Ukrainian youth activists threaten to blockade Belarusian embassy :: Charter'97 :: News

Activists of Ukraine’s national alliance threatened to blockade the Belarusian embassy in Kyiv if the five Ukrainians arrested during the April 26 opposition protest in Minsk are not released on May 3. The five detainees, sentenced to short jail terms of five to 15 days, are all members of the National Alliance. Among them is the movement’s leader Ihor Huz, a deputy of Lutsk City Soviet.

“If our associates are not released, we will blockade the embassy on May 4,” Alina Shpak, deputy head of National Alliance told BelaPAN.

She added that the Belarusian authorities are reluctant to release the Ukrainians for political reasons, noting that the 14 Russians arrested during the same protest have been released.

“We share the opinion of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk who said that the Belarusian leadership takes ‘a special attitude’ to Ukraine,” she noted.

On May 3, National Alliance activists intend to make their presence known at a news conference of Belarusian Ambassador Valentin Velichko.

The organization put up three tents close to the Belarusian embassy in Kyiv immediately after the arrests.