On the first day of her visit to Norway, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the President of the Storting (Parliament), addressed the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense of Norway, held a briefing for the expert community at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, spoke at the Words Matter Conference, and gave interviews to a number of Norwegian and international media, including the BBC.
With the President of the Storting, Masud Gharahkhani
Briefing for the expert community at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
At the Words Matter Conference
During the second day in Oslo, the Belarusian leader met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Mayor of Oslo, and the Minister of Culture of Norway.
Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, informed Ms. Tsikhanouskaya that Norway will allocate 10 million Norwegian kroner (850,000 euros) for the rehabilitation of former political prisoners and families of the repressed. Norway is also launching an international humanitarian fund that will support the repressed and calls on other countries to join the initiative. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya proposed that Norway as a state take patronage over the politically imprisoned human rights defender Ales Bialiatski, as well as name the humanitarian fund after him.
The Belarusian leader and Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, discussed support for independent media, students, and cultural initiatives. Norway announced the disbursement of Nordic Co-operation funds to support media projects and public initiatives and pledged continued scholarships for young Belarusians studying at European Humanities University in Vilnius. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya proposed to the minister to invite representatives of democratic Belarus to participate in the activities of the Nordic Council of Ministers or the Nordic-Baltic Eight. Politicians also talked about simplifying the legalization of stay for Belarusians. Norway can issue alien passports for Belarusians who cannot renew their Belarusian passports.
During the meeting with the State Secretary for the Minister of Justice, John-Erik Vika, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about ways to bring the regime to justice through the International Criminal Court and the UN Court. An agreement was reached to hold consultations with other countries working in this direction.
With the Minister of Culture of Norway, Lubna Jaffery, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya discussed training and internships for culture managers, cultural exchanges and residencies for creators, and support for cultural initiatives and projects. Norway already implements several cultural projects for Belarus, including supporting the film festival “Northern Lights”.
The Mayor of Oslo, Anne Lindby, and the Belarusian leader discussed holding an exhibition about Ales Bialiatski and other Belarusian political prisoners, as well as cooperation with Belarusian initiatives in Oslo and the Association of Belarusians in Norway “Razam”.
In the Storting, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya met with the group “For a Democratic Belarus”. During the meeting, an agreement was reached to call on other members of the parliament to take patronage over political prisoners, hold a campaign in support of Ales Bialiatski, and raise the issue of Belarus in the parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe and the OSCE.
