Statement on the terrorist attack in the Minsk subway on April 11, 2011
The Bureau of Civil and Political represenation of Belarusian democratic forces issued a statement in connection to the terrorist attack in Minsk metro on 11 April 2011. The Belarusian Christian Democracy is a member of the Bureau and supports this document.
Statement on the terrorist attack in the Minsk subway on April 11, 2011
The shocking terrorist attack at the subway station “Oktyabrskaya”, which took place in Minsk on April 11, 2011 not only has severely hit our capital city, the heart of the Republic of Belarus, but has also ruthlessly shaken our whole country.
According to the preliminary information, 12 people are reported to have been killed, over a hundred – wounded.
This is a heavy blow that will leave a deep scar in the soul of every citizen of Belarus.
At this difficult time for our country, first of all, we would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the relatives of the victims and those suffered in this terrible tragedy. We share your pain and suffering – please accept our words of sincere support.
In connection with the tragic events in the Minsk subway which have escalated a sad series of recent developments in the country, which has been put into a state of unprecedented crisis, we, the citizens of the Republic of Belarus, feel the responsibility and the need to appeal to the current leadership of the Republic of Belarus demanding the following:
- To immediately conduct a thorough investigation of the terrorist attack in the Minsk subway. To use all the necessary resources, including experts of the Russian Federation, the European Union and other countries with an expertise in such cases in order to solve the crime and bring those responsible to justice. The discouraging results of the investigation of the terrorist attack on July 4, 2008 lead to the conclusion about a certain shortage of specialists in this field in the Republic of Belarus. When lives of people are at risk, it is essential to use all the international experience to solve the crime and prevent terrorist attacks in the future.
- To provide the necessary financial and other support to the families of those killed and injured in this terrible attack.
- To carefully inform the public about the ongoing activities and results of the investigation.
- To undertake real, not decorative, measures preventing acts of terrorism on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. These measures must be aimed at ensuring public security. Limitation of the legitimate rights and freedoms of the citizens of the Republic of Belarus under the guise of fighting terrorism is not acceptable.We call for professional work of the state services maintaining public safety. This should not interfere with the normal lives of the citizens, their lawful rights and freedoms should be respected. We strongly demand that the work of those services and agencies should be refocused from politically motivated investigation activities to fulfilling their direct responsibility – ensuring safety of the citizens of Belarus.
- Due to the ongoing confrontation of the current leadership of Belarus with the opposition parties and movements, which has caused the actual split of the Belarusian society, we call upon the Belarusian authorities to immediately stop aggravating the political situation in the country. In these tragic days after the terrorist attack on April 11, 2011, while the country has been experiencing economic stagnation and self-isolation from the civilized world, has been in tense relations with its closest neighbors – the Belarusian society needs to get consolidated to overcome the national crisis.
After disasters (such as earthquakes, explosions, leading to collapses of buildings and other constructions) a “minute of silence” is usually announced at the place of the tragedy.This is necessary in order to hear every whisper, every cry for help. And today it is whole Belarus that has become such a place. We believe in Belarus at this particular moment in Belarus it is not the time for groundless accusations and biased condemnations. It is necessary to keep silent for a moment and see if there is another, perhaps more serious danger to the society approaching the country?
The current authorities should immediately create conditions for normal life of the society in order to unite at this difficult time, which is not possible without a healthy dialogue between those representing the interests of all the groups of citizens in the Republic of Belarus. The problems have reached such a scale that without abandoning the authoritarian methods of solving problems in the country, the Belarusian society will find itself in a disastrous condition of dissociation, panic and despair. The Republican authorities must think about the transition from the practices of isolating political representatives of our citizens in prison to finding solutions to the massive problems in the country taking into account interests of the whole Republic. This is not the time for a “witch hunt” – it is the time to involve all the citizens of Belarus into building a decent and peaceful future for our country.
We would like again like to offer our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and those suffered in the terrorist attack in Minsk.
We hope for the current leadership of the Republic of Belarus to undertake adequate actions in investigating the tragic events of April 11, 2011, considering the above listed demands.
We call on political parties, public associations, work groups and citizens of the Republic of Belarus to publicly join this statement to express a consolidated position in this crucial moment for the country.
The Civil and political representation of Belarus.
Vilnius, April 12, 2011
