“Dear guests, former political prisoners and prisoners' relatives, partners, journalists, representatives of civil society and business, diplomats. I welcome all participants and viewers, and express my gratitude for joining us. To be honest, I have been really worried about these two days, over whether we will have enough time to talk and look into each other's eyes, whether everyone can feel that they have been heard, whether we find a common ground on the main issues.
A week ago we launched a form to collect criticism and suggestions ahead of the Conference. Do you know what the two most common responses were? “Stop arguing” and “unite around a common plan”. And if you'll excuse me, today I'd like to talk about the responsibility for meeting those requests.
I realize that I am in a unique situation, and am pronouncing this now not because I have been in politics for years and have been striving for it all my life. But because two years ago, the majority of Belarusians in the country and abroad ticked off my last name. I realize that it was not about me, because I just offered a possibility to say “no” to the dictatorship and “yes” to the changes. An opportunity to vote for the candidates who didn't make it to that point in the race. And now I have both the honor and the difficult responsibility to address all of you and to speak to the international community at all levels on behalf of all of us. For two years now, you and I, personifying the Belarus that stands for freedom and opposes dictatorship and war, have had the unattainable advantage of being subjects. We have got a political instrument to say “we are Belarusians and we are here, we keep demanding changes”. The name “Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya” no longer belongs to me alone, it has become a political tool for the whole nation.
Honestly, should someone else be in my place, maybe he or she would have been better prepared for it. After all, I cannot disagree that I am not a leader like Viktar Babaryka or Maryia Kalesnikava. I don't have the natural charisma of Siarhei Tsikhanouski and I don't have the firm character of Veranika Tsapkala. I am not as assertive as Pavel Latushkа. I do not have a hundredth of the stamina of Mikalai Autukhovich or the mental acuity of Vadzim Prakopieu. I do not have the experience of Mikalai Statkevich or Zianon Pazniak – and I really think that if they had been heard better in the 90's, our country might not have been in danger of losing its sovereignty.
I do not possess the strengths of all of these and many other people. What I do have is a sense of responsibility and a willingness to work to achieve what I lack.
I know what responsibility is like, when your decisions may seem wrong or even hurt someone. Like many of you, every day I feel guilty that I am not doing enough as thousands of people are still imprisoned. I know what it's like to take a risk and urge people to take some action – and then see businesses shut down and workers' families worry about blackmail by security forces. I know the price of my words, because the regime makes it exorbitant.
So every time I am asked to make or voice decisions without trying to think about how to implement them and what real consequences they might lead to, I take responsibility for the new pain I bring to people. This is the responsibility that distinguishes the position I am in. Right, Tsikhanouskaya has to do more, be more decisive, act harder. But this is not a game of chess, this is about people's lives. Having seen every day what a totalitarian system is like in which decisions are enforced “at any cost” – I know that I have no right to treat people's fates like a price tag for getting things done. Because the numbers in the news are not statistics. It's the life of a guy who took off his sneakers during marches in 2020 when he stood on benches, and now is a volunteer fighter risking himself every day in the war. This is the life of a girl doctor who lost her job because of the medics' public address, but stays in the country and helps the families of political prisoners. This is the life of a disabled volunteer who, in her 60s, flees persecution, but sends messages that she is all right, and writes that “the Vitsebsk people can't be broken so easily”. This is the life of political prisoner Kseniya Lutskina, who is imprisoned with untreated cancer.
One person is not enough to handle this responsibility. One person cannot be a military general and a symbol of change; a diplomat and a resistance leader; a defender of political prisoners and a minister of finance. That's why I need all the people who gathered here, who are watching and listening to this, just like they need each other and all Belarusians need them. And the mandate you entrusted to me two years ago only works if I have someone to hold my hand – and if we stand side by side, not opposite to each other. We need all your talents and abilities to reach our goal. We all know that no one can do it alone. Therefore, it depends only on us, whether we will stab each other in the back, or strengthen each other – so that in the future the people of Belarus can vote for you, the new democratic leaders, without any doubts.
Those votes – and I'm talking about the election of a future president, as well as elections to parliament or local governments – will be cast by people who now rely on us more than ever. We have no right to consider ourselves merely the opposition before these people. We cannot let ourselves be people whose task is simply to criticize Lukashenko or outscream each other. Our goal is to find a way out of the political, economic, and humanitarian crisis in Belarus. We can only do that together and with the support of the majority. So if we, gathered here, do not aim to unite; if we speak only to those who are close to us instead of to everyone; if politics becomes a career and not a way to make people's lives better – then we can all now stand up and get out. And take responsibility for the emptiness we leave behind for Belarusians.
No matter what they call me – housewife, British queen, agent – it has no effect on the life of my Minsk stairwell neighbor. This is precisely why it is our objective to create a working alliance. Not to allow the regime, propaganda, personal grudges – to divide us and give our opponents a reason to triumph. And yes, today and every next day of joint efforts, each of us will have to compromise. We will all need to remember that in politics, there is no such thing as “I don't like it,” only the concept of “will it help the people to whom we are responsible?”
We must create a collective leadership and decision-making body. And it must have professional, authoritative and courageous people in it. It definitely needs people responsible for security, economy, and intelligence service. And yes, these are very complicated tasks, and the people who take on them will risk not only their reputations – but also the security of themselves and their loved ones, because they will become a big problem for the regime. And most importantly, these people hear me now. After all, if you – those who are with us today – do not take this responsibility, then who will? The experience of the past two years has taught me that we cannot hope for miracles. If something has to be done, we just have to get down to do it. And if it works, others will join you.
Now we don't have to agree with each other on everything – it is normal in a democracy to argue, convince, speak in different voices. What we really need is to trust each other, focus on a common goal, and be willing to forgive personal grievances for the sake of the common cause. Of course, we don't need to hide conflicts, and it's better to discuss them openly – that's why I'm here, and why tomorrow we will do an open question and answer session, where any and all of you will have the opportunity to say anything you want to me. I encourage the rest of this conference to spend the rest of the time working together, in open discussions, in developing next steps that address the five goals:
1. release and rehabilitate all those imprisoned on political grounds;
2. hold fair, free and democratic elections;
3. defend the independence of Belarus and ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops from our country;
4. bring down the illegitimate regime;
5. ensure that democratic institutions work in the country.
I know it sounds like there are more goals than there were in the summer of 2020. But we need to admit to ourselves that we would have to face these problems anyway. And that there is only one way to deal with them – to act as one people.
It is impossible to defend one's people in disputes or conferences. A nation is built in difficult times – and it can only be protected if each and every one – I repeat – each and every one – takes responsibility for its destiny. Feels belonging to their country. Knows that no matter how different we are, our goal is to make each other stronger.
You and I found ourselves in a new reality where we must defend the very existence of our country. Because of the dictatorship and the war, many Belarusians are forced to save money even on food. To help Belarus, we must also help Ukraine, because without a free Ukraine, there will be no free Belarus – and vice versa.
In the form that we launched before the Conference, someone wrote: “We need to create sustainable cooperation structures and be an example of democracy – show how you can have different views but reach agreements. And learn to admit mistakes”. I more than agree with these words. We must all recognize that the path to a new Belarus is our common path, and we cannot exclude anyone from our common movement. Because as my husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski used to say – only together can we build our country to live in.
***
And now I pass the floor to those who personally experienced the repressions of the regime and for whom – particularly – we are holding this Conference: former political prisoners and their relatives”.
