Lithuania expresses solidarity with the Belarusian civil society

  • 2011-12-21

VILNIUS - Lithuania expresses regret and concern about the violation of the right of assembly of citizens and the use of force by the Belarusian authorities against participants of a peaceful rally “Light a candle of hope” that took place on Dec. 19, on the occasion of one year anniversary of  Belarusian elections.


Brutal actions of Belarusian special security forces against the representatives of independent media and opposition activists, and their arrests raise a particular concern.

Yesterday’s events show that the Government of Belarus has not made any conclusions after the brutal crackdown on Belarusian representatives of civil society that happened after the non-democratic presidential elections on Dec. 19, and the systematic use of force against its own citizens is yet another proof that 2011 is a lost year for Belarus. Instead of aiming to unite society and search for ways out of the crisis or respond to the EU’s proposals to launch negotiations on visa facilitation, Belarusian authorities took the opposite direction of further isolation of the country from Europe.