U.P.Ts.
URGES
BELIEVERS TO "KEEP QUIET" ABOUT EVENTS IN BELORUSSIA
The
Ukrainian
Orthodox Church [Moscow patriarchate] urged believers to keep
quiet and not
take any part in the political conflict in Belorussia and not to
make public "categorical
assessments" of this matter.
"In
Belorussia
now a political crisis is happening. And in this period that is
difficult for a
fraternal nation, voices of various figures from our country are
being heard,
supporting one of the opposing sides and giving their sometimes
categorical
assessment and loud, sometimes inappropriate, advice. It seems
to me that now
is a time for us to be silent," declared the UPTs chancellor
Metropolitan
of Borispol and Brovary Antony, whose comments were posted on
the UPTs website.
In
connection with
this the UPTs hierarch recalled that in Ukraine itself the
situation is far
from harmonious and peaceful, and that "believers should not
participate
in someone else's conflict, much less exacerbate it, even with
the best of
intentions."
"The
only thing
and most significant thing that we can do now is to pray for our
Belorussian
brothers and ask the Lord to prevent intensification of hatred
and anger and to
prevent an intensification of the conflict and bloodshed. May
the Lord preserve
Belorussia, its pious people, and the church, and have mercy on
us all,"
Metropolitan Antony noted.
Widespread
actions of
protest by the opposition began throughout Belorussia on 9
August, after
elections of the president, which Alexander Lukashenko won;
according to
information of the Central Election Commission he garnered 80.1%
of the votes.
The opposition thinks that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, not
Lukashenko, won the
elections.
In the
first days,
security troops suppressed the actions and used tear gas, water
cannons, stun
grenades, and rubber bullets against the protesters who did not
agree with the
results. Then law enforcement agencies stopped dispersing
rallies and using
force. According to official data, in the first days more than
6,700 persons
were arrested. As the interior ministry of the republic
reported, hundreds of
persons were injured during the disorders, including more than
120 personnel of
law enforcement agencies. Two protesters died. (tr. by PDS,
posted 18 August
2020)
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