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Belarusian emigrants stage protest near US embassy in Washington

Members of the Belarusan-American Association and Belarusians in Exile staged a protest near the Belarusian embassy in Washington on Thursday, demanding the release of the political prisoners in Belarus.

Participants at the demonstration displayed Belarus’ historically national white-red-white flags and signs demanding freedom for Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s imprisoned opponents. They also talked to passers-by and distributed flyers about politically motivated persecution in Belarus and a campaign for boycotting May’s ice hockey world championship in Minsk.

The demonstration took place while with Belarusian Charge d’Affaires Aleh Krawchanka was meeting with representatives of the Eurasian Business Coalition and the Eurasia Center.

The press office of the Washington office of the Belarusan-American Association told BelaPAN that the demonstrators wanted to provide the embassy’s guests with truthful information about the political and human rights situation in Belarus.

American investors, representatives of leaders in the high-tech and banking sectors and international trade, economic development experts, managers of auditing and consulting companies as well as US government officials were expected to attend the reception, the press office said.

The embassy claimed in its letter of invitation that there had been signs of a rapprochement between the United States and Belarus as Belarus was carrying out reform, the press office said.

“What reform can we talk about if many of Lukashenka’s opponents are still behind bars, while former political prisoners are severely persecuted or exiled?” commented Alesya Kipel, deputy chairperson of the Washington office of the Belarusan-American Association. “We want favorable conditions for cooperation between Belarus and the West. And yet, until all political prisoners are unconditionally released, we doubt that Belarusian officials should be given a platform for painting a distorted picture of the situation in Belarus.”

The organizers of the protest appealed to the Eurasian Business Coalition and the Eurasia Center to stop helping organizations linked to the Belarusian government do business in the United States. //BelaPAN