Belarusians recalled victims of communist repressions and demanded to release political prisoners (Photo) 10

The memorial rally and meeting dedicated to Dziady – the day of commemoration the ancestors - took place today in Minsk. From 1.500 to 2.000 people participated in the actions. The column of demonstrants under the white-red-white national flags went along Nezalezhnasti Avenue and commemorated the memory of the Belarusians repressed in 1920-1930-th in Kurapaty – the place where tens of thousands of the Stalin’s terror were killed and buried. The memorial rally participants demanded to release the today’s political prisoners - Aliaksandr Kazulin, Zmiter Dashkevich, Artur Finkevich, Andrei Klimau and other prisoners of conscience.

The Conservative Christian Party of the Belarusian Popular Front has applied for the action. The action was supported by the BPF representatives, the organizing committee of the public commission on the rehabilitation of the political repressions victims and the public organizing committee on perpetuation the memory of Stalinism’s victims.

The rally began at the Minsk Clock Plant at 11 a.m. The action participants went along Nezalezhnasti Avenue, Kalinouski, Sedykh, Hamarnik and Mirashnichenka Streets to the Minsk ring road where the memorial area Kurapaty is situated. The demonstrants carried dozens of white-red-white flags, about 10 wooden crosses, which they installed later in Kurapaty, the banners “Young Front”, “1937 – 2007”, “Freedom to Dashkevich”, posters “Freedom to Kazulin”, “Communism to court-martial”, “Solidarity is our resistance to Russian occupation”.

Among the action participants were deputy heads of the CCP-BPF Yury Belenki and Siarhei Papkou, the BPF head Vintsuk Viachorka, the BPF deputy head Viktar Ivashkevich, politician Viechaslau Siuchyk, deputy head of the Belarusian Socio-Democratic Party (Hramada) Ihar Rynkevich, youth leader Zmiter Hvedaruk, relatives of Stalin’s repressions victims.

The memorial rally participants were escorted by militiamen and GAI (road police). They were making video of the demonstrants. When the people were crossing Nezalezhnasti Avenue, militiamen tried to make them go to the pedestrian subway. They absolutely didn’t care of the security of the action participants - there were many people and the subway was narrow. The column moved on the traffic way.

It is known that buses with OMON soldiers (riot police) were staying in the yards along the rally route.

On the way to Kurapaty the people were shouting “Long Live Belarus”, singing “Chase” and hymn “Great God”.

In Kurapaty the rally finished and the meeting began. The action participants installed new wooden crosses there – for the people killed and buried on common graves many years ago.

It should be noted that recently vandals have broken the Cross of Martyrs in Kurapaty (the Cross of Martyrs was installed in Kurapaty 18 years ago on Dziady day. People carried it in their arms through the city from the KGB building to the memorial area). The public committee on the Cross of Martyrs restoration was created, headed by Zianon Pazniak, researcher of Kurapaty, head of the CCP BPF. The memorial complex was reinstalled some days ago.

It should be noted that the acts of vandalism occur often in Kurapaty. But the militia doesn’t find unknown evil-doers. Nevertheless, Belarusians regularly organize collective works (talaka) on Saturdays and install more new crosses…

2007 was proclaimed by the community to be the Year of memory of the political repressions victims: 70 years ago the mass political repressions in the USSR reached their climax.