Warsaw Activists Demand Russia’s Exclusion – Kyiv Post

Member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) held a meeting in Warsaw to discuss the importance of human rights and ways of responding when they are violated. Activists emphasized the absurdity of cooperating with those countries who destroy security by protesting in front of the Sofitel hotel, where the congress of the organization’s representatives took place.

“We call on the OSCE to reconsider its activities. Why is the terrorist state still a member of the organization? Russia should be excluded from all democratic, from all civilized organizations that ensure human rights because Russia puts these rights at risk,” emphasized Victoria Pogrebnyak, an activist of the Euromaidan-Warszawa initiative.

Important elements of the protest were photos from Ukraine that depict its reality: maimed and killed people and destroyed buildings. Bloody sheets were also laid out in front of the hotel as a symbol of those Ukrainians murdered by Russia.

There were calls at the demonstration to ensure human rights in Ukraine: “Our heroes protect all of us, but who will protect them instead?”

OSCE representatives watched the protest from the sidelines. Only the Ukrainian delegation approached the activists. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed his support.

“In a spontaneous speech, I thanked the Ukrainian men and women who, even while being abroad, invest their time in our joint victory,” he concluded on his Facebook page.

A moment of silence was observed at the protest to commemorate those who died because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, including prisoners of war killed in Olenivka: Today it has been 40 days since the terrorist attack upon the prison where Ukrainian captives were held.