Aleh Vouchak: “We must bow to the Belarusians, who come to the Square on November, 16”

Solidarity Day brings significant results and has great importance for the present investigation of the cases of the missing persons and political prisoners.

November, 16 - Day of Solidarity with the families of missing people and political prisoners in Belarus. Representatives of political parties and youth organizations will come to October Square in Minsk with portraits of victims of the regime. What makes today’s action different and what results brought the previous ones?

Solidarity Day on November, 16 takes place a month before the next presidential election in Belarus. Possible involvement of some presidential candidates in the action and a lot of attention to the subject of the missing people and political prisoners – is one of the features of the present day, the leader of the “Young Front” Zmitser Dashkevich said to “Radio Svaboda”.

“These actions - great moral support for people who are serving a prison sentence without grounds, for families of the missing people. And, of course, it is giving the public focus to these cases, which we believe, very soon, will be investigated,”- Zmitser Dashkevich said.

Since 2006 social and political activists have been conducting a Solidarity Day, on 16th of each month. In different years, the action was held in the form of “chains of people” with portraits of the disappeared, the participants lit candles and handed out informational materials. Participants of the Solidarity Day were more than once severely beaten by riot policemen, young people were detained and tried. But the Day of Solidarity continues to take place, and its existence brings significant results and is of great importance,” a lawyer Aleh Vouchak, a fiduciary of the family of the missing Yuri Zakharanka, says.

“If not for these actions, no information concerning the topic of the missing people would exist in general. These actions were held every year, and as a result, Russia had to raise the topic of the missing people among the major claims against Lukashenka. We must bow low to people who come to the Square: the main task for Lukashenka - legitimize himself before the world community that he has no relation to the problem. But he fails to do it”, - Aleh Vouchak is sure.