Belarusians in Bremen will hold a protest rally to mark the events of August 2020, when Lukashenko's regime suppressed large-scale protests against the fake presidential election. The action is scheduled for August 9 and will take place in the city center. It will start at 19:00.
The event is organized by activists of the Bremen group RAZAM e.V., uniting Belarusian citizens in Germany. The action will also be attended by members of the Association Salidarnast e.V., which unites leaders and activists of Belarusian independent trade unions in exile.
After the falsified elections on August 9, 2020, Belarus experienced a large-scale wave of protests, which became the largest in the last 30 years and were suppressed by law enforcement agencies. According to a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, some 13,500 people, including 700 minors, were detained during the first five days of the protests alone. Many of those arrested were tortured in cars, police and detention centers.
The brutality of the security forces led to the spread of protests that spread to many cities and towns across the country. Experts estimate that about one million citizens of Belarus took part in the protests in August and September 2020.
However, after the protest movement faded, a massive crackdown by the dictatorial regime began. Over the past two years, more than 50,000 people have been arrested or detained. Thirteen deaths have been reported. More than 5,000 criminal cases have been opened. At the moment about 1,500 people are recognized as political prisoners and are in detention. Thousands have already served their arrest terms and have been released from prisons and camps. Over the past few years, almost 500 thousand citizens were forced to leave Belarus.
Organizations, parties and trade unions that do not share the views of the ruling regime are banned in the country. Brutal arrests and humiliation of Belarusian citizens who do not support Lukashenko and his regime take place on a daily basis.
In the light of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, Belarusian events have faded into the background, but our goal is not to allow forgetting the crimes committed by Lukashenko and his entourage over the past 30 years. We will also not forget about those who have become hostages of the regime – those who are daily bullied and humiliated in prisons, deprived of work, forced to leave the country.
We call on everyone who shares our concern to join the protest and remind the world and the dictator: "We remember!"
The event will take place on August 9 (Wednesday) on the grounds outside the Theater am Goetheplaz, starting at 19:00.
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