How Belarusians reacted to the idea of declaring the white-red-white flag as extremist; the number of COVID-19 deaths could be 15 times higher than Belarusian officials report; Belarusian soldiers may be sent to Syria in September; Germany will come up with an initiative to create an international mechanism for the criminal prosecution of those guilty of crimes and human rights violations in Belarus; soloist Dzianis Ivanou is illegally kept behind bars
30 January 2021 | Voice of Belarus
Famous Belarusians react to the idea of recognizing the white-red-white flag as extremist
“Does it mean that I am a fascist now since I competed under this flag at the Olympics?” skier Siarhei Dalidovich asked a reasonable question on his Facebook page. Dalidovich is the only skier in history who took part in seven Winter Olympics.
In addition, the current member of the House of Representatives of the Belarusian parliament, Valery Varanetsky said that Belarusians should value their history, and “trampling on their past is unacceptable.” He pointed out that the white-red-white flag was the first national flag of the revived Belarusian state.
An online petition was created against the recognition of the white-red-white flag as extremist; over 40 thousand people signed it in just one day.
Source: t.me/kyky.org
Germany considers it necessary to create an international mechanism for the criminal prosecution of those guilty of crimes and human rights violations in Belarus
The State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office Miguel Berger informed that Germany would come up with an initiative to create an international mechanism for the criminal prosecution of persons guilty of crimes and human rights violations in Belarus. He stated this at a meeting with Pavel Latushka, where they discussed approaches to the adoption of the fourth package of EU sanctions against Lukashenko’s regime, as well as support for the independent media currently under attack in Belarus.
Dzianis Ivanou, a soloist of the State Chamber Choir of the Republic of Belarus, has been illegally detained for 5 days
In Belarus, the soloist of the Chamber Choir of Belarus Dzianis Ivanou has been kept in prison for five days. He was detained at his workplace on 25 January. Since then, two court sessions have taken place and Dzianis’s case was sent for revision both times; the soloist himself, however, was not allowed to go home even after the expiration of the three-day detention period. Dzianis Ivanou’s friends tell his story on Facebook under the hashtag #makeitlouder so that as many people as possible learn about the abuse of Belarusian citizens.
Source: facebook.com/DENISigorevicIVANOV
The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus underreported COVID-19 mortality by 15 times
Scientists in Israel and Germany have conducted a study on COVID-19 mortality.
Ariel Karlinsky of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Dmitry Kobak of the Institute for Ophthalmic Research in Germany analyzed available 2020 mortality data in 77 countries and calculated the increase in mortality rates compared to the data from 2015 – 2019.
Scientists managed to obtain accurate data on mortality in Belarus up until 30 June 2020. Following was found out:
- As of 30 June 2020, 5,800 people have died from COVID-19 in Belarus. Officially, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus reported 400 deaths back then.
- Mortality in Belarus has increased by 5% and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus underreports official COVID-19 mortality statistics by 14.7 times.
“Such large undercount rates strongly indicate a deliberate misdiagnosis or underestimation of mortality from COVID-19,” Dmitry Kobak said.
Belarusian soldiers are to be sent to war in Syria?
The BYPOL initiative reported that 300 Belarusian soldiers are to be sent to Syria in September 2021 in order to organize territorial patrols.
Officers who may be involved in the dispatch are currently trying to resign or transfer to other units.
The exhibition about Minsk death camp prisoners closed in less than an hour
The exhibition “I can almost hear birds” organized by photographer Maxim Sarychau and dedicated to the Maly Trostenets death camp, opened yesterday in Brest. It hasn’t worked for even an hour: a tax service employee immediately came to the KX Space [an independent cultural space in Brest], whereupon the organizers announced that the exhibition would not be working in the near future.
For more information on the events of 30 January 2021, please visit Infocenter Free Belarus 2020:
