Premiere of documentary about Ales Bialiatski at "BelSat" TV channel
You can see the "Viasna"
documentary at 6.10 p.m. on 6 January, at the satellite TV channel
"BelSat".
The film tells the
story of the work and life of the the
chairman of the HRC
"Viasna" Ales Bialiatski, and about the people whom
the organization assisted in defending
their rights.
Volha
Shved, director: "The history of modern Belarus is
a history of repression. Every momentous event – the election, the
increase in prices, changes in legislation - ends with
repression. The organization of
assistance to the repressed is a direct
confrontation with the repressive authorities. Thus, Ales Bialiatski
became a personal enemy of Aliaksandr Lukasehnka in some respect.
Because one stops being afraid of saying what you think, or coming
out to protest actions when there's somebody who will help in case of
problems."
The
organization which rendered aid to the repressed, "Viasna-96",
was created in 1996, two years after Lukashenka came to power.
The
film shows the history of the human rights center amid the recent
history of Belarus. The central figure of the
documentary is Ales Bialiatski, he
is present on archival photographs and newsreels. However,
there are no personal statements by Ales (except for his last plea at
court). Nevertheless, he speaks to us through
his wife, who explains
why Ales chose the Belarusian way of life, why
he engaged in the protection
of people from the post-communist
government, how he gradually got used to the
idea that he can become a victim of repression as well, and how he
lived with the knowledge of the inevitability
of it. What price,
apart from freedom, he had to pay everyday, and what
it means to be with such a man?
"When we read that
"Viasna" helps
the repressed, there
are no emotions behind it. It is difficult to understand from such
lines the feelings of someone who is dismissed from the work which is
his calling and what it
means to be left without means of subsistence
just because you think in a way which is
not allowed. How can one
keep living with the thought that soon they will knock on the
door and take the
husband away to prison? What does it mean to be waiting for the
husband to come from work, without knowing whether he would come, and
still support him? I tried to show persons in
the film", the channel's website quotes
the film director.
The first run of the documentary "Viasna"
will take place at 6.10 p.m. on 6 January. Later on, it can be also
viewed at the "BelSat"
website.