In Vilnius Belarusians staged a protest to turn EU attention to the political situation in Belarus
On 17 August in Vilnius young activists of democratic organizations of Belarus together with Lithuanian and Ukrainian colleagues stages a performance-like protest "For free Belarus". Young people with pasted mouths and hands tied up with the same piece of string marched from the embassy of Belarus to Vilnius City Council with posters and white-red-white flags. Outside the City Council the boys and girls untied their hands – which symbolized the desire of the Belarusian youth to change the current situation. To show that they can remain silent no longer, the action participants took the strips off their mouths and started to shout "Long Live Belarus!" in chorus.
The action was initiated by the youth organization "Movement of Young Centrists of Lithuania". According to the chair of this organization, Julia Lisouskaia, the purpose of the action was to turn the attention of Lithuania and European Union to the absence of freedom in Belarus and persecution of the democratic political forces. This was also an event that showed the solidarity of the young people that live in the three countries, who relax in the summer camp here, and according to them they staged this action spontaneously, having prepared everything in several hours.
The unauthorized action participants passed over to the embassy a declaration of protest against the pressure exerted by the authorities on the activists' families, the disappearance of politicians in Belarus and violations of the democratic principles. As Aleh Miatsieliltsa, who represents the young movement Zubr, explained, the declaration illustrated many important problems of Belarus today. "Such problems as human rights. That Belarus now has political prisoners. That famous politicians disappear now in Belarus, that Belarus is becoming more and more isolated. We call on the European countries, including Lithuania, not to cooperate with the fascist regime of Lukashenka."
