Collaboration and mutual support
– On August 9, Sviatlana Tsikhanovskaya, together with representatives of democratic forces, summed up the year of protests in Belarus in a joint video message and a series of open Zoom calls with Belarusians, where everyone could ask their questions. During these calls, participants discussed what everyone could do to help Belarus, and the leaders talked about their plans. The feedback made it clear that such open-registration calls could become regular.
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaya had a joint press briefing with the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on the anniversary of the August 2020 election in Belarus. She claimed: “I know what choice Belarusians made a year ago. I have made the same choice and took responsibility for it. Thus, no matter how long or difficult our path to freedom is, I will go through it together with Belarusians”.
– On August 10, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held a joint meeting of representatives of democratic forces in Vilnius: Office and Cabinet of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Coordination Council, National Anti-Crisis Management, Valery Tsepkalo HQ, Workers Movement initiative, ByPOL, BySol fund, A Country to Live In fund, Digital Solidarity initiative, Belarusian Council for Culture, Belarusian Medical Solidarity Foundation, Shod platform, Zubr Media, ZBSUnion, and other initiatives. The participants discussed the next steps of cooperation and actions within the framework of a common strategy, support for the Workers Movement initiative and the “Peramoga” plan.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office has launched a bot for communicating with courtyard communities and local initiatives – @dvory_OST_bot. Belarusians can send their suggestions and requests regarding their communities.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called to support Siarhei Tsikhanouski’s birthday on August 18th: any friend of Belarus can receive a card with Siarhei's 'hand' via Pashtouki bot by donation. All raised money goes to support the initiative helping to send letters to political prisoners in Belarus. Anybody can also send a letter or a card to Siarhei Tsikhanouski and other political prisoners or support repressed people and their families by donating to funds A Country to Live In, BySol, #BY_help.
International work
– Following the working visits of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to the United States and the United Kingdom, these countries, as well as Canada, announced new, coordinated sanctions against the regime (statements by the USA, UK, Canada).
– After meeting with Ms. Tsikhanouskaya during her visit to Norway, the CEO and President of Yara Svein Tore Holsether announced in a joint statement with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya that the company decided to reevaluate the situation, its’ cooperation with Belaruskali in the face of the repressions in Belarus. During the working visit to Norway, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also held meetings with the Norwegian leadership to discuss the topic of Belarus in the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, the assistance program for Belarusian workers, and Norway's initiative to hold a high-level conference to address the crisis in Belarus (more on the meeting with the Foreign Minister, Chair of the Stortinget Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Members of Parliament, representatives of international organizations).
– On the eve of the beginning of the 2021/22 school year, INeedHelpBy initiative and A Country To Live In fund started programs to help equip the children of repressed and imprisoned Belarusians for school. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya encouraged everyone to join both programs.
– Ms. Tsikhanouskaya's Representative on Legal Affairs, Siarhej Zikratski, gave a big interview about a lawyer's work during a legal default, decision to join the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and the regime’s judges and prosecutors.
– Ales Aliakhnovich, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Representative on Economics, explained how seriously the new sanctions would impact the regime and its’ supporters.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in interviews for Belarusian and foreign media, told about the year of peaceful protests in Belarus: CNN (USA), Financial Times (USA), La Repubblica (Italy), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), The Guardian (UK) – one and two, The Independent (UK), Sobesednik (Russia), Mail+ (UK), APNews (International News Agency), POLITICO (Europe).
