and European provisions and principles concerning archaeological and conservation/restoration work. So, the members of the European Parliament urge the Grodna city authorities to consider alternative transport plans that do not affect the city's historic centre and to carry out consultations on all reconstruction projects involving independent experts, including from other European countries.

Andrei Aliaksandrau