Vaclav Havel and Hollywood stars support Belarusians struggling for freedom

The world’s most famous people are convinced that the current situation in Belarus is a disgrace for Europe.

In early December on the text of the petition was published the website zoneofsilence.org, written by Belarus Free Theatre and a British human rights organization Index on Censorship.

Today every citizen can sign it and the first signatories became the leading theatrical figures of Great Britain whom now join more and more artists from Europe and the USA. The boundaries of art forms are blurred when it comes to infringement of fundamental freedoms.

The petition was signed by the directors of British theatres such as Almeida by Michael Attenborough, Young Vic by David Lan, Royal Court by Dominic Cooke, the National Theatre by Nicholas Hyutner; by actors Sir Ian Machell and Jeremy Irons, Jude Law and Sienna Miller, Sam West and Michael Sheen; by playwrights Sir Tom Stoppard and Alexander Wood, Michael Frayne and Laura Wade ... Musicians did not stay aside as well: among the signatories were the leader of the group Pet Shop Boys Neil Tinnant and Oscar Winner for his music for the film "Life Is Beautiful" Italian composer Niccolo Povani. Among the artists who put their signatures on a petition you can see the names of famous film-makers such as the Golden Globe winner and film director Stephen Daldry and David Heymann who is the producer of the epic film "Harry Potter».

Global artistic campaign of solidarity with Belarus was launched by Belarus Free Theatre in 2007 when the British playwright Tom Stoppard, Czech President Vaclav Havel and the Rolling Stones leader Mick Jagger addressed Belarusians with their video messages, supporting them on their way to freedom. For three years a campaign of solidarity has been supported by hundreds of creative people in dozens of countries around the world.

The petition is open for signature by all interested people on the web-site zoneofsilence.org.

The Global Artistic Campaign in Solidarity with Belarus with Index on Censorship and the Belarus Free Theatre ask you to sign:

Belarus is one of the world's least free countries

Ranked worse than Iran on press freedom, worse than Zimbabwe on human rights, opposition activists have 'disappeared' or died in disputed circumstances and youth leaders subjected to mock executions. Meanwhile tens of thousands of its citizens have been denied permission to leave the country and European leaders like Silvio Berlusconi and businesses turn a blind eye to the regime's worst abuses in the interests of profit.

Independent journalists, human rights and civil society activists, theatre and film-makers alongside the progressive people of Belarus continually struggle against oppressive measures and draconian censorship aimed directly at their basics freedoms and the universal right to free expression.



We the undersigned believe this situation in Belarus to be Europe's shame.

With elections due on December 19 we call upon the next President of Belarus to respect fundamental human rights and abolish the repressive laws that breach them.



CC:

President of Belarus


Baroness Cathy Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union


Rt Hon William Hague MP, UK Foreign Secretary

The Petition and the Global Artistic Company in Solidarity with Belarus were supported by:

Tom Stoppard

Vaclav Havel

Harold Pinter

Mick Jagger

Steven Spielberg

Ariane Mnouchkine

Emma Thompson

Jude Law

Sienna Miller

Alan Rickman

Jeremy Irons

Mark Ravenhill

Sam West

Kim Cattrall

Ian McKellen

Michael Frayn

Caryl Churchill

Adjoa Andoh

David Heyman

Nicholas Hytner

Sigrid Rausing

Jonathan Heawood

Alan Bennett

Michael Attenborough

Andrew Ciechanowiecki

Henry Goodman

Richard Wilson

Neil Tennant

Nikola Piovani

Neil Bartlett

Diana Quick

Laura Wayde

Alexandra Wood

Tobias Menzies

Clare Lizzimore

Lyndsay Turner

Jocelyn Gee

Hanif Kureishi

Dominic Cooke

Michael Sheen

Alistair Spalding

David Lan

Stephen Daldry

Paul Greengrass

Michael Morris

Eve Best

Dominic Dromgoole

Sean Holmes

Ramin Gray

Mark Rubinstein

Natalie Abrahami

Daniel Evans

Andrea Riseborough

Carrie Cracknell

Katie Mitchell

Juliet Stevenson

Anders Duus

Andrea Peghinelli

Erik Ehn

Catherine Coray

Paul Sirett

Mike Harris

Julia Farrington