The European Democrat Students (EDS) staged a flashmob meeting in front of the Embassy of Belarus in Chisinau in the evening of September 25. They protested against the non-democratic regime in this country on the occasion of the Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko’s visit to Moldova on September 24, IPN reports.

“Over the last 20 years, we continuously pleaded for freedom in Belarus. On the occasion of Lukashenko’s visit, we do not want to say no to trade or the economic relations, but want to call attention to the fact that the people in the own country should not be treated like this. We want to offer our support to the people in Belarus who daily struggle for freedom of expression alone,” EDS president Eva Majewski told IPN.

She noted that the young people in Belarus who are expelled from universities for their opinions are offered the opportunity to complete their studies in the EU, usually in Poland or Lithuania. Such a young man is Ivan, who is 23 and studies in Poland. He told IPN that such demonstrations do not have a significant impact, but they are yet a powerful moral message. “I was in jail too. My friend from the university mounted a large-scale protest in Poland in my support and it was nice to realize that the people were thinking about me. But the sentence remained unchanged,” stated Ivan.

EDS is the youth organization of the European People’s Party that brings together 40 political organizations from 40 countries, representing over 1 million students at European level. EDS members are taking part in the International Forum “Young people create opportunities for Europe” that is held in Chisinau on September 24-28.