George Bush: Belarusians Should Take a Step Towards Freedom :: Charter'97 :: News

In the capital of Slovakia Bratislava US President George Bush met activists of civil society of the Eastern European countries. Belarus was represented by leader of civil initiative “We Remember”, member of the Council of civil initiatives “Free Belarus” Iryna Krasouskaya (Irina Krasovskaya), and chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists Zhana Litsvina (Zhanna Litvina). After that meeting, making a speech on the central square of Bratislava, George Bush stated that one day Belarus is to become a member of the democratic family.

At the meeting with the US President Iryna Krasouskaya, whose husband Anatol Krasouski was kidnapped and assassinated in 1999, urged George Bush to discuss with Vladimir Putin the topic of disappearances of prominent politicians, public figures and a journalist in Belarus at their meeting today evening. According to Iryna Krasouskaya, assistance in investigation of these cases is to become the best confirmation of Russian authorities’ commitment to democracy.

George Bush said in reply that he knows about the problem of political assassinations in Belarus, and promised that the USA would continue their support of the civil society in our country, as it is the driving force of democracy.

Democracy activists from 13 countries, including Ukraine, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland, have taken part in the meeting with US President.

After the meeting, US President addressed people in a central square of Bratislava. He told that citizens of Belarus and Moldova should use their chance and make a step to freedom at the imminent elections. “The democratic revolutions that came to the counties of the Central Europe 15 years ago, recently reached Georgia and Ukraine. In10 days the citizens of Moldova would also have a chance to realize their democratic potential at the polling stations,” Bush said. According to him, the citizens of Belarus should also use the chance to make their country a democratic one. “One day Belarus is to become the member of the democratic family too,” he said assertively.

“It is a difficult thing to defend freedom. People who came out in the Maidan Nezalerzhnosti in Kyiv and to Freedom Square in Tbilisi know it”. “One day freedom`s promise will reach every people and every nation,” the US President underlined.

The topic of freedom and democracy had become the central one in Bush’s address. The American President talked about the fight for freedom on the territory of the former Soviet Union.

While the speech by Bush took place just a few hours before the meeting with Vladimir Putin, Russia was not mentioned in the speech of US President.