Legitimacy and amnesties
– After the selective release of several political prisoners, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addressed the international community: “Our purpose is to free everyone who is behind bars on political grounds. Even if hundreds of people are released, thousands more will be left behind bars. We won’t make any compromises, we won’t make any deals with Lukashenka’s regime”. Read the full statement here.
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaya's Representative on Legal Affairs, Siarhej Zikratski, gave a legal assessment on the releases: “We all cried and shouted with joy when the prisoners were released. But the regime first breaks the law by throwing people behind bars and then breaks it again – to let them go. And we have no right to stop until the last person imprisoned on political grounds is released”.
Collaboration and mutual support
– After a joint meeting, Belarusian democratic forces made a statement answering the question, “What can I do right now for our victory?”
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaya supported the workers on the anniversary of their protest and strike: “They stood up against the rigged presidential election and violence in Belarus. A year later, workers continue to be huge power of our democratic changes”. She also called to join the Worker's Movement initiative.
– On Siarhei Tsikhanouski's birthday, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya shared an open letter to her husband and thanked for the support of Siarhei. Volunteers from the Office distributed leaflets calling for support for Tsikhanouski by writing him a letter or joining campaigns for the Worker's Movement initiative and the “Peramoga” plan.
– The Education Office announced that new scholarships are launched for Belarusian students affected by repression at universities in Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
– “What is good about the model of a parliamentary republic? Why is it so important to prepare a draft constitution for the new Belarus in advance?” Anatoli Liabedzka held an open discussion with Dainius Žalimas, former head of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania. Find discussion here. Currently, the campaign for discussing the draft People's Constitution of Belarus is going on.
International work
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaya sent letters to the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and the US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen calling on the IMF and the US government to block the Lukashenka regime’s access to the SDRs, including by freezing their exchange to freely usable currencies until a new, free presidential election is held in Belarus. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya stressed in the appeal that these funds, intended for the people, will be used to repress Belarusians. This is a joint position of the democratic forces, the campaign to block funds for the regime is conducted by the National Anti-Crisis Management in cooperation with the Belarusians diaspora.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had a meeting with the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, in Vilnius to discuss the situation with the regime’s trade of political prisoners and Belarus' participation in the Eastern Partnership.
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaya sent a letter to the Foreign Ministry of Georgia after the information about the agreement on cooperation with the Belarusian KGB appeared: “Only complete termination of the agreement will guarantee the security of Belarusians in Georgia”.
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaya had a meeting with the Lithuanian Minister of the Interior Agnė Bilotaitė. The minister shared information on how many Belarusians were forced to migrate to Lithuania. They also discussed safety of Belarusians in Lithuania and the situation with migrants on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, which the regime has created – and which needs to be stopped.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in interviews for Belarusian and international media spoke about the current stage of the Belarusians' freedom movement: News24 (Japan), Folha (Brazil), Belsat (Belarus), Fox News (USA), ABC News (Australia), Al Jazeera English, Movie by Zerkalo.io: August 16, 2020: How It Was.
