Cartoonists Rights Network Supports Belarusian Cartoonists

01.09.2005.

The international organization Cartoonists Rights Network expressed its support to Andrei Abozau, Paviel Marozau and Alieh Minich who are persecuted for creation of political cartoons. The CRN leader Robert Russel urged cartoonists to send notes to Belarusian Embassies with the demands to stop the haunting. Belarusian Embassies in the US and in the EU countries have already received a number of such notes. CRN members state that in case Belarusian authorities don’t stop persecution of their Belarusian colleagues, in a week dozens of cartoons about Lukashenka and the political situation in Belarus will appear on the web.
The Ukrainian cartoonist Oleh Zmal, one of the organization members, commented on the situation:
-- The authorities take cartoons too serious. They must be afraid of everything if they react in such a way. When the authorities start fighting cartoonists, they would soon feel threats in other directions. One can only sympathise for them. I have drawn our politicians and Lukashenka several times. Some of our politicians (prime-minister Yulia Tymoshenko, for instance) collect my cartoons. When the authorities struggle against cartoonists, it serves as the best promotion. I hope the authorities are wise enough not to fight laughter -- it will be all in vain.