Intelligentsia Must Move Over to Real Action from Kitchen Chats! :: Charter'97 :: News

An assembly of the Belarusian intelligentsia “Independent Belarus – free and affluent society” will be held in Minsk on February 16. This date was set yesterday by the participants of the working group of the assembly. On Sunday, January 19, at 11 o’clock the Minsk-based Palace of arts will host the meeting of capital’s intelligentsia, which is believed to become a rehearsal before the All-Belarusian forum. The delegates will pass a special resolution, expressing their attitude to the recent situation developments in the country.

Representatives of all different public and political structures are invited on Sunday to the Palace of arts. They will propose their candidates for the February 16 assembly. According to the organizers’ estimations, the Minsk assembly will attract some 300 people.

The main goal of the event is to consolidate Belarus’ intellectual forces, responsible for the future of the country, assume the organizers of the forum.

Aleksei Marochkin, painter: Today the leaders of state absolutely don’t feel the situation in the country, being totally clueless as to what exactly must be done to develop economy, culture and spiritual background. We must consolidate and look at what’s going on in our society. Let’s take some concrete example: they awarded people “For spiritual renaissance” under the flag of Orthodoxy… How about other denominations? Is the spiritual growth only linked with the Orthodox church?

Vintsuk Vyachorka, BPF leader: Today it is vital for all intelligentsia to gather together, so that most prominent figures would be represented at the meeting. We have to say once and for all that we desire Belarus to become an independent European state. These are no void declarations: today only intelligentsia can realize what’s happening in the country and where the European border will be. Usually the elites of the society determined their destiny at the most crucial historic moments, being able to lead masses after them.