"The Democratic World Will Not Leave You!"

Austrian politicians are talking about the postponement of the ice hockey world championship.

Two members of the Austrian parliament, Yannick Shetty and Helmut Brandstätter, have written a joint letter to the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria, where they call for the transfer of the Ice Hockey World Championship from Minsk, according to ZackZack (translated by Charter97.org).

In the letter, they pointed to numerous human rights violations and beatings of civilians.

"It cannot be that national teams are fighting for medals, and the oppressed population has to fight fiercely for their fundamental rights," the letter says.

The politicians urge "to defend the basic European values and neutrality of sport, to take a clear position at the international level against the holding of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Belarus in 2021 and to participate constructively in the search for an alternative."

"The democratic world will not leave you!"

Former MEP and expert on Belarus, Josef Weidenholzer, demonstrates solidarity with the people of Belarus and speaks in favor of boycotting the World Ice Hockey Championship:

- For more than five months, people in Belarus have been protesting daily against the dictator Lukashenka, whom they accuse of massive election fraud. Despite the excessive use of force and imprisonment, they do not give up. In post-war European history, this peaceful protest, led by courageous women of all ages and social backgrounds, is unprecedented, says the former politician.

Joseph Weidenholzer believes that the boycott of the World Ice Hockey Championship in Belarus is an important signal for the country's brave people: "The democratic world will not leave you!"