Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya began her working visit to Austria by participating in the Civil Society Summit within the framework of Eastern Partnership. The event brought together civil society representatives, politicians, activists, and senior officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya emphasized: “What any dictatorship fears the most is the self-organization and unity of its people. That’s exactly what happened in Belarus. Civil society is the key threat to dictatorship and is essential for democracy”.
She also proposed five steps that can already be taken within the Eastern Partnership to support a democratic Belarus:
- Joint projects and cooperation.
“Belarusian NGOs, grassroots initiatives, independent media, and cultural projects are fighting to survive. The resources that cannot be used inside Lukashenka’s Belarus should be redirected to support civil society projects working for the sake of a free Belarus”.
- More people-to-people ties and mobility through visas and exchanges.
“Dictators claim that we are not welcome in Europe. We must prove them wrong. Through the Eastern Partnership, we can send a clear signal that the doors of Europe will remain open to a democratic Belarus”.
- Deeper regional cooperation.
“While dictators are uniting and learning from each other, we must also stay united. We could hold joint events under the aegis of the Eastern Partnership”.
- Campaigns for the release of political prisoners in Belarus.
“This is something that hurts for me personally. Right now, there are at least 1,300 people behind bars, many held incommunicado”.
- Global vision.
“While the dictator has left the Eastern Partnership, we, Belarusians, have not. Let’s end the ‘empty chair’ practice and invite representatives of democratic Belarus to the Eastern Partnership Summit”.
