“For Independence!” march to take place in Minsk

14 years ago in Belarus a referendum which replaced the national symbols and introduced bylingusm.

As we have informed, on May 1, 1995 in the referendum initiated by Alyaksandr Lukashenka historical symbols of Belarus (the flag and the national emblem) by neo-Soviet symbols, and the Russian language receives the state language status liker the Belarusian language.

The change of the national symbols caused numerous protest rallies with participation of students then. After the head of Lukashenka’s administration Ivan Tsitsyankou tore the white-red-white flag to ribbons for everyone to see, students of lyceums and universities took to the streets, came to the presidential administration of Lukashenka with their hands on the nape, and then burned the flag of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic near a toilet. The rally was brutally disbanded, the detained participants and passers-by were brutally beaten up. Schoolchildren who were on their way to school were among them Radio Svaboda informs.

Students were started to be expelled from universities for their political activities. Later administrative liability was imposed for the white-red-white flag.

After the referendum the number of Belarusian language schools started to be reduced, and now there almost no such schools in the country.

Activists of the pro-democracy movement will gather today to remind the society about these events. It is planned that “For Independence!” march is to start on May 14, at 6 p.m. in October Square and will continue in Independence Square. “Young Front” activists are not going to apply for holding the rally to the Minsk city executive committee.

“We do not have illusions that many thousand people could gather for the rally. But undoubtedly the most important thing for us is for every person who would come to feel that by his participation one defends one’s national symbols and national language,” said the deputy chairman of the Young Frnt Nasta Palazhanka.

“The march will happen rain or shine, and no matter what actions of the law-enforcing agencies would be. Now actions of the authorities endanger the most important and precious and valuable thing we have, our independence. That is why we believe that for today and in today’s conditions the rally is very needed by Belarus. And we hope that holding such a march would become a tradition, as Belarusian authorities demonstrate for many years that independence of the country is nothing,” told Minsk coordinator of the Young Front Mikola Dzemidzenka.

The work on holding this march carried out for a month, and it has been supported by international organisations in such countries as the Great Britain, Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania.

“On May 14 and 16 rallies of solidarity will be held in these countries: picketing of Belarusian embassies with a demand to release political prisoners and support the hunger strike of solidarity of the Young Front; to bring up the issue of the Belarusian independence. May 14 has been chosen for a reason. On May 14, 1995 the first referendum was held. An attempt to betray our independence was made then: the state language and state symbols of Belarus were changed. That is why on May 14 our partners in other countries will hold solidarity actions, and we will go to the Square and carry out our march,” Mikola Dzemidzenka said.