change.org website is blocked in Belarus
The collection of
signatures in support of the release of Anton Surapin and Siarhei Basharymau
started on this webpage not long ago.
Change.org has been inaccessible in Belarus since August 12. Meanwhile,
you can access the website with the help of foreign proxy servers without any
problems.
"The fact that we have been blocked in Belarus testifies to the efficiency
of online petitions and the importance of our work. Our primary goal is to give
the resources and instruments allowing people to speak about injustice and the
problems they care about and to help people living in Belarus and in other
states get organized in order to solve the problems", - says Dmitry
Savelyeu, coordinator of the campaign Change.org in Eastern Europe and Central
Asia.
It is not the first time Change.org has been used in Belarus. Liubou
Kavaliova used it to collect signatures in support of the abolishment of
capital punishment. 67 thousand people signed the petition. Hockey star Piatro Shchasny and Iryna Bahdanava collected
signatures in order to cancel the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship in Minsk – 17,500
signatures. 16,000 users signed the petition urging to investigate the case of
mutilation of nestling cormorants. Over 1,200 people have already signed the
recent petition containing a demand to release Anton Surapin and Siarhei Basharymau.