We Want To Ensure Peaceful Holding Of March 25 Festive Action

Independence is a common value for most Belarusians.

Coordinator of the "European Belarus"civil campaign Maxim Viniarski made a speech at the press-conference held by the National Organizing Committee on the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Belarusian People's Republic.

The website Charter97.org publishes the full text of the activist's speech:

"Hello, dear friends. I am glad to welcome you at the first press-conference of the National Organizing Committee for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Belarusian People's Republic.

The present Freedom Day is unique not only because we celebrate the anniversary date - the centenary of the restoration of our country's independence, but also because the main event of the celebration - a mass street action - is jointly prepared by all national-democratic forces, for the first time in a long while.

On February 15, an extended meeting of the National Organizing Committee took place with the participation of prominent politicians, public figures, artists, historians, activists. A working group has been set up to prepare the action. It is headed by Ryhor Kastusiou, Pavel Seviarynets and Yauhen Afnahel. The format of the action has been agreed. The National Organizing Committee unanimously stood for holding the mass action in the center of Minsk and called on the authorities to jointly celebrate the date.

Let me remind you that the application for a rally along the driveway of the Independence Avenue, which is due to begin on March 25 in the Yakub Kolas Square at 2 p.m. and end with a festive concert and a demonstration in the Svabody Square, has been filed to the Minsk City Executive Committee. We all consider this format to be the only acceptable one to mark such a significant date in the history of Belarus.

I note that the unification of the opposition gave impetus to the more serious preparation of the action and to the broader participation of the society in it. We hope that the closer the Freedom Day is, the more vivid and dynamic this activity will be.

We would like to thank those journalists, bloggers, independent media that actively cover the preparation for the action. I know that it is difficult to do so in our conditions - the blocking of Charter'97 for two months before March 25 showed what the authorities are afraid of. Therefore, the value of the information about the action, which you place on the pages of your media, is very high. Believe me, we greatly appreciate this support and solidarity.

I also want to thank, on behalf of the organizing committee, those people who responded to the call of the organizing committee and independently print and distribute leaflets with information related to March 25.

The National Organizing Committee appealed to all citizens of the country with a call to prepare the Independence Holiday - this is how the Freedom Day action will be called this year - together. For a week now, there has been a collection of funds for printed products, sound amplifying equipment, and other things necessary to prepare the action. During this time, more than 1000 rubles were collected. Volunteers also join the work, helping to spread information about the BPR centenary and to prepare the action. Friends, thank you for your help.

Let me remind you that the accounts for which you can transfer funds are listed here. Executive chairman of the organizing committee Mikola Kupava is in charge for the collection of funds.

We invite volunteers here, to the office of the BPF Party, every Monday at 7.30 pm, as well as to join the daily action "Selfie-independence".

The logo of the action has been developed - you can see it on the official documents of the organizing committee, as well as on printed products. This is a beautiful dynamic "Pahonia", which can be seen on seals, letterheads and various documents of the BPR Rada, the World Association of the Belarusian Emigration and many other organizations outside of Belarus. The idea to use it in the trademark style for the 100th anniversary of the BPR was suggested by the activists of "Art-Siadziba", who take an active part in the holiday's preparation. The final version of the logo was developed by the art commission headed by Ales Marachkin.

The web pages BPR100 have been created in all popular social networks. They contain profound information about the preparation for the action, as well as other events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the restoration of independence. All news about the campaign is available under the hashtag # BPR100. Also, on our pages in social networks you can download samples of printed products with the information about the action.

I'd like to note that there are two main directions in our activity as of today. They will be depicted in more detail by my colleagues. I will only name these directions.

First. We are striving to disseminate the information about the March 25 action as widely as possible, and therefore we appeal once again to all patriots to do their utmost in the coming weeks so that everyone would know everything about the Freedom Day, the place and time of the demonstration - 2 p.m., the Yakub Kolas Square, Minsk.

Second. We want to ensure peaceful holding of this event and the participation of official authorities in it. Independence is a common value for most Belarusians, including those who celebrate it under the red-and-green flag. Even in dictatorial countries, the issues of history, statehood united political opponents. We hope that this will be possible in Belarus. And then dozens of thousands of Belarusians will celebrate the Independence Day in the center of Minsk on March 25. "

The Organizing Committee for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the BPR reminds that the money for the preparation of the action can be transferred to the Belarusbank cards:

4255 2003 0782 4292 12/20 Visa (BYN)

4255 2003 0250 4451 03/20 Visa (foreign currency)