Om drygt tre timmar, kl 23:00, kommer jag möta upp en bunt vitryska aktivister. Vi samlas vid Kulturhuset på Sergels torg för att sedan bege oss ut i Stockholmsnatten och sätta munkavlar på ett trettiotal statyer. Detta som en symbolisk aktivitet för att uppmärksamma den brist på yttrandefrihet som råder i Vitryssland.
Aktionen sker natten till årsdagen av det senaste fuskvalet där den vitryske diktatorn Lukasjenka såg till att bli "omvald". Aktionen kommer, liksom 15 mars förra året, att ske simultant i ett flertal städer genom hela Europa (i Sverige förutom Stockholm även i Lund och Göteborg), på initiativ av Unga Européers paraplyorganisation
JEF-Europe. Bilder från förra årets aktioner finns
här och
här.
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Officiellt pressmeddelande från JEF-Europe bifogas nedan:
Youth in action: Europe's statues will go as quiet as Belarus democracy
PRESS RELEASE
What: Youth takes to the streets to gag statues and put up the
message "Give the Citizens of Belarus a Voice"
When: On the night of March 18-19 – the anniversary of Lukashenka's
condemned election victory
Where: Simultaneous in over 45 European cities from Lisbon to Vilnius
plus Boston, USA.
Organiser: Young European Federalists (JEF)
"We need to act. There is a dictatorship bordering the EU where there
is no democracy, no civil rights and no free media. And still European
leaders are reluctant to change the situation. Therefore it is time
for youth to take the lead for a free, democratic and united Europe!",
says Åsa Gunvén, Vice-President of JEF Europe.
Meetings of more than 10 people and the existence of NGOs are illegal
in Belarus since last year, while the use of internet is being
monitored by the authorities. In the last two months arrests of
civilians, opposition and civil society activist alike has increased.
To protest against this situation, hundreds of statues in more than 45
European cities in over 30 countries, including Belarus, will be
gagged by JEF together with other NGO's, Belarusian refugees and young
people on both sides of the Atlantic.
"Just like the citizens in Belarus, the statues will symbolically be
prevented from speaking freely. Acting jointly across the borders of
Europe, young people want to show that we demand a free, democratic
and united Europe for all Europeans. JEF has committed to do this
action every year until the dictatorship falls and the citizens of
Belarus are given a free voice."
The action is a way of supporting and encouraging the suppressed civil
society in Belarus. But the action also aims to open the eyes of the
European public and demand action from our political leaders. Last
year hundreds of prominent statues in 23 European cities were gagged
on the night of the dubious "elections". The action gained vast media
attention – also inside Belarus.
"Neglecting the situation in Belarus is to spit the Belarusian people
as well as the praised European value of democracy straight in the
face," concluded Åsa Gunvén.
More Info:
Photos from last year's action can be found under
http://www.jef.eu/index.php?id=1639&tx_lzgallery_pi1[pointer]=1&tx_lzgallery_pi1[showUid]=43
Photos from the action will be published online immediately during
the actions on www.jef.eu
More information about the action from last year and this year can be
found under http://www.jef.eu/index.php?id=5482
The action is confirmed in Paris, Bordeaux, Berlin, Geneva, Chemnitz,
Freiburg, Vilnius, Lund, Stockholm, Brussels, Porto, Lisbon, Riga,
Florence, Sofia, Bucharest, Ljubljana, Århus, Bern, Helsinki, The
Netherlands, Dublin, Italy, Montenegro, Nancy, Warsaw, Nis (Serbia),
Prishtina (Kosovo), Edinburgh, York, Gothenburg, Stuttgart,
Strasbourg, Komotini (Greece), Madrid, Zagreb, Sarajevo and in Boston
(USA), but it is expected in many more places.
Please contact the Vice-President of JEF-Europe Åsa Gunvén
asa.gunven@gmail.com
+351 96045 39 44
for further information on local actions and the updated list.
Etiketter: Aktivism, Vitryssland
