Youth for European Belarus! :: Charter'97 :: News

Youth leaders of Belarus have announced today their support of the European March which is to start 14 October at 2 p.m. in Oktyabrskaya Square in Minsk. “We, representatives of the young generation, support the European March and call the Belarusian youth for participation in it. We wish Belarus to become a member of the European Union. We want to have possibility of expressing openly our dreams and thoughts. We want to go to Europe without entry visas and study in European universities. We want to be sure of our tomorrow. We want to become Europeans proud of their country. For the last decade almost all European countries have become members of the European Union. Our neighbors Latvia, Lithuania, Poland joined the EU. Ukraine has also chosen the European way of development. Now our turn has come”, Mikita Sasim, “Jeans for Freedom!” campaign activist declared at the press-conference in Minsk.

Today at the press conference the “Jeans for Freedom!” campaign, the BNF Youth, the Young Front and the Young democrats announced their decision to participate in the European March.

“There is an established attitude of the European Union towards Belarus. After implementation of conditions for the country’s democratization Belarus will gain wide support of the European Union. The authorities have to observe the human rights, remember the law prerogative and release the political prisoners. I hope that when thousands of Belarusians come out to join the European March the authorities will understand that there is the only way for our country - the European way”, the BNF Youth activist Illia Bogdan declared.

“Many our friends have supported the European March. The actions of solidarity with Belarusians who will come out to participate in the action will be taken at the borders with Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Hopefully, the actions will be taken in the central squares of many European cities. We call the Belarusian Diasporas in the European Union, USA, Canada and other countries of the world to support us. Belarusian youths are not only eager to live in the European Union but they want to make Belarus truly European. The western boarder of Belarus must become the western boarder of the European Union”, said the member of the organizing committee of the Young Democrats Mikhail Pashkevich.

One of the Young Front leaders Zmitser Fedaruk called the Belarusian authorities not to interfere with the preparation for the European March which is to be exclusively peaceful action but, on the contrary, to take part in it.

“We consider it necessary to warn those who intend to interfere with the European March: you will automatically appear on the list of the officials deprived of entering the European Union and the USA. We call the authorities for remembering the human conscience and dignity. Anyway Belarus will be in Europe”, Zmitser Fedaruk declared.

Today at the press-conference the Belarusian youth expressed its attitude to the yesterday’s scandalous declaration of the Russian Ambassador to Belarus Alexander Surikov about a might-be deployment of the Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus.

“Yesterday the Ambassador of Russia Surikov allowed himself addressing of unfriendly statements towards our country. With this in view we make up a conclusion that this viewpoint belongs not only to the Ambassador but to the Russian foreign ministry and to President Putin, personally .That is why we add two new slogans to those created for the European March “No Russian Military Bases in Belarus!”, “No Nuclear Weapons!”, declared activist of the “Jeans for Freedom!” campaign Yaugen Afnagel.

They manifested their standpoint by tearing the image of Vladimir Putin.

Youth activist Mikita Sasim called young Belarusians, including those who presently are the members of the pro-authorities organization BRSM to support the European Way of development for Belarus.

“Freedom is everybody’s legitimate right. But they may deprive you of freedom. In every country it was the youth in the vanguard of struggle for freedom and changes. It was and it is to be the same in Belarus. We call you for distributing the information about the European March and to wear blue ribbons. Blue is the color of Europe.

We call not only the oppositional youth for supporting the European March. As the country’s destiny is meant here, the European March might be supported by the Belarusian Republican Union of Youth”.

At the end of the conference the youth activist in a blue t-shirt with the European March logo distributed blue ribbons -the symbol of the European Belarus among the journalists.