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Minister Radzkow: Italy understands that Belarusian children should take recreation in homeland

Belarusian Education Minister Alyaksandr Radzkow said that Italy understands that Belarusian children should take recreation in their homeland.

He told reporters in Minsk on Thursday that "Italians" had provided equipment for Belarusian summer camps for children, helped repair them and paid for children's stay there.

He revealed that Italians would pay for the stay in the Zubranya camp of 25 children of an orphanage in Chausy, Mahilyow region.

"We want our children to have their health improved at our facilities. We are planning to improve the health of around 50,000 children this summer, including at facilities," he said.

Mr. Radzkow met with reporters after signing an interstate agreement on trips by Belarusian children to Italy.

The accord is to pave the way for the lifting of a ban the stay of Belarusian orphans with Italian families.

The Belarusian government refused to allow orphans to stay with Italian families after an Italian couple blocked the return home of a visiting orphan, Vika Maroz, in September 2006, claiming that she had been abused in her boarding school for children with serious speech disorders in Vileyka, Minsk region.

Adriano Benedetti, director general for Italians abroad and migration policies in the Italian foreign ministry who also took part in the inking ceremony, said that more than 200,000 Belarusian children had traveled to Italy in the last 20 years for recreation and health trips.

Mr. Radzkow said that the accord would prevent instances such as that that involved Vika Maroz.

The agreement stipulates that any Belarusian children staying in Italy remain Belarusian nationals and all matters concerning them should be settled either in accordance with Belarusian national regulations or with the participation of the country's official representatives.

Under Italian laws, Belarusian orphans arriving in Italy even as members of "organized groups" are regarded as abandoned children. The provision authorizes Italian courts to examine appeals for the adoption of Belarusian children without inviting Belarus' official representatives.