Relatives of kidnapped oppositionists demand not to allow Lukashenka in Lithuania
- 4.09.2009, 10:09
The Lithuanian-Belarusian economic forum, which Lukashenka plans to attend, is to open on September 16. On this day Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski were kidnapped ten years ago.
Zinaida Hanchar, the wife of the kidnapped former head of the Central Election Commission and vice speaker of the Supreme Council, sent a statement to president of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite through the embassy of Lithuania in Belarus. The statement was also signed by Volha Zavadskaya and Ulyana Zakharanka, the mothers of kidnapped ORT camera operator Zmitser Zavadski and former interior minister General Yury Zakharanka, website ucpb.org reports.
Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite stated ahead of the forum she was ready to accept Alyaksandr Lukashenka if he would “express such a wish”.
Zinaida Hanchar, Volha Zavadskaya, and Ulyana Zakharanka address the president of Lithuania with a letter reminding about “serious proofs about involvement of high ranking officials to the crimes” and about the fact “the Belarusian authorities demonstrate their unwillingness to investigate the cases objectively and ignore numerous demands of the Belarusian and world community”. It is inadmissible to “close eyes on this for the sake of money and profit,” the families of the kidnapped believe.
Dalia Grybauskaite is asked to “take necessary measures for this visit not to take place”.
Observers note that Alyaksandr Lukashenka is not lucky with foreign trips in the western direction – all of them fall on significant for Belarus days. The Belarusian dictator was going to visit the summit launching Eastern Partnership project in Prague on May 7, they day when former interior minister of Belarus Yury Zakharanka disappeared 10 years ago.
This coincidence evoked a response in Belarusian independent and then in foreign mass media. President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus said he wouldn’t accept Lukashenka in his residence and shake hands with him of the latter arrived in the country. The Belarusian dictator shoes not to attend the summit.
The organizers certainly didn’t choose the dates of the events to remind about the crimes of the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, suspected of organizing them.
The theme of the kidnapped is extremely painful for the ruling regime. It’s not strange that the Minsk city executive committee banned holding a picket in memory of Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski on the site of their kidnapping on September 16, about which the United Civil Party was informed. Nevertheless, the organizers said the picket would be held on October Square in Minsk on that day.