Mitskevich to head Secretariat of Belarusian People’s Congress
The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has appointed Valery Mitskevich as Head of the Secretariat of the Belarusian People’s Congress, BelTA reports
“The question is double-natured. Firstly, we would not want to lose the professionals of our Parliament. Of course, I include you among such people: highly professional and experienced, who have gone through many levels as a lawyer, and who have done a lot. Moreover, people’s feedback in this regard is very high,” the Head of State noted.
“Secondly, I involve all experienced people, enabling us to avoid mistakes during this difficult period. You probably feel that such a restructuring is taking place, some kind of reshuffling of government bodies in connection with the granting of constitutional powers to the Belarusian People’s Congress, which is becoming a constitutional body. Of course, we need these years (a year or two, maybe three) in order not to create some chaos in power at this time, connected with the appearance of the Belarusian People’s Congress and its certain serious constitutional powers. After all, you know that chaos in power is immediately transferred to society,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The President suggested Valery Mitskevich to head the Secretariat of the Belarusian People’s Congress, “To be completely honest, I thought that at this stage in the position of the head of the Belarusian People’s Congress staff (it is and it will be called the Secretariat), if you agree (as I didn’t consult with anyone), you could make a worthy contribution to the development of the situation here.”
The Head of State warned that a lot of work lies ahead: it is necessary to organise properly the first meeting of the Belarusian People’s Congress manner and develop the relevant regulations.
“We need to do everything we have to during the first meeting. This also includes certain personnel issues that are very serious. I was submitted a draft decree on the Secretariat, dealing with its powers, functionality and personal composition. I haven’t signed it yet,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. “Being an experienced person, you need to bring in the appropriate personnel and take a serious look. Perhaps you can make some suggestions. I think a week is enough for this. We’ll see later. You boast a lot of experience not only in government staff; you are a judge, with your roots going back to judgeship.”
“Yes, I started my career as a judge,” confirmed Valery Mitskevich.
“A person always remembers where he started. Therefore, we will all then decide how to act. In the meantime, if you don’t mind, I would still suggest that you head (and form) the Secretariat of the Belarusian People’s Congress at this stage and start working on preparing the Belarusian People’s Congress session. An organising committee has been set up and is headed by the PM. Let him head it since he represents the government. But no matter what position you hold, you will have to settle all these issues,” the Head of State concluded.
