Picket in memory of disappeared Belarusians held in Eindhoven

A picket of memory of disappeared Yury Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasouski and Dzmitry Zavadski was held in Eindhoven (the Netherlands) on September 16.

Valeria Krasouskaya, the daughter of one of the disappeared persons and an activist of the civil initiative We Remember, told Radio Svaboda about the event on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the disappearance of Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski.

– Until recently, Eindhoven was a twin city of Minsk. Four trees in memory of four forcefully disappeared Belarusians – Anatol Krasouski, Viktar Hanchar, Yury Zakharanka and Dzmitry Zavadski – were planted there in 2008. A memorial picket with the participation of representatives of the Dutch Helsinki Committee, Amnesty International and Dutch trade unions was held on Wednesday. Participants of the picket then watched the documentary The Gang, which was shot by Belarusian human rights defenders.

– Valeria, this is a painful question for you, but do you remember September 16, 1999?

– I remember that day or, to be more precise, that night very well. I woke up, saw light in the kitchen and my mother sitting there and understood something had happened. I wasn't small, I was 17. My mother said she didn't know what had happened to my father. I saw she was seeking the truth. We have done everything we could to seek the truth. But we will learn it only after new authorities come.