Bratislava will Host a Protest against Lukashenko`s Regime :: Charter'97 :: News

“Let’s jingle our keys for Lukashenko, we will help unlock Belarus,” is the name of an event to be held on the day of the 15th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Bratislava. Everyone is invited to join in from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Namestie SNP Square on November 17, to demonstrate their opposition to the undemocratic practices of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. The organizers want to draw attention to the fact that Mr. Lukashenko does not respect freedom of speech and seeks to dispose of his opponents. In addition he successfully prolonged his election term in an unconstitutional manner in the recent referendum.

The public can express support for Belarus by throwing their keys they no longer need into a box in front of the Dunaj department store at SNP Square. They can also sign a petition in support of democracy in Belarus. The event’s initiators will present the keys and petition to representatives of the embassy of Belarus. One of the organizers, student Petra Burzova, said that the action is aimed at supporting Belarussian students, who are suffering under Mr. Lukashenko’s regime. In demonstrations that followed tragic events of November 17, 1989, Czechs and Slovaks jingled their keys on town squares across the country to say farewell to the totalitarian regime that governed in Czechoslovakia since 1948 In Bratislava, the traditional venue for the demonstrations was Namestie SNP. The initiators of the revolution were mainly students. November 17, 1989 is now commemorated in Slovakia as the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy.