“Today, Ales Bialiatski, and all of free Belarus, received the Nobel Peace Prize. Ales has all of Belarus behind him because he used to promote his values of Belarusian dignity back in the days when some of us had not yet come to them, or were not even born. I congratulate our hero and his wife Natallia Pinchuk, who received the Nobel Prize on behalf of her husband and delivered a speech in Belarusian. Like many, I could barely hold back tears listening to that speech. Today, nothing can overshadow the words of Ales Bialiatski for us. This is why I will cite some passages:
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I recently had a short dialogue.
– When will you be released? – they asked me.
– I am already free, in my soul, was my reply.
My free soul hovers over the dungeon and over the maple leaf outlines of Belarus.
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I look inside myself, and my ideals have not changed, have not lost their value, have not faded. They are always with me, and I guard them as best I can. They are like cast from gold, immune from rusting.
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It is not enough to be educated and democratic, it is not enough to be humane and merciful. We should be able to protect our achievements and our Fatherland. It is not for nothing that in the Middle Ages the concept of the Fatherland was linked to the concept of freedom.
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And on December 10, I want to repeat for everyone: “Do not be afraid!” These were the words that Pope John Paul II said in the 1980s when he came to communist Poland. He didn’t say anything else then, but it was enough. I believe because I know that spring always comes after winter.
Mr. Bialiatski, I am proud to be your contemporary. We all dream of the time when Belarus will be free, and you and all political prisoners will be free.”
