White Book of crimes against humanity to be published

Information of what is happening on the Polish and Lithuanian borders should be preserved, systematised and freely available – as stated with confidence by Sergei Peshin, the Director of the Belarus Publishing House, during presentation of the public investigation of crimes against refugees on the Polish and Lithuanian borders

The tragic events taking place these days on the Polish border are widely covered by the media. Despite this, the Belarus Publishing House also views it necessary to join this project – for two main reasons. “The book, although it gives rein to TV, radio and newspapers in providing immediate information, has a range of advantages. A book format makes it possible to present these events as widely as possible, while revealing all the origins and cause-and-effect relationships of what is happening. In this case, it will be clearer why people came to the Polish border and what events guided them there. We understand that this was not our war: we did not bomb Libya, Syria, Iraq; accordingly, we cannot be held responsible for the consequences of those actions. However, for some reason, Belarusians are sometimes blamed for the refugee crisis. Therefore, it is very important for me to enable our citizens to analyse all these events in a convenient form – in the form of a book – doing this slowly and thoughtfully.”

As regards the second reason, Mr. Peshin believes the book is still the most long-lasting information keeper. “A book lives for decades and even centuries. Any archive worker will say that paper, despite all the newest technologies, has remained the most reliable source to preserve information. Meanwhile, this information should be preserved, systematised and be freely available to anyone who wants to have their own opinion supported by facts. Our goal is to present these facts,” he explained.

Journalists of the Belarus Segodnya Publishing House, the Belarusian Union of Journalists and the Republican Znanie [Knowledge] Belarusian Society are directly involved in the public investigation. Znanie’s Chairman and a Candidate of Historical Sciences, Vadim Gigin, said that the White Book will be prepared as a result of the investigation, “We plan to publish a book of testimonies of crimes against refugees that are committed at the border. The Belarus Publishing House kindly agreed to take part in this project.”

The book – which release much depends on the time when the refugee crisis ends – will be also published in English in the future, and possibly in Arabic.