A solidarity action for Belarusian trade union political prisoners was held in Geneva

Today in Geneva, at the Broken Chair monument, an international solidarity action was held in support of Belarusian trade union political prisoners. Despite the pouring rain, dozens of trade union leaders and activists from different countries gathered to support those who remain behind bars in Belarus for defending workers’ rights and freedom of association.

During the action, the names of Vatslau Areshka, Hanna Ablab, Aliaksandr Kapshul, and dozens of other activists from Belarus’s independent trade unions were spoken aloud. Participants reminded those present that repression against the trade union movement in the country is continuing, and that the very right to independent trade union activity has effectively been destroyed. This year, BKDP leader Aliaksandr Yarashuk also took part in the action. He addressed the rally and thanked everyone who had come to support his brothers and sisters in the trade union movement.

In their speeches, participants stressed that Belarus is not the only country where independent trade unions face systematic pressure and repression. On that day, the situation of trade union rights in Myanmar, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Iran was also raised. It was particularly important that representatives of Myanmar’s trade unions took part in the event, their presence serving as further evidence of the common struggle of workers against dictatorship, violence, and the destruction of freedom of association.

Leaders and representatives of IndustriALL, IUF, ITUC, BWI, as well as national and sectoral trade unions from Ukraine, Germany, Myanmar, Brazil, Italy, and other countries, spoke at the action. The broad international participation, including the notable presence of trade union representatives from Africa, showed that solidarity with Belarusian trade union activists knows no borders.

The action in Geneva is held every year during the International Labour Conference and remains an important platform where the international trade union movement reminds the world that trade union activism is not extremism, and that all imprisoned trade union leaders and activists in Belarus must be released.

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