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YOUTHS GAG STATUES ACROSS EUROPE FOR FREE EXPRESSION IN BELARUS

20 March 2007

On the anniversary of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's controversial re-election, young people gagged statues across Europe simultaneously in a bid to support the suppressed civil society in Belarus.

In the middle of the night on 19 March, youth in more than 60 cities from Pristine, Serbia to Edinburgh, Scotland joined Young European Federalists (JEF) in a joint action to promote the message "give voice to the citizens of Belarus."

"Just like the citizens in Belarus, the statues will symbolically be prevented from speaking freely," said Åsa Gunvén, vice-president of JEF Europe, who spent the night muzzling statues in Lisbon. "Acting jointly across the borders of Europe, young people want to show that we demand a free, democratic and united Europe for all Europeans."

According to JEF, Belarus has outlawed meetings of more than ten people and NGOs since last year. Free expression is severely limited - the Internet is monitored by authorities, for example, and in the past two months, arrests of civil society and opposition activists have increased.

Hundreds of prominent statues in 23 European cities were gagged on the eve of the elections last year. JEF has committed to doing this action every year until "the dictatorship falls and the citizens of Belarus are given a free voice," said Gunvén.

Visit these sites:
- JEF: http://www.jef.eu/index.php?id=5482
- RSF Annual Report 2007 Belarus: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20805&Valider=OK