No to Minsk 2014 (Video)

Pickets against hosting the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk are carried out in Helsinki during  a IIHF congress.

Helsinki hosts a conference with participation of member of the European Parliament Marek Migalski known for his active stance against holding the ice hockey championship in Minsk.

A charter97.org correspondent from Helsinki reports participants of the conference at the Helsinki Press Club were informed about a campaign of moving the world championship from Minsk. Launched after the presidential elections by Free Belarus Now civil campaign and the Belarus Free Theatre, the campaign was supported by parliaments and world's leading politicians, human rights defenders, public figures and sportsmen.

A petition to the leadership of the International Ice Hockey Federation was handed in at the press conference. Marek Migalski and Eva Nyalyaeva handed in the document to Hannes Ederer, the IIHF deputy head.

The petition has already been signed by 25,000 people. Signature collection goes on.

The press conference met wide interest among Finnish media. Belarusians from Finland, Estonia and Lithuania came to take part in the event.

A video to support the campaign on moving the championship from Minsk was shown to journalists. Roles of cheerleaders were given to popular Finnish actresses to attract more attention to the Belarusian issue.