Today, June 9, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the President of Latvia Egils Levits.
The leader of democratic Belarus thanked the President for participating in rallies of solidarity with Belarus and for Latvia's non-recognition of Lukashenka's regime and support of democratic forces in all international arenas.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya explained why it is important to continue issuing visas to the repressed Belarusians, despite the war and the acts of the regime. “The regime pursues a policy of self-isolation, but Belarusians cannot be isolated. Thousands of Belarusians, dozens of enterprises and organizations have found refuge in Latvia. And I heard many words of gratitude from them for how warmly Latvia welcomes Belarusians”, the national leader of Belarus said.
At the meeting, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the case of three Belarusian partisans who face imprisonment. She noted that repressed Belarusians should be able to count on compensation and rehabilitation. “When the war began, many Belarusians started doing everything to stop it. Despite the repressions, our partisans tried to pull over Russian trains, many Belarusians passed information about the movement of troops to the Belarusian Hajun Project. Many were persecuted. More than 1,700 people have been detained since February”, the Belarusian leader stressed.
The transit of grain through Belarus was also discussed. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya called a possible deal to lift sanctions in exchange for transit unacceptable. She noted: “This deal would undo much of what has been done by the European Union over the past year and a half. Sanctions must not be suspended until political prisoners are released, repressions stopped and negotiations started on new fair elections”.
They also discussed the creation of a Belarusian center or a Belarusian House in Latvia, which could become the center of the Belarusian diaspora and receive an official or semi-official status. Such a center or “house” would allow to strengthen the Belarusian-Latvian cultural ties, as well as maintain contact with the Latvian authorities on an ongoing basis.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya invited the President to consider launching a scholarship program in diplomacy and public administration for those Belarusians who will work in the government of a free Belarus. The President said he would discuss the proposals with the government.
