Day of Solidarity marked in Belarus. New protest rallies to be held

• 16.07.2008, 9:24

On July 16 a Day of Solidarity is traditionally marked in Belarus. Rallies with a demand to release prisoners of conscience and to stop repressions against opposition are to take place in the country and abroad.

Some citizens light candles of solidarity in their homes. Others will gather at squares to commemorate memory of abducted and repressed, and to urge the regime to make democratic changes in the country.

Street rallies of solidarity, conferences, exhibitions, films presentations dedicated to Belarus, are to be held in many countries of the world—in Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the US.

The number of political prisoners has considerably grown recently. After the explosion ion July 4 13 opposition activists were detained in Minsk. 10 of them are still imprisoned. Human rights activists call all the arrests illegal and politically motivated.

Today the former candidate for presidency Alyaksandr Kazulin, a young activist Andrei Kim and leader of small businessmen Syarhei Parsyukevich are remaining in prisons in Belarus still.

IN November the US imposed sanctions against Belneftekhim concern’s enterprises because of the denial of the regime to release political prisoners. On May 15 they announced about economic sanctions against 3 more Belarusian enterprises “Belarusian Oil Trading House”, “Lakokraska” and “Shklovalakno”. The EU has extended a ban for entry to the EU countries for Belarusian officials responsible for human rights violations in Belarus. The call to release political prisoners is also contained in the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted in May 2008.