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  • Results of the work of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office for the week of October 25-31

    October 31, 2021

    A new wave of the pandemic – and vaccination 

    – Leaders of the Belarusian democratic forces addressed the EU leadership and member states, calling to provide the WHO-approved covid vaccines to Belarus as emergency assistance.

    – Following the address, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya had an emergency call with EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi to discuss the deteriorating situation with the pandemic in Belarus. After the call, Mr. Varhelyi reaffirmed that the European Union stands by the people of Belarus. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya noted that the EU is ready to provide vaccines: “The only question that remains is how to deliver these vaccines to Belarus. And we are all working on it together”.

    Work on economic issues

    – The Association of Belarusian Business Abroad (ABBA), together with the research center CASE Belarus, held under the patronage of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya the Belarus Business Forum in Warsaw. The Forum covered how to save Belarusian businesses now and facilitate Belarus economic growth in the future.

    – “We must find ways to support Belarusian businesses”. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya gave opening remarks at the Forum. She spoke on the priorities for supporting business now and in the new Belarus. Franak Viacorka, Senior Advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, moderated the panel discussion on how the EU can support Belarusian businesses. All this will be the basis for working with businesses in the country and assisting those who had to relocate their companies abroad.

    – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the ByPol initiative have filed an official letter to INTERPOL calling to block the Lukashenka regime’s access to INTERPOL’s resources. The letter provides evidence of the regime’s repeatedly requesting information about Belarusian citizens who are currently living or staying in other countries. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya and ByPol invite INTERPOL to organize a consultation meeting in order to prevent further persecution of Belarusians on political grounds.

    Mutual assistance and support

    – Ms. Tsikhanouskaya, joined by the head of National Anti-Crisis Management, Pavel Latushka, and the head of OST Public Outreach, Alexandra Logvinova, held a live stream on the strike movement. Representatives of the Workers’ Movement initiative and the Belarus Workers Union were also invited, although the latter abstained. Watch the full recording or see the key points.

    – The team of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya took part in the World Belarus Congress. The event was a 24-hour online conference where leaders, politicians, experts, all friends of Belarus discussed the possible solutions to the political and humanitarian crisis in Belarus.

    – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya opened the Night of Executed Poets memorial event. She read out a poem by Ales Dudar, a Belarusian poet who was among more than 100 representatives of the Belarusian national elite killed on the night of 29-30 October 1937 by Stalin’s secret police (NKVD). Remembrance campaigns took place all over the world.

    International Work

    – Together with the Ambassador of Israel to Vilnius Yossi Levy, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya commemorated Moishe Kulbak, a famous Yiddish-language writer born in Belarus and became a victim of Stalinist purges in 1937, on October 29th, – among other repressed Belarusians.

    – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya announced the Day of Solidarity with Belarus Political Prisoners on November 27. There are many ways to join it, read more here.

    – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Representative for the Constitutional Reform and Parliamentary Cooperation, Anatoli Liabedzka, held working meetings with the U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher and vice-chairperson of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights Emanuelis Zingeris.

    – On November 2, the OST Research Center will hold an online discussion on the following topic: “How can the EU use sanctions on Belarus as an effective policy tool?” Register for the discussion here. You can read the conclusions of the two previous expert discussions concerning the Belarusian diaspora and Belarus–Ukraine bilateral relations.

    – Ms. Tsikhanouskaya gave interviews on the situation in Belarus to “Echo of Moscow” (Russia), Business Post (Ireland), Nikkei (Japan – one, two).

    The Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urges Belarusians to wear masks, take any vaccines available, keep social distance, and, if possible, work from home. Stay safe and take care of the people who surround you!

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