‘May the walls collapse’. Polish Solidarity voices support for Belarusians ahead of election
The people of Belarus are not and cannot remain alone in their fight, the activists of Poland’s legendary movement ‘Solidarity’ declared in their address to ‘Belarusian friends’ in the wake of pre-election repression in the neighbouring country.
“75 years ago, the people of Middle and Eastern Europe were imposed with a new world order as the result of tragic world wars between great global powers. Through the decades, the people of Belarus, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, the Balkan peninsula countries, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, were forced to fight for the most essential core values values: individual freedom, independence, respect to every human being and the truth. Values that constitute the identity of every democratic country in the world,” their open letter reads.
0n the 9th of August 2020, the Belarusian people will fight again for the values, without which no nation can be considered free, the Polish activists stressed. They expressed hope that Belarusians’ ‘strength and determination’ woud make these elections a celebration of democracy and a victory of the free citizens.
“40 years ago, Polish Solidarity movement lead to the collapse of the communist regime in Poland. Thanks to the courage of the citizens, their will to fight and the faith in victory, the impossible became possible,” the prominent political fugures and civil leaders said.
According to them, there would be no Polish success without the solidarity of the democratic countries of the world and determination of historic leaders of the free world. The support for the independent, free and democratic Belarus is the moral duty of all the present-day democratic leaders, the signatories added.
“May the solidarity from all the free citizens of the world becomes observable and may the walls collapse,” they concluded.
The letter was signed by:
- Lech Wałęsa, Leader of the Solidarity Movement, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, President of the Republic of Poland in 1990 – 1995, political prisoner
- Leszek Balcerowicz, the Solidarity activist, leader of the economic changes after the collapse of communism
- Konrad Bieliński, the Solidarity activist, political prisoner
- Bogdan Borusewicz, the Solidarity activist, Deputy Senate Marshal, political prisoner
- Zbigniew Bujak, the Solidarity activist, political prisoner
- Władysław Frasyniuk, the Solidarity activist, political prisoner
- Ewa Kulik-Bielińska, the Solidarity activist, political prisoner
- Barbara Labuda, the Solidarity activist, political prisoner
- Bogdan Lis, the Solidarity activist, political prisoner
- Jan Lityński, the Solidarity activist, political prisoner
- Adam Michnik, the Solidarity activist, Editor in Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, political prisoner
- Grażyna Staniszewska, the Solidarity activist, political prisoner
- Ludwika Wujec, the Solidarity activist
- Henryk Wujec, the Solidarity activist, political prisoner
