180 Protestants Continue Hunger Strike For 10 Days :: Charter'97 :: News

180 parishioners of the New Life Church are continuing a hunger strike in Minsk. People are staying in the building of the church 24 hours a day. Hunger strikers are determined to continue their protest until the authorities open a dialogue with them and return the building of the church to them.

Uladzimir Matskevich is the head of the organizational committee of the Belarusian Christian Democratic party. He joined the hunger strike of Protestants. Matskevich is one of those who are not leaving the building of the church for the tenth day.

“We are keeping cheerful. People understand more and more that the situation is complicated, that some urgent actions are possible, and we are getting ready for them. We are also getting ready for the situation to last for many months, and we know what to do in this situation as well. People are taking part in the protest more and more consciously. The first impulse, enthusiasm that have brought people here, with the time are turning into awareness what is happening and at which frontline we are. That is why I think that such dynamics of the evolution of people’s moods and expectations is very natural, very reasonable,” Matskevich told to the Radio Svaboda.

Every day Protestants of other churches from all regions of Belarus are visiting the protesters. Yesterday several persons arrived from Pastavy and Navapolatsk. More than a thousand of people have held a common prayer service. People were praying for the future of all Christians of Belarus. Today believers are waiting for guests from the Russian city of Pskov.

On October 16 the authorities are to give an answer to the application of the evangelical Protestants on holding a meeting on Bangalore Square. In this way the believers want to attract attention of the community to problems of Protestants in Belarus.