– On March 25 and 27, Belarusians celebrated Freedom Day in more than 20 cities of Belarus, despite repressions and mass detentions. “I admire everyone who took part in the protests, went out themselves, hung out the flag, and cooperated within their smaller community. Our peaceful fight carries on, and the Belarusian spring is just beginning”, – said Ms. Tsikhanouskaya.
– The volunteers of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s completed the “City Belongs to Us” campaign for Freedom Day with fireworks, flags, symbols, and graffiti in cities of Belarus.
– In Vilnius, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya led a festive Freedom Day procession with a 300-meter national white-red-white Belarusian flag. She also had a meeting with Lithuanian President Nauseda.
– Solidarity events dedicated to Belarus were held in more than 40 countries. The diaspora organized peaceful protests, marches, solidarity chains, and bike rides. The leaders of the EU countries and the United States congratulated Belarusians on the holiday.
– The Kalinowski Forum was held in Vilnius with the participation of the Prime Minister of Lithuania, the EU High Representative, and representatives of international organizations. The speakers of the EU, the US, and the OSCE supported Ms. Tsikhanouskaya's initiative of peaceful negotiations and demanded an end to violence and the release of political prisoners.
– The UN Human Rights Council and the EU are launching special mechanisms to collect the evidence of human rights violations and hold the responsible accountable:
- The UN Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution on Belarus and will launch a mechanism to investigate human rights violations in Belarus and hold the responsible accountable.
- The United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and 12 other EU countries have created the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB) to collect evidence of human rights violations in Belarus. The platform will not replace the UN mechanism, but will be a support to it.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the head of the human rights center “Viasna” Ales Bialiatski, held calls with representatives of the worker's movement, residential communities, representatives of the Babaryka Headquarters, the Coordination Council, and the National Anti-Crisis Management.
– At an online meeting with the joint strike committee of Naftan, BMZ, and Hrodna Azot, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya expressed support for the workers, thanked the diaspora for their support, and called on Belarusians to support the joint strike committee. The activists of the strike are detained for their participation in the video, they are under hard pressure, and are persecuted.
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaia spoke to MEPs, met with the State Secretary of Norwegian MFA, and the Spanish Ambassador. A meeting with the Spanish Foreign Minister is next on the agenda.
– The special Representative of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya for the elections, Aliaksandr Shlyk, has published a draft resolution on how to organize the nomination of candidates for the new presidential elections in Belarus.
– In an interview with National Public Radio (USA) and Politico (USA), Ms. Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the protests in our country and repressions, and the initiative for negotiations.
– The head of the Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Cabinet, Valery Kavaleuski, has completed his visits to Slovenia and Serbia. Slovenia supported the call for negotiations. Earlier, official Belgrade joined the EU declaration on non-recognition of the results of the presidential elections in Belarus. Serbia and Tsikhanouskaya’s Office have now agreed to continue consultations.
– Mr. Kavaleuski addressed the law enforcement officers: “The generals understand that the day is near when Almaz, SOBR, the Security Department, GUBOPiK, Alfa KGB, OMON, SSO, 3214 and others will refuse to carry out the criminal order and leave the criminal's subordination”.
– Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and other countries supported the call for negotiations under international mediation to peacefully resolve the crisis in Belarus.
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaya’s Office continues consultations with the OSCE PA and the Council of Europe on the organization of negotiations. In the near future, Tsikhanovskaya will announce an action plan to prepare for the negotiations.
