Belarusian Party of Greens calls the CEC for non-registration of a potential candidate for the presidency Vladimir Niakliaeu. The fact is that on September 23, poet and leader of the campaign "Speak the truth!" admitted during the online conference with a certain internet media that as a child he killed a kitten.
The process of killing the animal has been described in details in his literary work «Armageddon. Drama»: «I was around ten years old when I caught and killed a cat, alley cat. It lived in a barn. Having taken it by the hind legs, I hit its head by the concrete block. Spinning and swinging the cat’s body, I was hitting it by the stone rather long. There was no head already, but I was still hitting, hitting and hitting…
«Politician’s public flaunting of his cruelty to animals casts doubt on his moral character and makes us think about the risks, which his campaign may represent for the society,» Greens stated.
«In this case, «Tell the truth!»candidate does not feel any remorse for his actions and considers the fact of killing an animal only as an occasion for reflection on the peculiarities of his child’s mind,» Greens report.
The poet commented on the event: «Much of my childhood — its memories and fixations — is a secret. For example, seizures of child cruelty … It happened only once to me, but still it happened. How, why? .. Conventional methods could not explain it to me, and therefore I tried to analyze it in a dramatic poem …»
«As one of the basic program principles of the «Belarusian Party of Greens» is to protect the environment and wildlife, we stand to protest against the propaganda of cruelty to animals in Belarusian politics. We want to remind Vladimir Niakliaeu that the killing of living beings is not only a matter of implementing his painful libido and literary ambitions,» Greens noted.
«The need to protect animals from cruelty has long been recognized at international level. In particular, the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals recognizes people’s moral duty to animals and prohibits causing sufferings,» the party said.
«The actions, which the writer, aspiring to the presidency, flaunts, provide criminal liability in most European countries. Even in Belarus, where, according to most experts, animal rights are not adequately protected, there’s a penalty for such people as Niakliaeu,» Greens remarked.
Belarusian Party of Green recalled that under article 15.45 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Belarus for the «Cruelty to animals», one can be put under administrative arrest up to two days. «Cruelty to animals, which caused their death or injury, as well as cruel treatment of animals» has been banned even by the Soviet legislation. If the offense became known at the time of its commission, parents of a juvenile killer would have to be cited to the court and pay a substantial fine, Greens added.
«We do not offer to call Niakliaeu to justice for an act committed as a child. But we demand to stop promoting cruelty to animals through elections,» the party calls on in a statement.
«Public campaign of a person with such views as Mr. Niakliaeu has will contribute to the dehumanization of the Belarusian society. First of all, it can cause great damage to the moral health of children and youth. Moreover, the emergence of a political leader with a «kitty killer» reputation will discredit the whole Belarusian society in the eyes of European public, become evidence of its low level of civilization,» Green said.
«For these reasons, we ask the CEC to refuse Vladimir Niakliaeu in registration. We also offer all ekoorganizations, zooprotectors and simply interested people to support this statement,» Green concluded.
