More than 1,300 police officers are to be deployed during the Slavyanski Bazar in Vitsyebsk art festival to take place between July 10 and 19

No plans to take extra security measures at art festival in Vitsyebsk, police chief says
There are no plans to take extra security measures during the forthcoming Slavyanski Bazar in Vitsyebsk art festival in the aftermath of Friday’s bomb explosion in Minsk, Leanid Faramahey, chief of the Vitsyebsk regional police department, said at a news conference on Monday.

“We do not have reports that something is being plotted and there cannot be any,” Mr. Faramahey said. “There should be no panic. The situation at the festival will be controlled in every detail. I am sure that nothing will happen.”

Yet, Mr. Faramahey called on people to be watchful and report any suspicious activity to the police.

He said that the police received more than 35 reports of suspicious packages during the previous festival. “Our officers immediately responded to such calls,” he said. “And although there was nothing to be afraid of… we acted promptly.”

The police chief said that leaflets would be distributed in the street to raise people’s awareness about how they should act when discovering suspicious parcels. He said that the leaflets had been printed before the blast in the Belarusian capital city.

More than 1,300 police officers are to be deployed during the Slavyanski Bazar in Vitsyebsk art festival to take place between July 10 and 19. Fifty-three surveillance cameras will be installed at the busiest places of the city and bomb disposal experts will examine venues on a regular basis, according to Mr. Faramahey.

The retail sale of alcoholic beverages will be banned within 500 meters around the festival’s venues.

Security has been beefed up in the city starting July 7.