Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya joined the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, Speaker of the Parliament Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, former President Dalia Grybauskaitė, former President Valdas Adamkus, and the first leader of Lithuania after the restoration of independence Vytautas Landsbergis for today’s events dedicated to the Lithuanian national holiday, the State Restoration Day.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “I sincerely congratulate Lithuania on this holiday! I wish Lithuanians to continue the same principled and consistent policy that serves as an example for almost all EU countries. I am personally grateful to Lithuania for becoming a haven and temporary home for almost 50,000 Belarusians who now live here. And thanks to all the Belarusians who came today to congratulate Lithuania on this day! Of course, we all want to return home to Belarus and are doing everything to make it possible sooner. But today is the day to say once again: aciu, Lietuva!”
The Lithuanian government has been actively supporting the Belarusian people:
- After 2020, Lithuania established special humanitarian corridors for refugees and took in tens of thousands.
- Lithuania was the first to deny Lukashenka recognition and open a representation of democratic Belarus.
- Lithuania’s support has helped achieve a clear position on Belarus by the EU and the US. This has prevented a total visa ban and allowed for tens of thousands of visas to be issued to Belarusians.
- Lithuania supported the “Marshall Plan for Belarus” initiative, under which Belarus will receive 3 billion euros for reforms after democratic changes.
- Five new venues for the Belarusian culture have opened in Vilnius over the past two years, the Francysk Skaryna Belarusian Gymnasium in Vilnius has received additional support, and the European Humanities University has been reformed.
- Lithuania has granted companies repressed in Belarus the opportunity to continue their work, assisting many by providing preferential conditions and reduced taxation.
