Lyceum Marks Day of Knowledge :: Charter'97 :: News

Over 700 people assembled on September 1 Day of Knowledge at the Belarusian Humanities Lyceum of Yakub Kolas.

Graduates and their parents started gathering near the building of the Lyceum early in the morning. At 10a.m. they organized an assembly, marking the start of the new academic year, which attracted around 100 Lyceum students (almost all of them), as well as their parents, other years’ graduates, Young Front’s activists and those from the ZUBR movement.

After that the students moved out in the direction of the “Dynamo” stadium and the adjacent park and alley. The parents and all others, who came from solidarity, followed the Lyceum students. In the alley the parents installed wooden benches for every class and also plates with the inscriptions “1st of September” and “Long Live the Lyceum!”.

After the opening of the new academic year the floor was given to the teachers: musician Lyavon Volsky, diplomat Petr Sadovsky, academician Radim Goretsky, writer Mikhas Skobla, theatrical producer Valery Mazynsky, former chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus Stanislav Shushkevich.

The action was closely watched over by the leadership of the Minsk police with colonel Vorobiev at the head. At the adjacent street there was parked a bus full of riot police officers in civilian.

On midday the protesters left home, while the Lyceum’s students declared that soon similar actions would resume.

See photos from the action on this site later in the day

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