The material is available only to
POZIRK+Supreme Court convicts another dead man of genocide
The material is available only to
POZIRK+
Iranian opposition activists join commemorative ceremony held by Belarusians in Yerevan
October 30, Pozirk. Iranian pro-democracy activists joined a ceremony held in Yerevan, Armenia, on Thursday to commemorate the members of Belarus’ intellectual elite executed in Minsk on the night between October 29 and 30, 1937 by Josef Stalin’s secret police.
Organized by the Union of Belarusians of Armenia (Belarusians AM), the event marking the so-called Night of the Executed Poets took place near a monument to the Armenian poet, prose writer, and translator Yeghishe Charents (Soghomonyan), who died in prison in November 1937 at the age of 40, four months after his arrest on charges of “nationalism, terrorism, Trotskyism, and counterrevolution.”
Participants, who included Leŭ Michiejeŭ, the Belarusian activist who was arrested in Georgia last month and expelled to Armenia after the rejection of his asylum application, laid flowers at the monument and recited poems by executed Belarusian authors Valeryj Marakoŭ, Jurka Lavonny and Aleś Dudar.
One speaker drew parallels between the Stalinist terror and political purges in modern-day Belarus. Authorities are forcing intellectuals out of the country, although without executing them for now, the speaker said, blaming the ongoing repression on the country’s failure to denounce Communist crimes.
The Iranian activists, who campaign against the Ayatollah regime in their country, displayed a sign in solidarity with the Belarusian people and laid flowers.
“We are sincerely grateful to our Iranian friends for solidarity and support,” Belarusians AM said in a media post. “Our joint struggle against repression and authoritarianism shows how strong the ties between nations seeking freedom and justice can be.”
Commemorative ceremonies, theater performances, poetry readings and other events are annually held across Europe and in democratic countries around the world at the end of October to commemorate the victims of the October 1937 massacre.
Speaking at an evening organized by Belarusians in Tallin, Estonia, on October 29, Belarusian pro-democracy leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja stressed that it is necessary to remember past crimes so that they never happen again.
Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja speaking at the ceremony in Tallinn
The night of October 29-30, 1937 is often described as one of the darkest chapters of Belarusian history in the 20th century. The Soviet interior ministry’s NKVD executed more than 100 Belarusian intellectuals and officials.
Among them were 22 poets and writers, including Michaś Čarot, Aleś Dudar, Michaś Zarecki, Płaton Hałavač, Todar Klaštorny, Jurka Lavonny, Valeryj Marakoŭ, Majsiej Kulbyk, Isak Charyk, Vasil Stašeŭski, Janka Niomanski, Załman Pivavaraŭ and Vasil Kaval.
