A Day of Solidarity with Belarus
Encyclopedia
A Day of Solidarity with Belarus is an action proposed by the Belarus
ian journalist Iryna Khalip
, supported by the civic initiative We Remember and the Zubr
movement.
It was offered to announce October 16, 2005 to be a Day of Solidarity with Belarusian "political prisoner
s", "disappeared" persons, their families, and other advocates of a transition to representative democracy and to a market economy in Belarus. The Belarusians are called to turn their light off for 15 minutes on October 16, at 8 p.m, and put burning candles to their window boards as a solidarity sign.
An estimated 100,000 people took part in the action. Encouraged, it was proposed to carry out this action on 16th day of each month.
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian journalist Iryna Khalip
Iryna Khalip
Iryna Khalip is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta, known for her criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko....
, supported by the civic initiative We Remember and the Zubr
Zubr (political organization)
Zubr was a civic youth organization in Belarus backed by the United States and western powers in opposition to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The organization drew inspiration from Otpor student movement which contributed to the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000, and from Gene Sharp's...
movement.
- Let us all together switch off the light in our apartments for several minutes on October 16 evening, and put burning candles on the windows. We should imagine Belarus in which we could live. Maybe everything is to start with that. Dark cities, dark windows, where only shadows of burning candles are seen - this could become a mirror for us to see that we are really many!
It was offered to announce October 16, 2005 to be a Day of Solidarity with Belarusian "political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s", "disappeared" persons, their families, and other advocates of a transition to representative democracy and to a market economy in Belarus. The Belarusians are called to turn their light off for 15 minutes on October 16, at 8 p.m, and put burning candles to their window boards as a solidarity sign.
An estimated 100,000 people took part in the action. Encouraged, it was proposed to carry out this action on 16th day of each month.
External links
- The English language home page of the initiative
- Belarus demonstration in Washington, DC attracts growing attention, a Joint Baltic American National CommitteeJoint Baltic American National Committee-History:The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. is a non-profit organization that monitors issues affecting Baltic-American communities in the United States and the nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania...
press release