Freedom 4 Belarus

This new campaign, launched by the International Committee of Liberal Democrat Youth and Students (LDYS), has been brought to my attention recently.

As a former International Officer (1989-1990) of one of their constituent predecessors, the Young Liberal Democrats of England, I am delighted to see the organisation roused from years of apparent slumber to campaign on something fundamentally unsexy yet morally principled. The Belarus regime, and there is no other way of describing it, is a reminder of the very worst of the Soviet Union, with secret police and a repressive government led by a man who is almost certainly responsible for the death, torture and imprisonment of those who campaign within the country for democracy and the sorts of freedoms that we take for granted.

They ask for people to show their support by placing a lighted candle in a window on the night of 19th March and, if I was in the country, instead of on an aeroplane, I would certainly do it myself, despite the risk of one of my more stupid cats melting their whiskers on it.

We often get cynical about politics and, heaven knows, there is often good cause, but this is an instance where those leading the campaign stand to gain nothing from this but a sense of doing the right thing. I wish them the very best of luck for what will hopefully be a short and successful campaign...