Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya concluded her visit to Iceland by participating in the Nordic Council seminar “Path to a Democratic Belarus”. Over 100 people attended it, including the Nordic Council leadership, parliamentarians, ambassadors, and other guests.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya not only delivered a speech but also joined a discussion with the Foreign Minister of Iceland, Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir, and the President of the Nordic Council, Bryndís Haraldsdóttir.
She highlighted the plight of political prisoners, urging maximum efforts for their release: “You can ‘adopt’ political prisoners through a patronage campaign run by the Swiss-German NGO Libereco. Demand information from the Lukashenka regime about the location, health, and conditions of political prisoners. This won’t take much time but will send a powerful signal to those behind bars”.
In addition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya:
👉 Called for supporting media, education, and cultural organizations. “We can do more in the fields of culture, education, and media. Supporting Belarusian culture and identity is essential because it’s stronger than bullets. In Belarus’ case, it’s also a way to counter Russia’s creeping occupation”.
👉 Warned against another Iron Curtain between Belarus and the West. “It’s crucial not to build a new Iron Curtain between Belarus and the West. While isolating the dictator, we must support Belarusian society, strengthen people-to-people ties, and promote national identity, culture, and history – all of which tie us to Europe”.
👉 Proposed expanding cooperation between Belarus’s democratic forces and the Nordic countries. “I invite you to establish cooperation between the Nordic Council and the democratic forces of Belarus, as we’ve already done with the European Union and the United States. This dialogue could take place at both the parliamentary and governmental levels.”
