Statement by The Union of Belarusian Writers and Civic society organization Homeland

 Recently, we are hearing more and more often from the Belarusian authorities at the highest level of intimidation that the aim of this year’s peaceful protests for fair elections is to use a violent appearance of the white-red-white flag. The accusation is Belarusization, as the plight of the Russian-speaking population. Thus, the authorities want to draw away attention of the current problems and distract from the citizens’ demands for fair and transparent new elections of the country’s President and to hold accountable all those guilty of violence against their own people.

The more often such statements are made, the more confidence there is that the authorities are trying to maintain a propaganda divide in Belarusian society – as recently in Ukraine. By imposing and spreading false information, the authorities want to sow hostility among the participants of the peaceful protest and, above all, to show external observers, primarily Russian ones, that Belarus currently needs to actively intervene in internal affairs, including domestic affairs, including the military.

We are convinced that the national symbols of Belarus, the white-red-white flag and “Pahonia”’, the coat of arms, will be included in the list of historical and cultural values, to serve the society only for its unity and consolidation, which shows peaceful protests, as our ancient protests are, so that the symbols are constantly secured and actively used by all generations of protesters.

The Belarusian language serves only the purpose of unity and is the undeniable value of the Belarusian nation and its people.

We, the Union of Belarusian Writers and the World Association of Belarusians “Homeland”,  demand to stop all attempts to divide the Belarusian society. We believe that such manipulations of the values of the Belarusian people are detrimental to relations with other states, harm the relations between them and threaten the sovereignty of our country.

The Secretariat of the Union of Belarusian Writers
Minsk, 25 August 2020        

______________

About the Union of Belarusian Writers

We are a professional creative community of Belarusian writers. Our Union is based on the principles of freedom of speech and self-expression. We strive to protect authors’ rights and to develop, popularize, and promote Belarusian literature as an integral value for society that is essential to the existence of the Belarusian nation.  Founded in 1933-34, the Union of Belarusian Writers is the oldest creative organization in Belarus. Its members include, among others, the Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich and the well-known writers Uladzimir Niakliaeu, Raisa Baravikova, Uladzimir Arlou, Anatol Viarcinskі and Ales Razanau. For further information, please visit our webpage at lit-bel.org or contact us directly at ubw.office@gmail.com

Download the appeal of 17 August 2020, the Voices from Belarus and the summary of the political background

To the EWC Statement of 17 August 2020: The European Writers’ Council vehemently condemns the massive violations of free speech and human rights in Belarus.

To the EWC Statement of 24 August 2020:  THE EUROPEAN WRITERS’ COUNCIL CONDEMNS THE CRIMINAL CASE OPENED BY ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO AGAINST THE NOBEL PRIZE WINNER FOR LITERATURE, SVETLANA ALEXIEVICH, AND THE COORDINATION COUNCIL IN BELARUS

***

Since peaceful protests against a rigged election began in Belarus, the government has unleashed terrible violence against its own citizens, including children. The authorities have imprisoned demonstrators and are subjecting them to horrible conditions beyond comprehension.

These following reports and interviews document the arbitrary violence against citizens of Belarus. A summary of the political events can be found at the end of this collection of Voices from Belarus:

VOICES FROM BELARUS