Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addressed Belarusians on the International Day of Democracy. She called on Belarusians to stay united and continue to help each other while fighting for freedom, despite the regime’s attempts to divide people.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Belarusians keep carefully nurturing the seeds of democracy within themselves every day. When they walk through downtown Minsk with Okean Elzy or Liavon Volski playing on their headphones. When they switch to the Belarusian language on social media and learn it through shows on YouTube. When they use VPN to read Nasha Niva and watch Belsat. When they believe that soon these seeds of democracy will definitely break through the grayness and dictatorship that seem so invincible.
Democracy is not only a great blessing but also a great responsibility. It makes everyone responsible for their decisions, choices, and actions. But I know for sure that we are prepared for it. And not in some distant future, but here and now. We have preserved our inner freedom, learned to value each other and come to believe in ourselves. And now we know we have the foundation we need to build a new society”.
The full address is available in Belarusian.
