That is why it is not surprising that after the controversial elections millions of Belarussian citizens began protesting against Alexander Lukashenko’s autocratic regime.
Members of the Slovene PEN Centre hereby express solidarity with the citizen of Belarus who want to get the August election nullified and who are striving to see democracy rule their country again. We support and admire everyone using peaceful protests to oppose election fraud, repression and violence, and all who demand a free and fair election, respect of people’s rights and rule of law.
Our Association, who has always considered the right to the freedom of speech as one of its fundamental values, condemns the Belarussian government’s violence against its citizens, human rights violations, censorship of media and illegal detention of citizens, among them writers and journalists, who warned about the unacceptable situation in Belarus.
We join numerous similar associations and organisations throughout Europe and the world, which support the people of Belarus, and we demand that the Belarussian government stop the violence against Belarussian protestors immediately.
Ljubljana, 30. 11. 2020
Board Of the Slovene PEN centre & President Tone Peršak
To read the statement on the the Slovene PEN centre website.