PEN Belarus appologize for the regime’s treatment of PEN-delegation
Secretary General in Norwegian PEN Carl Morten Iversen
Norwegian PEN board member William Nygaard
Publisher Trygve Åslund
Danish PEN board member Niels-Ivar Larsen
Respected friends
Please accept my appologies for the awful behaviour of the Belarusian regime. By accepting money for your visas and then denying you entry to the country, hold you at the airport without food or water and then kick you out of the country as if you were criminals, the regime has again, for the whole world, demonstrated its brutality and lack of respect for its own citizens and their guests. And, basically, a lack of respect for human rights. At the same time this is a demonstration of the regime´s attitude to culture in the broadest possible sense.
Also, with my appologies, I would like to thank you for all you do in order to help the Belarusian culture and literature to resist and survive during these very difficult times for the Belarusian people. Vi sense your solidarity and your support, and that gives us the strength to look at the future with more hope. Even today, when it may seem like the future holds very little hope. Historically, Belarus is a European country and will remain so, regardless of the efforts the regime is making in order to change the country at its discretion. I think that, with your help and with support from all Europeans, Belarus will return to Europe.
Again, let me appologize and thank you.
Vladimir Nekljajev
Honorable member of Belarusian PEN, former presidential candidate
