Talking about Victims of Stalin’s Repressions Prohibited in Writers’ House :: Charter'97 :: News

Members of the organizing committee on commemoration of the victims of Stalin’s repressions were not allowed to hold their meeting in the Writers’ House. Co-chairman of the organizing committee writer Vasil Yakavenka arranged a couple of days before holding of the regular meeting at the Literary Fund office in the Writers’ House but when the members of the organizing committee gathered for a meeting it so happened that the key to the room was not available. Then the guard forced them out of the building.

“There were twelve of us there. We moved to the hall near the café. We decided to adopt promptly the major documents: Appeal to the Citizens and Appeal to the Veterans. But the guard turned the building of the Writers’ House into a special security object. They ordered us to leave the building immediately. Finally the militiaman came up to us and we told him that we were going to finish our meeting soon and then leave…” secretary of the organizing committee Uladzimir Ramanousky reported to the Radio Svaboda.

Usually members of the organizing committee gathered weekly on Mondays in the “Association of the Belarusian Language” office. But yesterday they failed to gather there because the Association of the Belarusian Language was having its own event.»We are facing the problem with finding the place for our meetings and it is becoming more and more acute”, Uladzimir Ramanousky says.

“It is so humiliating and savage that the people who are doing their best to commemorate hundreds of thousands of victims are treated in such a way”, he says.

Nevertheless, the final text of the “Remember 1937” leaflet was adopted yesterday. The decision was made to commemorate victims of the Stalin’s repressions on the Remembrance Day in the Cheluskintsy Park and Kurapaty suburb 17 April.