1000 days since the detention of Mikalai Statkevich and Siarhei Tsikhanouski. On February 26, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya joined a rally in support of political prisoners in Vilnius, which was organized by Belarusians in Lithuania. She read a poem that her husband had sent from prison.
Visit to Brussels. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited Brussels, where she met with the Vice-President of the European Parliament, the Vice-President of the European Commission, and Members of the European Parliament. They discussed travel documents for Belarusians and the coalition for Democratic Belarus. She urged MEPs to stop the practice of “empty chairs” at international forums: “It's good that Lukashenka is not there, but it is important that Belarusians have a voice”.
During the visit, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke at an event dedicated to the future of Europe and European values organized by the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS). There were over 1,500 people in the audience. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya said, “We are not asking you to return Belarus to Europe. Belarus is already in Europe, and it always has been. We have proved our right to live with European values every day since 2020.”
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also visited the College of Europe in Bruges, where she met with the Rector Federica Mogherini and addressed the students.
Mission of Democratic Belarus. On March 1 in Brussels, the Mission of Democratic Belarus was officially opened. It will be headed by Ambassador Vladzimir Astapenka. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya noted that the mission will help bring Belarus back to Europe and Europe closer to Belarus. The mission will work on building diplomatic contacts between the EU and Belarus, as well as serve as a platform for Belarusian events in Brussels.
“United for Democratic Belarus” Alliance. On the same day, an alliance of parliamentary groups “United for Democratic Belarus” was announced. It will include representatives from 17 parliamentary groups from different countries.
Reactions to the trials. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya commented on the 12-19 year sentences that the prosecutor requested for her and her associates. She also commented on the verdict for Ales Bialiatski and all Viasna activists and recorded a video expressing support for their families.
The Lukashenka court also added 1,5 years to Siarhei Tsikhanouski's sentence. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya commented, “He should not be doing these one and a half years, he should not be in prison at all.”
Personal conversations. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held weekly personal conversations with Belarusians. The majority of calls were from Belarus. Anyone interested has the opportunity to call Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her Office safely and ask questions.
Belarus and Ukraine. On February 28, the Research Center of the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the Oxford Observatory on Belarus held an online discussion on Belarus in Ukraine's Foreign Policy. The webinar was attended by Oleksiy Honcharenko, Valery Kavaleuski, Yevhen Mahda, and Andrei Kazakevich.
Volunteers. The volunteers of the Office had a meeting with Cabinet Representative for Social Issues Volha Harbunova. During the call, they discussed the Cabinet's work in the social areas, support for political prisoners, as well as mechanisms for their release.
Solidarity with political prisoners. The Freedom Postcards initiative, in partnership with the People's Embassy of Belarus in Brazil, launched a new project to support political prisoners, Poems from Prison. It is a large collection of poetry written by political prisoners. As part of the project, the initiative will share stories about political prisoners and raise funds for aid packages.
World NGO Day. On World NGO Day, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked all Belarusian NGOs and their representatives.
Media. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya gave interviews to Belsat (1, 2), Die Welt (Germany), and Iran-TV (International).
Visit to London. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya announced her visit to London from March 6 to 9. More details on plans and meetings can be found at the link.
