As part of her visit to Ireland, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. He expressed full support for Belarusians and spoke about the Irish experience of fighting for identity and independence and restoring culture and identity, in which Ireland and Belarus have a lot in common. The leaders discussed the current situation with political prisoners, conditions in prisons, and the importance of supporting the Belarusian diaspora.
In addition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Speaker of the Irish Parliament, Seán Ó Fearghaíl. She spoke about the recent crackdown against activists and journalists and the struggle of Belarusian volunteers in Ukraine. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also shared information about the situation with Viktar Babaryka and other political prisoners and proposed that Irish politicians demand access to political prisoners for relatives and foreign diplomats.
The meetings produced the following agreements:
- A group of Friends of Democratic Belarus will be established in the Irish Parliament, as has already been done in 17 parliaments of other countries.
- MPs will take patronage over political prisoners. 24 MPs have already joined this international campaign.
- The Parliament will consider a resolution in support of independence and democracy in Belarus. It will focus on preventing the stationing of nuclear weapons.
- The Parliament will review the possibility of organizing internships for Belarusians in the MPs’ offices.
“I am glad to see so many friends of Belarus here in Parliament. I didn't have to explain what was happening in our country and why our struggle is important. And the Irish have great sympathy for our struggle. The Irish MPs will help keep Belarus on the agenda and support our efforts in international organizations. What I heard from them was resolve to help”, commented Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
