During the opening of “BўROOM” in Vilnius, Petras Auštrevičius, Vice-Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania, welcomed all participants to the “Democratic Fair”: “We hope that we can break down the wall that has arisen between Belarus and Lithuania not through our fault.Those who put up the walls, cannot see the future. We hope to break down this wall together. I am proud of you and I urge you not to lose hope! Believe me, the day will come for Belarus too! We are proud that this “Democratic Fair” is held in Vilnius, make yourself at home.”

During the event, civil activists presented the activities of their organizations, spoke about existing projects and discuss common problems and questions.”This event has gathered together various sectors of civil society to show that Belarus is not only the dictatorship and the dictator, but there is still an active civil society, initiatives that develop and grow there,” – said Anna Gerasimova, the director of the Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House (left). The stand, created by the human rights defenders, represented the issue of political prisoners –  everyone could sign a card and get some basic information about those, who are in prison in Belarus for political reasons. Petras Auštrevičius (right)
, Vice Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania, took the opportunity    and signed a postcard for Ales Bialiatski: “I know that it is not easy for him.It is also difficult for the relatives and friends of this man. I hope he feels our support that comes from the heart, and he feels better. While I understand it is very difficult when the day begins and ends at the same room, where he remains, in fact, for no reason.”


On 29 November, on the second day of BўROOM,   the round table on the results of the Eastern Partnership Summit was held in Vilnius.The participants – human rights defenders, journalists, civil and political figures – discussed the existing   situation with the human rights in the country.The issues of the existence of political prisoners in the country, aspects of cooperation between human rights defenders and the media and the attitude towards human rights in the Belarusian society were discussed in the framework of this event. Aleh Hulak, the chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee   presented the audience with the results of a recent poll “What Belarusians think and know about human rights.”Based on the results of the study the participants discussed ways to improve respect for human rights and a positive attitude to human rights organizations and their activities.

Human rights defenders also announced and discussed expectations from the policy of the Eastern Partnership and the results of the Vilnius Summit. During   the 3rd Belarusian Human Rights Forum, which was held in Vilnius on 26-27 October, the expectations and observations of human rights defenders have been formulated as a resolution to the participants at the summit of the Eastern Partnership.

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