Minsk Authorities Ban Saint Valentine’s Rally :: Charter'97 :: News

Minsk city hall forbade Young Front to hold on Saint Valentine’s February 14 their annual action “I love Belarus”. BelaPAN quotes YF leader Pavel Severinets as saying that on February 7 the Minsk city hall denied them the right to hold rally from the Yakub Kolas square to the Parizhskoi Kommuny square. However, the organization calls on its followers to celebrate the holiday altogether and show up at the Yakub Kolas square at 5p.m., from where they would march all along the planned route. According to Severinets, this will be “youths’ response to the threat of the loss of sovereignty”. “We want to make it clear to all that we will not give up Belarus neither to Lukashenko, nor to Russia,” – said Severinets.

Moreover, on February 14 morning the YF activists will deliver to the foreign embassies their regular greetings and two appeals to the European community. The first will contain their call to EU not to reinstall iron curtain on the border with Belarus, whose youths want to live in a united Europe. February 14, said Severinets, will serve as an indicator of how hot the political spring 2003 will be. He recalled that last year they faced numerous detentions, while 20 people were drawn to administrative accountability.