Dzmitry Bandarenka Is 60!

Anniversary of the Hero of the Belarusian Resistance.

Dzmitry Bandarenka is a legendary person, a freedom fighter and one of the leaders of the Belarusian Opposition. He is a coordinator of the European Belarus Civil Campaign, one of the founders of the Charter-97 Civil Initiative, and the founder of the Zubr Youth Movement. The former political prisoner celebrates his 60th birthday today. Journalists of Charter97.org asked his friends and associates to tell about Dzmitry Bandarenka and congratulate him:

The European Belarus Civil Campaign Andrei Sannikov:

“Dzima Bandarenka is 60 years old! Probably we should tell Dzmitry Yauhenavich Bandarenka on this occasion. Both are possible.

Dzima Bandarenka is my old friend. He has given so much to me. He helped me many times and is ready to help in difficult times. Dzima is an absolutely like-minded person in our realistic dreams of new Belarus. He is my companion on evening walks, when we discuss the present and design the future. Dzima listens well and expresses his ideas clearly, which really helps me to put my own thoughts in order. Dzima has a comprehensive and systematic mind, and most importantly. He has some kind of tuning fork built into him, which allows him to accurately determine the falseness around him. Although he is a Libra according to the horoscope, he does not hesitate and does not assess too much in matters of good and evil.

Dzmitry Yauhenavich Bandarenka is a leader, a prominent figure in the Belarusian Renaissance, a general of resistance to the dictatorial regime, an extraordinary and courageous thinker, a brilliant analyst and visionary.

Dzmitry Yauhenavich is devoted to Belarus and devoted to the ideals of freedom. He has an incredibly broad outlook and a flexible and quick mind. He knows a lot and at the same time is greedy for new knowledge.

Dzmitry Yauhenavich is an excellent teacher. He is strict, and his school is not easy, but sometimes it gives more than even educational institutions.

Dzmitry Yauhenavich Bandarenka is the same outstanding figure as the national leaders of democratic revolutions in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Serbia, Ukraine and other European countries.

Sixty years is a wonderful age. It’s a complete zodiac cycle, after which a new period opens for the fulfillment of dreams and the achievement of the highest goals, requiring the wisdom, knowledge and experience that you acquired over the first 60 years of life.

Health and Freedom!

Happy Birthday, Dear and Honored!”

Natallia Radzina, Editor-in-Chief of the Charter97.org website:

“Dzmitry Bandarenka is one of the founders of the Charter-97 Civil Initiative in 1997, as well as one of the founders of our website in 1998. We have been friends and have been working together for more than 25 years and it is difficult to find a more devoted person and a person who believes that we will definitely achieve freedom in Belarus.

Dzima is a real engine - an origin of inexhaustible optimism, a supporting pole of the entire Belarusian Resistance for decades. A man with a big and kind heart, who has helped a huge number of people all his life and without fanfare. He went through prisons, beatings, torture and emigration, but he did not regret his choice for a day and I know that he intends to follow his path to the end.

I am very lucky to have such a friend and like-minded person. I am proud to call him my teacher and wish that Dzmitry and his family will gather all his friends at home, in free European Belarus, as soon as possible.”

Aliaksandra Hierasimienia, World Aquatics Champion, Olympic medalist:

“Dzmitry Bandarenka and I actually graduated from the same university - the University of Physical Culture. Sport is the first thing that unites us, and this is what, in my opinion, largely shapes a person and gives him the energy to fight. Dzmitry is a true fighter for the freedom of Belarus. I am very glad that we are on the same side in this fight. I believe that someday we will cross the Bug River together.”

Andrei Sharenda, activist of the European Belarus civil campaign:

"Dzmitry Bandarenka is a bison of the Belarusian national resistance. He is a legend of resistance to dictatorship. This is the man to whom the generation of young people of the late 1990s - early 2000s owes its inspiration to fight for freedom. It was Dzmitry Bandarenka who was one of the main organisers of the Freedom Marches - powerful protest rallies. Those very actions dashed the hopes of dictator Lukashenka to sell the independence of Belarus for the then-vacant seat of the Kremlin ruler. Those very actions showed that Belarusians were capable of defending their freedom and independence.

Dzmitry was also one of the founders and coordinators of the Zubr resistance movement. A movement that united thousands of young people in fighting for the future of Belarus. Bandarenka is the very person who has been doing the monotonous daily work uniting people in struggle for more than two decades. Dzmitry is a reliable and faithful friend of our family, to whom we can always turn for advice and help. I am proud of my friendship with him and congratulate him on his anniversary. I wish him freedom, courage and fulfillment of wishes. Long live Belarus!"

Viachaslau Siuchyk, leader of the Razam Movement:

"I am very grateful to the Charter-97 website for the opportunity to congratulate Dzmitry Bandarenka publicly on his jubilee. I have known him for almost 30 years. Even before Charter-97 appeared, which, as I think, would not have been created without Dzmitry Bandarenka's joining the opposition to the regime. And Charter became the first Belarusian initiative, which was clear to the democratic West and which emphasized the Europeanness of Belarus. Therefore, in 2010, politician Bandarenka was illegally thrown behind bars and became a political prisoner.

There are a lot of political prisoners in Belarus. Unfortunately, a great many. And they become different when they get out of prison. The strength of Dzmitry Bandarenka is that he did not yield to the regime neither during his imprisonment, nor after his release. And he is a principled fighter against Lukashenka's regime. This is especially evident in Dzmitry's rejection of Lukashenka's associates, who turned coat in 2020, as well as traitors and rats. So I wish Dzmitry to continue to remain strong and principled. And all the best in his personal life. May he be happy. And may his next birthday be celebrated in his native Minsk, the capital of Free, European and Prosperous Belarus. One hundred years, Dzmitry! And not less, more is allowed".