Belarus And The Ice Hockey World Championships

EDM number 2694 in 2010-12, proposed by Jeremy Corbyn on 06/02/2012.
Categorised under the topic of Sports.

That this House notes that in Belarus all theatre and art managers are appointed by the Ministry of Culture and approved by the head of state; understands that the Belarus Free Theatre is an underground theatre group that began in March 2005 as an artistic means of resisting Belarusian pressure and censorship; further notes that rehearsals and performances are normally held secretly in small private apartments due to the need for security and the risk of persecution; is appalled that audience members have been arrested, actors have been subject to death threats and intimidation and that company founders Nikolai Khalezin and Natalia Koliada have been arrested many times and imprisoned for organising and participating in civil resistance rallies; believes that the International Ice Hockey Federation plans to hold the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championships in Belarus; supports the campaign by human rights groups such as Free Belarus Now and its founder, Irina Bogdanova and prominent playwright Tom Stoppard amongst others to move the Championships out of Belarus; and calls on the Government to make representations to the Belarusian authorities to free all political prisoners and end the repression of the arts in Belarus.

This motion has been signed by a total of 13 MPs.