On September 16 Belarusians who live in Poland as well as activists of Polish NGOs held a rally of solidarity in Warsaw.

In connection with the 10th anniversary of disappearance of the Belarusian opposition leaders, portraits of Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski were placed in front of the Office of Human rights commissioner in Poland. Participants of the action lit candles in front of the portraits in memory of the disappeared.

Viktar Hanchar, first Vice Speaker of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus of the 13th convocation, Chairman of the Election Commission and his friend, businessman Anatol Krasouski, disappeared without traces on September 16, 1999.

Earlier in 1999, Yury Zakharanka, a former head of the Interior Ministry of Belarus, who joined opposition, went missing. A cameraman of the ORT channel Zmitser Zavadski disappeared in 2000.

The world community constantly states the necessity to shed light on the fate of Belarusian oppositionists. The demands to establish the truth about their disappearances is contained in the resolutions of the UN Commission on Human Rights, of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the OSCE.

A number of high-ranking officials in Belarus, in particular minister of internal affaires Uladzimir Navumau, head of the president’s administration Viktar Sheiman, former minister of internal affaires Yury Sivakou, and former commander of special task squad Dzmitry Paulichenka are banned from entry into the EU countries and the US, because they are suspected of involvement in kidnapping of the oppositionists.

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