Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya participated in the CEPA Forum celebrations. The CEPA Forum is a large-scale event focusing on issues of security, democracy, and stability faced by the transatlantic alliance. A key part of the program is the gala evening, where the CEPA Forum Leadership Awards are presented.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya:
“Thank you, Mr. Lukas, for your kind words.
Dear Excellencies and guests,
Friends and the amazing CEPA team, who gathered all of us today,
It is both an honor and a privilege to stand on this stage.
Today, we celebrate heroes of democracy. People who know no rest. And who embody values that we stand for and cherish so much: Freedom and Peace, Justice and human rights.
Today, we celebrate leaders who are on the frontline of the global fight for democracy. And if you ask me to build up the dream team of freedom fighters, these five will be on the list.
Minister Landsbergis – a true friend, and a leader who makes dictators tremble.
First Lady Olena Zelenska – courageously standing by her husband and by the Ukrainian people, my huge personal inspiration.
Congressman Turner, who led the Assembly of the largest military alliance of democracies, or Congressman McCaul – furiously advocating for Ukraine.
And of course, Vladimir Kara-Murza, a fearless and invincible critic of Putin’s regime. He just got out of prison, and — immediately — rushed back to fight. Well done!
Yesterday at the UN General Assembly, on the sidelines and on stage, I heard a lot about… fatigue. Fatigue of war. Fatigue of Putin and Lukashenka… And I heard it so often, that at the end I felt fatigue of fatigue.
What kind of fatigue are we talking about?
Tell about fatigue to Ukrainian soldiers in trenches. Tell about fatigue to a father, who lost his entire family because of Russian shelling.
Tell about fatigue to Belarusian political prisoners, who are dying – literally – in Lukashenka’s prisons.
Tell about fatigue to 77-year-old Nina Bahinskaya, who takes to the streets with our national flag every day. She gets arrested, released, sews a new flag overnight, and goes out again.
Tell about fatigue to hundreds of thousands of Belarusians, who lost their homes, have been forced into exile, but it didn’t break their spirit: they continue to fight.
None of them have the right to fatigue. And neither do we.
This fatigue comes from the fact that we don’t know when it all will end. When Ukraine wins. When the Lukashenka regime collapses.
But sometimes we can’t know when. And all we should do is just bring this moment closer. We must do it just because it’s right.
I was thinking about what unites today’s laureates. They all have immunity to fatigue. And they have intolerance – to dictatorship and to injustice.
When you fight against tyranny, you have no right to time-outs and personal comfort. This struggle requires sacrifice, consistency and bravery. Because any doubts, any hesitations are seen by dictators as weakness.
Therefore we must continue to exert pressure on dictators, on Lukashenka and Putin. For each crime, for each broken life, they must pay the price.
We must support all those who are on the frontlines. We must support those who are in prisons.
We also must understand: no war, no fight can be won alone. This fight needs allies, and many of them are in this room today.
It needs allies like the United States of America. You are a beacon of hope for many nations. Don’t stop standing for what is right.
Don’t stop supporting Ukraine. Because it’s not just “their” fight. It’s our common fight for freedom.
Don’t stop supporting Belarus. Because tyranny is contagious: if not contained – it spills over. We must reject the very thought that tyrants can be appeased or reeducated. Dictators will not stop until we stop them.
Dear friends,
Finally, I want to share with you one thing. I’m jealous of Americans. In a month, you will have presidential elections. Free and fair.Something that Belarusians didn’t have in the last thirty years. Believe me, it’s such a luxury not to know who your next president will be!
Thank you for your support. For your solidarity with Belarus and Ukraine. The path to freedom might be long and difficult, but it’s the only path worth taking. Let’s walk this together.
God Bless America! Slava Ukraini! Long Live Belarus”.
