Vaclav Havel and Hollywood stars support Belarusians struggling for freedom
- 15.12.2010, 10:36
The world’s most famous people are convinced that the current situation in Belarus is a disgrace for Europe.
In early December on the text of the petition was published the website zoneofsilence.org, written by Belarus Free Theatre and a British human rights organization Index on Censorship.
Today every citizen can sign it and the first signatories became the leading theatrical figures of Great Britain whom now join more and more artists from Europe and the USA. The boundaries of art forms are blurred when it comes to infringement of fundamental freedoms.
The petition was signed by the directors of British theatres such as Almeida by Michael Attenborough, Young Vic by David Lan, Royal Court by Dominic Cooke, the National Theatre by Nicholas Hyutner; by actors Sir Ian Machell and Jeremy Irons, Jude Law and Sienna Miller, Sam West and Michael Sheen; by playwrights Sir Tom Stoppard and Alexander Wood, Michael Frayne and Laura Wade ... Musicians did not stay aside as well: among the signatories were the leader of the group Pet Shop Boys Neil Tinnant and Oscar Winner for his music for the film "Life Is Beautiful" Italian composer Niccolo Povani. Among the artists who put their signatures on a petition you can see the names of famous film-makers such as the Golden Globe winner and film director Stephen Daldry and David Heymann who is the producer of the epic film "Harry Potter».
Global artistic campaign of solidarity with Belarus was launched by Belarus Free Theatre in 2007 when the British playwright Tom Stoppard, Czech President Vaclav Havel and the Rolling Stones leader Mick Jagger addressed Belarusians with their video messages, supporting them on their way to freedom. For three years a campaign of solidarity has been supported by hundreds of creative people in dozens of countries around the world.
The petition is open for signature by all interested people on the web-site zoneofsilence.org.
The Global Artistic Campaign in Solidarity with Belarus with Index on Censorship and the Belarus Free Theatre ask you to sign:
Belarus is one of the world's least free countries
Ranked worse than Iran on press freedom, worse than Zimbabwe on human rights, opposition activists have 'disappeared' or died in disputed circumstances and youth leaders subjected to mock executions. Meanwhile tens of thousands of its citizens have been denied permission to leave the country and European leaders like Silvio Berlusconi and businesses turn a blind eye to the regime's worst abuses in the interests of profit. Independent journalists, human rights and civil society activists, theatre and film-makers alongside the progressive people of Belarus continually struggle against oppressive measures and draconian censorship aimed directly at their basics freedoms and the universal right to free expression.
We the undersigned believe this situation in Belarus to be Europe's shame.
With elections due on December 19 we call upon the next President of Belarus to respect fundamental human rights and abolish the repressive laws that breach them.
CC:
President of Belarus
Baroness Cathy Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union
Rt Hon William Hague MP, UK Foreign Secretary
The Petition and the Global Artistic Company in Solidarity with Belarus were supported by:
Tom Stoppard
Vaclav Havel
Harold Pinter
Mick Jagger
Steven Spielberg
Ariane Mnouchkine
Emma Thompson
Jude Law
Sienna Miller
Alan Rickman
Jeremy Irons
Mark Ravenhill
Sam West
Kim Cattrall
Ian McKellen
Michael Frayn
Caryl Churchill
Adjoa Andoh
David Heyman
Nicholas Hytner
Sigrid Rausing
Jonathan Heawood
Alan Bennett
Michael Attenborough
Andrew Ciechanowiecki
Henry Goodman
Richard Wilson
Neil Tennant
Nikola Piovani
Neil Bartlett
Diana Quick
Laura Wayde
Alexandra Wood
Tobias Menzies
Clare Lizzimore
Lyndsay Turner
Jocelyn Gee
Hanif Kureishi
Dominic Cooke
Michael Sheen
Alistair Spalding
David Lan
Stephen Daldry
Paul Greengrass
Michael Morris
Eve Best
Dominic Dromgoole
Sean Holmes
Ramin Gray
Mark Rubinstein
Natalie Abrahami
Daniel Evans
Andrea Riseborough
Carrie Cracknell
Katie Mitchell
Juliet Stevenson
Anders Duus
Andrea Peghinelli
Erik Ehn
Catherine Coray
Paul Sirett
Mike Harris
Julia Farrington