“Dear friends,
Dear students,
Dear Mr. Karlo Kolesar,
Dear Mr. Ivica Miškulin,
I’m very grateful to the Croatian Academic Union for the opportunity to address you today.
Let me also thank to you, my dear students, for coming to talk to me instead of spending time with your friends. I'm not sure that in my student years I would have done the same. Then I was not interested in politics and did not attend such events or discussions.
After two years in my new role, I realized that the main enemy of democracy is not the dictatorship. But indifference. The strong democracy needs active citizens, who participate in the politics and decision making processes.
For dozens of years, Lukashenka’s dictatorship made all possible to exclude Belarusians from political life, and only in 2020, many realized that the changes in the country need everyone’s involvement.
The history of Belarus and Croatia intersect in many ways. Our peoples have had to go through many losses on their way to freedom. In the 20th century, Belarusians, like Croats, resisted one occupation, to find themselves under another one, Soviet occupation, immediately after the victory. Our peoples had to pay a great price to gain independence.
Croatia has overcome this path. And today, in this constantly intersecting history, you are one step ahead of us.
I see this when I walk along King Petar Kresimir Square or Nikola Tesla Street. And I understand that in my beloved city of Minsk, the streets are still named after Soviet criminals. In the center of the city, instead of monuments to our freedom fighters like Kastus Kalinouski or Tadeusz Kasciuska, there are monuments to Lenin and Dzerzhinsky, who made all possible that Belarus doesn’t exist. The names of our national heroes are being erased from textbooks on Belarusian history.
I see this when I meet Croatian ministers and parliamentarians, and I see in them a desire to help. The desire to defend democratic values in Europe, to share expertise, to support the struggle of Belarusians for freedom. And I understand that I have never seen such interest in the eyes of Belarusian officials. Who know only one feeling – fear of the boss. And because of this fear, they themselves daily take part in the torture and persecution of peaceful and free Belarusians.
Finally, I see it in you. At first glance, you are the same students as students of Belarusian universities. Young, active, free, thirsty for knowledge. I hope your university encourages you to be that. But if you study at a Belarusian university, you will be punished for any manifestation of freedom of thought.
You probably know about the events in Belarus in 2020. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in a peaceful march to express their protest against the stolen elections. Against the seizure of power, and the violence that spilled into the streets by the Belarusian security forces.
Just imagine. The whole country rose up against the injustice in which we lived for a quarter of a century. The whole country got rid of the fear in which this regime kept us for 26 years. Representatives of all spheres possible, people of all professions went to peaceful pickets. Students like you stood at the gates of their campuses. And Belarusian pensioners came to them holding flags and sweets for the grandchildren.
For simple disagreement, for a simple “no” in response to the crimes of the security forces, thousands of people ended up behind bars. In torture conditions. More than 60000 were illegally detained and beaten. More than 5000 politically motivated criminal cases were opened just last year. Among political prisoners – dozens of smart, promising, free students – just like you – are sitting behind bars. But that's not all.
Today, the regime doesn't just punish thoughtcrimes, it wants to eradicate any freethinking.
And that is why Belarusian schoolchildren study using propagandistic textbooks, from which our national culture and identity are erased. History is rewritten, real facts are replaced by a pro-Russian narrative. And the state pretends that Belarus did not exist before the coming of communist power.
That is why Belarusian students, instead of getting up-to-date knowledge that will be useful to them in the future, – are forced to take exams on the “Belarusian ideology”. I'm not even sure that any of you understand what the teachers of ideology teach. They teach to be silent, to obey orders, and to put an equal sign between the motherland and the illegitimate sadistic president.
The ideologists at the universities do more than just that. They monitor the mood among the students, listen to what they are talking about. Check students' social media pages. And put those who allow themselves to think critically and express their doubts – on the special list. This list is then submitted to the administration, which performs the function of a repressive body. As you might think, these lists are rather big.
Moreover, a KGB officer is assigned to each university. This employee conducts interviews with students on the list. He threatens them with expulsion, that they will be under control of the special services and could never find a job. He threatens them even with a criminal case and years in prison with daily torture.
According to such lists, students are constantly expelled from Belarusian universities. Expelled not for low academic performance. On the contrary, the best students usually get into the lists and are punished. They get there for a critical comment on Instagram, or for a photo in support of Ukraine. Those who stood at the gates of campuses in 2020, demanding freedom, – were already expelled much earlier.
I told you only a few small facts about how students in Belarus live and study. The same people as you, who don’t even have free access to information. But can be detained for a subscription on independent news-channels.
Believe me, these facts do not fully reflect the terrible reality that millions of Belarusians live in today.
They do not reflect the inhuman level of repression that makes absolutely no one feel safe. When every day the police break into someone’s house with illegal searches. On average, every day 17 new people got detained. They are beaten in police stations and detention centers. Many of them are then sentenced to 5, 10, 15 years in prison.
The charges are absurd. One man was sentenced to 5 years for donating 20 euro to Belarusian volunteers fighting for Ukraine. Another one was sentenced to 1.5 years for the graffiti “Stop the war”. 2 years – for the interview to independent TV-channel about the political prisoners.
And it doesn't matter anymore who you voted for in the elections and whether you knew at all that there were elections. The repressions have taken on such a total character that even those who themselves participate in the repressions – are afraid to become the next target.
I have told you just a few facts so that you can imagine for a moment what your life would look like under such conditions. What it would be like if you were studying at a Belarusian university. Or even not in Belarusian. What would your starting position be if Croatia had not rethought the communist past. If Croatian people had not risen against the tyrants and built the democracy in which you were lucky to be born.
With these facts, I wanted to say only one thing: Take advantage of all the opportunities that you have.
Today, Belarusians, from students to the elderly, are trying to win back the future in which you already live. They distribute samizdat with honest news. Get information about the crimes of the regime for future trials. They share information about the location of Russian troops and equipment with the Ukrainian side. Or even commit acts of sabotage to prevent military equipment from going to Ukraine. They help political prisoners and their families, as well as Ukrainian refugees and the Ukrainian army.
And despite all the terror, people continue to resist. Because they understand, if not to fight today, there will not be what fight for tomorrow.
Dear friends,
No one is immune from tyranny. The basic rights and basic values we share do not come into our hands for free. They require constant protection. And I ask you: Use the knowledge and opportunities that you have to strengthen the side of the good.
Help Ukraine. Support Belarus and all those who continue to fight for freedom.
Thank you”.
