– The democratic forces announced their strategy for the so-called “Referendum”, urging Belarusians to make it a vote of no confidence. The strategy was developed by the Honest People and Zubr initiatives, Voice platform, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office, National Anti-Crisis Management, and Coordination Council.
Assistance to political prisoners and their families
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held a live stream explaining how to provide assistance to political prisoners and their families, or receive such assistance, organize care packages and legal support. The Leader of democratic Belarus was joined by the head of A Country to Live in foundation Maryia Maroz, head of the BYSOL solidarity fund Andrej Stryżak; former political prisoner Aliaksandr Dabryjanik and his partner Volha Aheeva, both volunteers of the Office; as well as the head of OST Public Outreach Alexandra Logvinova. Watch the recording.
– The Office released a guide on legal, financial, and psychological assistance to political prisoners. The guide including all the necessary links is here. There is a guide in English from the Viasna Human Rights Center.
– To mark International Students' Day, the Volnija Pashtouki (Freedom Postcards) initiative made a set of postcards with drawings from the politically imprisoned Belarusian students. Order a postcard to support the vkletochku.org project that helps Belarusians and friends of Belarus abroad to support political prisoners by sending them letters.
Education, assistance, and headhunting
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office held the third series of “Khvalya” (eng. Wave), masterclasses with media professionals teaching participants, mostly OST volunteers, to start their blogs and media from scratch, develop YouTube and podcasts, counteract propaganda and follow digital security rules. To join the OST volunteers, Belarusians have to fill out the form.
– The Office created a Telegram channel for the Belarusplatform.org framework that publishes vacancies and updates from the civil society initiatives. The Platform aims to unite Belarusians and focus their efforts on the creation of the new Belarus.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office arranged a call between the Office activists and volunteers and The Workers' Movement representatives. The latter talked about the strike, the conditions needed for it, and suggested a repayment holiday and tax break as a way of supporting strikers after democratic changes. The Office restates: everyone who has been pressured for their protest and dissenting views can count on the Program of support to members of the striking movement, as well as citizens and businesses affected by repressions.
– On November 25, the OST Research Center will hold a weekly panel discussion on the following topic: “Belarusian media under threat: what to do and what support is needed?”. Register here.
International work
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaya made a visit to the Netherlands where she spoke at the Nexus Conference, met the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Tom de Bruijn and former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. In the Netherlands, the Leader of democratic Belarus presented the democratic forces' strategy for the “Referendum” to the Belarusian diaspora and Dutch politicians to ensure their support.
– In her office in Vilnius, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya greeted US Deputy Secretary of State Uzra Zeya, US National Security Council Democracy Director Tess McEnery, and US Ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher, as well as Viktar Babaryka's HQ and the Coordination Council representatives. It was a coordination meeting on how to keep the Belarusian issue on the international agenda and prevent the focus from being shifted to the migration crisis only.
– In Canada, Head of the Cabinet Valery Kavaleuski and member of the economic group Iryna Sazanovich held working meetings with representatives of Foreign, Defense Ministries, the Cabinet of Canada, and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress leadership. The Office representatives also met Ivonka Survilla, President of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, a Belarusian government in exile.
– In Halifax, Canada, Valery Kavaleuski took part in the Belarus Hijacked special event at the International Security Forum, as well as a closed meeting for a delegation of US senators. He stressed that the Western countries need a consistent position on the complete non-recognition of Lukashenka.
– Head of OST Public Outreach Alexandra Logvinova, joined by representatives of civil society, human rights initiatives, and organizations, including BYSOL, Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, Freedom House, and Belarusian Human Rights House, took part in the meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Uzra Zeya, the White House National Security Council Democracy Director Tess McEnery and US Ambassador Julie Fisher. They discussed how to enhance support for Belarusian civil society and human rights initiatives and concluded that a more flexible approach and sustainable response are needed.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya gave interviews on the situation in Belarus to Belsat, CNN, The New Statesman (the UK), RTL (France), Kleine Zeitung, Kurier (both based in Austria), La Stampa, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Il Giornale (all based in Italy), 24 hu (Hungary).
– On Sunday, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya's team arrived in Vienna to take part in the International Conference on Belarus. Earlier, the Office had contributed to its organization. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya will speak at the high-level panel along with Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and a number of ministers from the EU member states, after which she will speak to the press. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will emphasize the inadmissibility of dialogue with the regime until all those held behind bars on political grounds are released.
