BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
28/12/2010
Belarusian Opposition Finds Support in Helsinki
A candle-lit crowd gathered outside Parliament in Helsinki on Monday to express support for imprisoned Belarusian presidential candidates.
The group called on Finnish Members of Parliament and of the European Parliament to do all they can on behalf of the imprisoned candidates.
The police says that about 70 people participated in the public meeting. The main organiser of the event, Eva Neklyaeva, believes the number to be over 100 people.
Neklyaeva says that participants included represantatives of PEN club, a worldwide association of writers, Amnesty International, cultural personalities, Green League MPs and Belarusians living in Finland.
In fact, Neklyaeva herself is the daughter of one of the imprisoned presidential candidates, Vladimir Neklyaev. In Helsinki, she directed the international theatre festival Baltic Circle.
After an election in Belarus about a week ago, election officials announced Aleksandr Lukashenka to have been re-elected into office for the fourth term with nearly 80 percent of the vote. A violent demonstration followed with allegations of vote-rigging, during which several opposition candidates were arrested. They now face 15 years of imprisonment.
YLE
Source:
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/12/belarusian_opposition_finds_support_in_helsinki_2247099.html
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