On November 10, the first anniversary of Charter 97, a picket rally was held on Yakub Kolas Square in Minsk. Journalists of the independent press, representatives of leading political parties, mothers and wives of the political prisoners as well as rock musicians from "NRM", "Novae Neba" and "Ulis" went to support Charter 97 activists. Alongside the well known slogan "Lukashenko resign!" a new one - "Dictatorship is Shit" - appeared in the course of the picket. It provoked an antagonistic reaction from the police. Nikolai Khalezin, Charter 97 activist, said: "if they initiate proceedings against us, this case will remain in history as "the shit case". This did not restrain policemen from detaining five people, who were holding a banner with this slogan, after the picket. Charter 97 activists Nikolai Khalezin and Oleg Bebenin, and bandmembers of "NRM", "Uliss" and "NRM" (Lyavon Volsky, Vyacheslav Koren and Yury Levkov) were taken to the police station of the Soviet district, but soon they were released after writing an explanatory note. It is not yet clear what they will be charged with. The authorities regarded this slogan as containing an insult to the honor and dignity of the president and the people.

November 10th was the first anniversary of Charter 97. The Charter was declared on November 10, 1997 in Minsk. One hundred well known figures in culture and science, representatives of leading political parties and trade unions, and journalist from almost all the independent newspapers were the first to sign the Charter document.

The main goal of Charter 97 is to restore democracy and the rule of law in the country. Establishing an efficient system of collective security of citizens' rights and freedoms has become the main means to achieve this goal. The essence of this civil initiative is "Unity in Action", when representatives of human rights organizations, NGOs, political parties, trade unions jointly assert citizens' rights.

Within a year Charter 97 organized seventy pickets, rallies, and concerts. More than a million leaflets have been distributed. Today 99,706 people have put their signatures under Charter 97.

On November 10, the Belarusian Embassy was picketed in Kiev at 11am. As the Rukh-press information agency reports, the action was organized by the Kiev city branch of the Ukrainian Rukh (the National Movement) in solidarity with Charter 97, the Belarusian civil initiative. The participants in the protest action demanded the release of Belarusian political prisoners and respect for human rights in Belarus.

A picket of the Belarusian Embassy in Moscow is to take place on November 12. The action will be organized by the Anti-Fascist Youth Action (AFYA), members of which will come out in the streets, demanding the release of Belarusian citizens who are behind bars for political reasons. AFYA members have themselves experienced the desperate situation of human rights in Belarus, when more than ten young Russian representatives of the organization were detained in Minsk on April 25, 1998 after taking part in the Chernobyl march, "Charnobylsky Shlakh-97".

A picket line on the occasion of the first anniversary of Charter 97 took place in Brussels, Belgium, in front of the Belarusian Embassy and was organized by the Brussels office of Charter 97. The demonstration's participants protested against human rights violations in Belarus and demanded that the Belarusian Government free the political prisoners Andrei Klimov and Vladimir Koudinov. They also showed their indignation over arresting members of the independent trade unions during a rally on November 5. The picket took place under the slogan: "Freedom and Democracy for Belarus!"

Below is the list of MEPs who have signed the letter of solidarity with political prisoners of Belarus. The signature campaign has just begun:

Pieter Dankert - Netherlands
Jan Marinus Wiersma - Netherlands
Frits Castricum - Netherlands
Johannes Swoboda - Austria
Andrea Manzena - Italy
Soren Wide - Sweden
Eryl Margaret McNally - UK
Richard Grabam Corbett - UK
Richard Stuart Howitt - UK
Ian White - UK
Garcia Sanchez - Spain
Wilmya Zimmermann - Germany
Charles Goerens - Luxembourg
Outi Oyala - Finland
Sierra Gonzalez - Spain
Sauquillo Perez del Arco - Spain
Andre Leonard - Spain
Elizabeth Schroedter - Germany
Christof Tannert - Germany
Rosemarie Wemheuer - Germany
Peter Truscott - UK

Charter 97 can be reached at the following coordinates:

tel./fax: (+375-17)-239-62-89