Femen protested against the visit of dictator to Euro-2012 (Photo, video)

4.07.2012

10:14, — Politics

Kyiv law enforcement officers detained several Femen activists, protesting against the visit of Alexander Lukashenko to the finals of Euro 2012.

Half-naked activist with masks on their faces and clubs in their hands shouted the slogan of the football tournament "Making history together" near the NSC "Olympic."

"Thus the UEFA slogan "Making history together" has gathered specific names and the names of accomplices - Victor, Michelle, Renat, Boris, Alyaksandr, Kolia, Nikolai Yanovich (Volodya hasn’t come). The league is once again demonstrating complete absence of disgust, where it smells lobby, profits and kickbacks. The money for league smells neither brothels’ sheets, nor stinking beer, nor the blood of the Belarusian people," the Femen statement said.

In addition, a number of human rights organizations in Ukraine have also opposed the visit of the Belarusian president in Kyiv: Ukrainian association of monitors over human rights in law enforcement, Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, The Foundation of Regional Initiatives, Center for Civil Liberties, and Debate Academy. In particular, they planned to hold protests against the visit of Alexander Lukashenko and appealed to Viktor Yanukovych to abandon his appeal. This was reported to Telegraf by one of the protest initiators Anna Preis.

"The Belarusian authorities are imposing more and more repressive measures - crackdown on peaceful assemblies, persecution of journalists and opposition activists, imprisonment of human rights defenders. Only the unconditional release of all political prisoners, the removal of repressive measures, support of independent media and civil society, respect for the rule of law, free and competitive elections are the only way to ensure the right for the Belarusian authorities to occupy a worthy place among European colleagues," said the Ukrainian human rights activists.

They recall that the EU leaders "unanimously condemn the president of Belarus, demand releasing political prisoners, introduce economic sanctions against the employers who support the regime." "The European football championship finals on the same stadium with the dictator may suggest that the leaders of other countries perceive Lukashenko as a colleague rather than a man who’s regularly been violating human rights in his country for many years," they said.

June 27, it became known that the president of Belarus would arrive in Kyiv on a working visit on July 1and attend the match Spain - Italy.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko should be ashamed to attend the finals of the European Championship in Kyiv. However, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski has no plans to cancel his visit to Kyiv at the closing of the final part of the European Football Championship on July 1 because of the expected presence of Alexander Lukashenko at the stadium.