A Rammstein concert in Minsk, the capital of ex-Soviet Belarus, will feature no displays of pornography, violence or Nazi symbols, the show's organizer said on Tuesday.
Aleksander Obrozov was speaking the day after the head of the country's Council for Morals told RIA Novosti that the German rock band's show should be cancelled, saying that the group promoted "homosexuality, masochism and other perversions, as well as brutality and obscene language."
The group's latest album, which topped charts all over Europe, features a naked woman apparently being chopped up and eaten by a group of men clad in black.
"The decision to bring Rammstein to Minsk is a mistake that may cost us dearly," Nikolai Cherginets said.
He also added that while the show would be a "usual concert" for the band, for Belarus, where life is "based on the Christian and secular principles of respect for the unique personality of every person," a performance by the former East German nationals could lead to the "destruction of the Belarusian state."
However, after his representative had returned from a fact-finding mission to a Rammstein concert in Olso, Obrozov announced that they had witnessed nothing to suggest that the group was a threat to Belarus.
"Our representative attended a February 18 show in Oslo. He did not see any signs of cruelty, pornography or violence. There were also no Nazi symbols on stage," he said.
He also said that the band, who have been accused in the past of flirting with Nazi imagery, "understand very well that the fascists were guilty for the deaths of millions of people."
Over two million people were murdered by Nazi troops during their three-year occupation of Belarus.
Rammstein's current tour takes them to a number of eastern European cities, including Moscow, Riga, Vilnius, and Kiev.
MOSCOW, February 23 (RIA Novosti)
