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Sixth Belarusian-language dictation campaign begins on 175th birth anniversary of anti-Russian insurgent Kalinowski

 

The sixth Belarusian-language dictation campaign began on February 2 on the occasion of the 175th birth anniversary of Belarusian national resistance hero Kastus Kalinowski.

The public have been invited to write down texts dictated by prominent national revival and opposition figures in videos available on the Internet. They read out excerpts from "Pismo z-pad shybienicy" (Letter from under the Gallows), a farewell letter by Kalinowski, who was publicly executed in Vilna (currently Vilnius) in 1864 at the age of 26.

One of the organizers of the dictation campaign, Uladzimir Padhol, urged the public as well as the leaders of political parties, NGOs and other groups to join the campaign. He described the dictation campaign as an “online demonstration in support of independence.”

Mr. Padhol suggested that people send their writings to imprisoned opposition politician Zmitser Dashkevich, who is held in a correctional institution in Hrodna.

On February 1, prominent opposition politicians gathered in the office of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) in Minsk to pay tribute to Kalinowski and other anti-Russian insurgents.

BPF Chairman Alyaksey Yanukevich described the Kalinowski-led 1863 uprising as extremely important for the history of Belarus. “The uprising was suppressed, but from the historical point of view this event cannot be called unsuccessful. A significant part of the Belarusian elite, peasants was destroyed, but Kalinowski’s ideas reached the masses. If it had not been for the uprising, there would have been no BNR [Belarusian National Republic], BSSR [Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic] or present-day Republic of Belarus,” he said.

“Kalinowski spoke about freedom and independence,” said former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich. “With an authoritarian regime in power there is also a lack of freedom in Belarus now, while there is a real threat of losing the country’s independence amid economic dependence on Russia.”

Another former presidential candidate, Uladzimir Nyaklyayew, called Kalinowski one of Belarus’ most important national heroes. “He was the first to realize that there is Belarus, to start loving it,” said the poet-turned-politician.

Mr. Nyaklyayew drew a parallel between the suppression of the 1863 uprising and the violent dispersal of the post-election street protest in Minsk on December 19, 2010. “Both 150 years ago and two years ago they cracked down not on an uprising but on love for Belarus. And both then and now they imprisoned patriots who supported Belarus rather than the authorities,” he said. // BelaPAN