“Dear friends,
Let me welcome the organisers and participants of The 5th Our Future Forum.
I’m very privileged to speak to the most brilliant minds of the new generation – Europe’s hope for the future. I have no doubt that democracy will be the cornerstone of this future.
Our Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski wrote: “The value of a true democracy is that it promotes responsibility, morality and creativity in society”.
Today, Ales Bialiatski is in prison. For his lifelong commitment to human rights, he was sentenced to 10 years by Lukashenka’s regime. He’s our country’s second Nobel Prize winner in history.
In Belarus, if you want to meet the most brilliant minds of our country, including the young people, you have to visit them in prison. Doctors, scientists, journalists, bloggers, politologists and good people of all walks of life are imprisoned, just because they had courage to say “no” to Lukashenka’s regime, to the stolen elections, to the police brutality and to Putin’s war.
One of these political prisoners is my husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski. He is sentenced to 19,5 years. Three years ago, he was one of many grassroot activists, a video blogger. For more than a year, Siarhei was travelling around Belarus, showing the viewers of his YouTube channel how the country really looked under Lukashenka’s rule. The support that he got from people overwhelmed him. He understood that it was time for change.
Shortly after Siarhei declared his plan to run for presidency, he was arrested. I took his place and became a candidate instead of him. I didn’t see myself as a politician. But there was no other way to prove my love to Siarhei.
The authorities registered me, because Lukashenka couldn’t believe that a woman could beat him in the vote. “Our Constitution is not for a woman”, he said. But he was wrong. He overlooked people’s desire for changes. On August 9th, I won the election. We all won.
That day changed my life and the lives of millions of Belarusians. Our cities were flooded with people. Belarusians clearly showed that they choose freedom over tyranny, light over darkness, future over past.
However, the regime responded with brutality and terror. Therefore, you can’t see the beautiful pictures of mass protests now. But, believe me, the same hope, and the same desire for freedom is still there.
People continue to resist. The protest went underground. People join the partisan movement. Distribute self-made newspapers. Stop Russian trains and military equipment. Hundreds of Belarusian volunteers took arms to defend Ukraine against the Russian aggression.
Because they understand: fates of Belarus and Ukraine are interconnected. There will not be free Belarus without free Ukraine. And without free Belarus, there will not be neither safe Ukraine nor Europe
Unfortunately, Belarusians are paying the big price. Since 2020, more than 60,000 people have passed through jails. Human rights defenders already lost count of political prisoners. We know the names of 1500, but the real number is up to 5000. They are held in subhuman conditions, in total isolation. Literally, a few days ago, one of them, Mikalai Klimovich, died in prison. He was sentenced for drawing a cartoon on Lukashenka. Since March 10, I have not heard anything from my husband.
Fleeing brutal repressions, hundreds of thousands of Belarusians had to leave the country. Here in Poland, dozens of thousands found a safe haven. Even in exile, they continue to work for changes in Belarus. Because we all want to return home.
Putin’s and Lukashenka’s regime are trying to destroy our home, to erase everything that is Belarusian in it. They try to make Belarus another Russian province, submissive and controlled. And not only Belarusians are under attack. The regime looks for “traitors” everywhere, also in the ethnic minorities, like the Polish community which used to live in Belarus for centuries.
You probably know the story of the journalist Andrzej Poczobut. He is ethnic Pole and a Belarusian patriot. With his personal courage and principles, he became one of the key figures resisting Lukashenka’s repressive system. He rejected the regime’s proposition to leave the country, and he never pleaded for pardon. In February, he was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
He once said: “I have a long visit to prisons and camps, but those whose dignity and pride I defend have had a much harder time, and their example has always inspired me. And this has not changed!”
So let us be inspired by Andzej Poczobut. Even in prison, he doesn’t lose hope. We must not lose hope for a better future even in the darkest time.
During the last three years, I learned that the path for freedom is not short and easy, but it is the only right one. And it requires courage and solidarity.
We have courage, but we need your solidarity. Stand with those who continue to fight on the ground. Both in Ukraine and Belarus. Support political prisoners and all those who are in exile. Be our voice on the international arena.
We can not win this fight alone. Your solidarity will be your contribution in free and democratic Europe. It will be your contribution in our common future.
Thank you”.
