Open letter from Christians in Belarus
22 November 2020 | BYHelp-Mediagroup
Belarusian Christians of various confessions have made an open appeal to stop violence in the country, restore the rule of law and hold new fair elections.
“We ask everyone to pray to God and to do everything in his power to restore peace, harmony, and justice in our common home – Belarus. We call on all Christians to speak out against iniquity and violence in Belarus because silence means cooperation with the oppressors,” the open letter signed by thousands of representatives of various faiths from all regions of Belarus, says.
Here is the full text of the letter:
Open letter from Christians in Belarus
For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and destruction.
The Bible, Jeremiah’s Complaint.
“We, believers of all Christian confessions in Belarus, aware of our responsibility to God and society, declare:
- The deliberate distortion of information about the results of the voting in the presidential election on August 9, 2020, perjury in the courts, misinformation in the media, knowingly illegal decisions are not only a violation of the laws of the Republic of Belarus, but also a grave sin. Do not lie, do not give false testimony, it is God’s commandment.
- The use of weapons by the Belarusian security forces, which led to the death of civilians, torture, and infliction of serious bodily injuries, transformed the political confrontation into a moral and ethical one. It is immoral to support the illegal actions of the authorities. To remain silent about lawlessness in Belarus is to inflict suffering on tens of thousands of people throughout the country.
“There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies…” (the Bible, Proverbs).
Raising a voice for truth and justice is the inner need of Christians who live following the gospel moral law and in harmony with conscience, which is the voice of God.
Therefore, we, the Christians of Belarus, call on every person representing state bodies to do everything in your power to:
- Stop violence against citizens of Belarus who peacefully express their opinion about the situation in the country, which is guaranteed by article 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.
- Restore the rule of law. To do this, it is necessary to release all those detained for political reasons and bring to justice representatives of state bodies who violated the laws of the Republic of Belarus.
- Hold new presidential elections as soon as possible, as stipulated by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus. Elections must meet international democratic standards.
We are confident that the fulfilment of these requirements will remove the claims of Belarusian citizens to the authorities and restore public order.
We sympathize with all the affected. The hearts of Belarusian Christians and the doors of our churches are open to those in need of help, regardless of their political preferences.
We support the citizens of Belarus, who exercise the right to freedom of opinion and belief as well as their free expression within the framework of the law and without violence, given by God and confirmed by the Constitution of Belarus.
We ask everyone to pray to God and to do everything in his power to restore peace, harmony, and justice in our common home – Belarus.
We call on all Christians to speak out against iniquity and violence in Belarus because silence means cooperation with the oppressors.”
Please post a link to the open letter on your social networks and invite Christians you know to sign it: https://forms.gle/jdHBP35LeJ2eBv8n6
The list of Christians who signed the Open Letter can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_PkLlmQUVBZfEVO0xfpOqC-yr0T_q8QtHYRUq3iIpOU/edit#
The list is updated.
