A namesake of the incumbent President has complained to the legal service of the Gomel representative office of the Belarusian Radio and Electronic Workers' Union (REP) against arbitrariness of local bureaucrats who want to demolish his shed.

In spite of the fact that Nikolai Lukashenko, 50, a resident of the city of Gomel is not a member of the REP Trade Union, he was provided with a detailed free legal consultation.

According to Leonid Sudalenko, legal inspector of the REP Trade Union, this is a conscious stand of his organization – to help everybody, irrespective of one's trade-union membership.

"We recognize the fact that the person who has addressed for help is, first of all, an employee, a hired worker, and only then – a member of the trade union. Therefore, we believe that rendering help to such persons is our duty," Mr Sudalenko has explained. - Besides, in the conditions of pressure on independent trade unions, when we see feel information vacuum in state-run mass media, we should use any opportunity to tell people about our organization, and to explain why trade unions should be independent. And through helping people we get the most efficient way to do it."

The trade-union lawyer noted another reason why the REP Trade Union is rendering help not only to its members.

"We want to be different from the official trade unions," said Leonid Sudalenko. "The head of the FPB (official state-supported body – Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, – editor) Leonid Kozik insists that the provisions of the collective agreement should cover trade union members only. We believe that workers should consciously come to the trade union, not through blackmail."

As if to the case with the namesake of Belarusian President, in the opinion of the trade-union lawyer, Nikolai Lukashenko has chances to defend his shed.

"The officials demand from Nikolai Lukashenko to legalize the land, where his shed is located. Otherwise, they threaten to demolish the structure. They initiated the case only after Nikolai had raised the issue of capital repair of his house; while he owns the shed for more than 30 years already," said Leonid Sudalenko. "However, the disputed structure is in the General Plan of City Development. That is, it is not a voluntarily built real estate. Besides, this year the court has ruled that Lukashenko's family owns the construction materials of the shed as its property. Now a small point remains – to document the ownership right on the land, where the shed is located. However, the architect of the district administration is categorically against the land allocation.

In the opinion of the trade-union lawyer, the architect's refusal to legalize the shed which is included into the General Plan of City Development is unjustified, and Nikolai Lukashenko has good prospects to prove it in court.