It is great to see all participants of the conference, its guests, journalists, and the viewers who have joined us online.
As I was preparing for the conference, I remembered the feeling I had a week ago — prior to the Marathon of Solidarity with Political Prisoners. I wondered: will the people rise to our call? Have we done enough for the marathon to have an effect? Will the efforts of journalists, politicians, and activists be enough to make it an inspiring event, rather than something disappointing?
I know where such doubts come from. Sadly, the past three years have prepared us to anticipate the worst-case scenario all the time.
We are used to thinking that our strongest desires are not enough to change a corrupt system.
We are used to hearing two words of support for every public statement we make, but ten words of criticism.
We are used to being labeled an aggressor country due to the regime's policies — and being lumped together with Russia.
We are used to feeling powerless, unable to stop the war and rescue all the prisoners. Even worse, we are starting to get used to not having any information about political prisoners for months. I never thought I would reach a point in my life where I would watch a video of Siarhei and not immediately be sure it was him.
We have seen so much cruelty, pain, and tragedy that we have become used to expecting the worst.
But today, let us break free from this bad habit.
Perhaps even now the first thought you had was that it will not bring us closer to victory. But from now on, let us try to believe. Believe in ourselves and our unity. Uladzimir Karatkevich once said, “The power of faith can move both the land and the sea”.
Constant preparations for the worst make us miserable. But just remember how many projects we have accomplished together. It was only five years ago when we could not even imagine implementing something like that. But today, these projects have all made it into the history of the New Belarus.
Just think about the marathon. We, Belarusians, raised 570 thousand euros to help political prisoners and their families. It is an outstanding achievement for a society where solidarity has been repressed for three years.
Think about the initiatives to revive Belarusian theater, book publishing, and education in our native language. They allow us to preserve our identity and pass on our national values to the new generation of Belarusians.
Think about the military formations fighting in Ukraine. They accomplish feat after feat and demonstrate to the whole world why Belarusians and the Lukashenka regime must be treated differently.
Just the fact that we are here today, having open discussions, and holding public hearings of the Cabinet, is a great achievement for a society that has not lived in a free country for almost 30 years. Because transparency, diversity of views, and freedom of speech are the foundation on which democratic power is built.
But it depends on all of us what kind of building that foundation will bear.
Dear friends,
At this conference, we will discuss what the New Belarus should be like and how we can make it a reality. We will talk about the reforms our country needs and find ways to identify those who have committed crimes. We will discuss the methods we could use in our struggle and ways to support political prisoners in Belarus. We will consider the relations with our neighbors and look for ways to bring Belarus back to the map of Europe.
Yesterday, together with representatives of the Cabinet, the Coordination Council, political parties, and organizations, we developed several joint declarations. You can already find them on the conference website and join them. One of them launches the “New Belarus” movement. The second is about the European choice for Belarus. The third is about solidarity with Ukraine. The last one declares the 2024 elections as farce and imitation. These declarations are one of the results of our conference.
The second result is the presentation of the passports of New Belarus. We are moving to a new stage — preparations for their issuance and a campaign for their recognition.
And the third is changes in the United Transitional Cabinet and the democratic movement, including those based on the results of hearings in the Coordination Council. I will announce them in the evening.
I understand perfectly well that the previous conference has not solved all the issues we had. It raised the expectations from democratic forces even higher. Some of you may have been disappointed, saying that the Cabinet has not stopped the war, the Coordination Council has not freed political prisoners, and the many advisors have not come up with reforms…
The path to a New Belarus is too long to be walked in one day. Thus, we cannot completely avoid mistakes, exhaustion, disagreements, and mutual grievances. However, we should all remember that if everyone was willing to do a small miracle for someone else, the world would become a world of wonders.
Yes, this is just the beginning of the journey to change in our country. But I have been saying this for three years now, and I will say it again — we can only reach the end of this journey together.
Remember how many times you have lost faith. A week ago, I went to bed with a heavy heart, worried about the marathon. But just a few hours later, my heart was filled with warmth again, because I felt yet again how many of us there are — and how much we care about each other. I felt pride in Belarusians: in our people — both free and behind bars, in our volunteer fighters, in our country, in each and every one of us.
Please, keep these moments — the ones that inspire you — in your memory. Fight the habit of always expecting the worst. Thank you for everything you have already done. I wish you fruitful work at the conference. It will help us understand what else we can do — to build a stronger team and reclaim our country.
Long live Belarus!
