The founder of InfoBelarus, Isabel Sommerfeld visited Vilnius and the Belarusian NGO Center for Civil Communications during 29th of May to hold a speech about how to run a campaign, with examples from InfoBelarus work in Sweden (With photos).

Isabel Sommerfeld, founder of the human rights network InfoBelarus, is to participate in a Belarusian seminar in Vilnius on May 29 in Vilnius, organized by the Center for Civil Communication. The seminar was first planed to take place in Belarus, but unfortunately Isabel Sommerfeld’s visa application was denied by the Belarusian authorities. Isabel will hold a workshop on campaign/forming public [...]

kväll, onsdag den 22 maj har ni möjlighet att se Isabel Sommerfeld, Info Belarus samordnare och människorättsaktivist, i Uppdrag Granskning och den fortsatta granskningen av TeliaSoneras affärer i diktaturerna. Det är åter dags att påminna folk om hur TeliaSonera genom sina SORM-avtal aktivt deltar i diktaturers förtryck, exempelvis i Belarus, Uzbekistan m.fl.

A flashmob and street theater was arranged by Östgruppen, Swedish International Liberal Centre and the office of the Polish member of European Parliament, Marek Migalski, in the central of Stockholm on saturday. The activists where dressed as dictator Lukashenko, playing against oppositional activists with their hands bound to their backs. On the ”ice” was also a judge with a Belarusian military hat and baton, who made sure Lukashenka got his goals. The street theatre was supposed to symbolize the oppression in Belarus and the fact that even ice hockey is politics to Lukashenka.

Early this morning the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) met at Clarion hotel in Stockholm for a conference. Östgruppen – Swedish Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights arranged an action and welcomed the delegates with leaflets, saying ”See you in Minsk 2014!” At first sight, the leaflets looked like official material from the hockey federation. Looking closer inside, the delegates could see information about the political prisoners in Belarus and about the people in charge of the hockey world championship in Belarus next year – all blacklisted by the EU for their crimes against human rights (banned from traveling to the EU).

Valjantsina Alinevitj och Maryna Lobava kommer till Sverige för att tala om sina söner som hör till de internationellt erkända politiska fångarna i Belarus. De kommer att ge oss en inblick i rättsprocesserna och beskriva förhållandena på de anstalter där de sitter fängslade, utifrån den insyn de har som mammor. Men lika mycket är det deras egna berättelser vi kommer att få ta del av. Vad oroar dem mest? Och vad gör man när regimen fängslar ens egna barn? Välkommen på ett seminarium som berör det mest brännande problemet i Belarus idag – de politiska fångarna.

During the game between Belarus-Canada on friday, a group of Swedes and Belarusians successfully watched the hockey with big white-red-white traditional Belarusian flags, behind one of the goals in the front line. This is a clear victory for freedom of expression and human rights. The flag was earlier during hockey world championship banned by the IIHF, most likely because of a dictators demand.

Dozens of people with Belarusian white-red-white flags and journalists from Sweden’s leading media gathered outside the Globe arena in Stockholm to protest against unlawful discrimination of Belarusian fans.

”Jag är chockad över hockeypamparnas nonchalans mot det belarusiska folket, och deras totala okunskap. Den vit-röd-vita flaggan är en legitim nationssymbol för Belarus, till skillnad från den officiella flaggan som Lukasjenka infört genom en folkomröstning präglad av valfusk. Det här visar på att ishockeyförbundet helt okritiskt följer diktaturregimens spelregler” säger Isabel Sommerfeld, samordnare för Info Belarus.

Swedish Charge d’Affairs soon to be back in Minsk, Belarus, according to the Swedish minister of Foreign Affairs:
”After some difficulties, we will soon send a charge back to run our Embassy in Minsk in Belarus. Good for everyone.”