“I am happy to be back in the Czech Republic. Like many Belarusians, I feel at home here, it feels like being surrounded by friends and relatives.
On behalf of Belarusians, I would like to thank Madam Pekarová Adamová for the warm welcome. I am pleased to note that the Belarusian issue still unites the whole Czech Republic, regardless of political beliefs and party affiliation.
Belarusians have proved to themselves and to the entire world that we are a nation. Belarusians have shown that they do not want to live under tyranny. Belarusians have shown that they want to be part of Europe and feel confident about the future. Our struggle has been continuing for 640 days. Belarus is now home to a partisan movement, actively supported by the Belarusian diaspora.
Unfortunately, Belarusians' struggle comes at a high price. More than 50 thousand people have been repressed. Some Belarusians were expelled from their universities, and some were horribly beaten up and became disabled. Hundreds of thousands fled from the country. Thousands ended up in prisons, including my husband Siarhei, whom my children have not seen for a year and a half.
Today we continue to fight not only for Belarus but also for Ukraine. We understand that without a free Ukraine, there will be no free Belarus. And without a free Belarus, there will be no safe Ukraine. Our partisans are stopping Russian trains, and the Belarusian military refused to fight for Russia.
I'm calling on the Czech government to distinguish between the regime and the Belarusian people. Lukashenka lost the elections and does not represent the people. I know that the Czech Republic is now considering a law to hold Belarus accountable for its complicity in the war against Ukraine. This law will limit opportunities for Belarusian students to study in the country, and for the repressed Belarusians to relocate here. After the war broke out, many were denied Czech visas.
I want to assure you that Belarusians stand against the war and support Ukraine. Some of them, who had earlier relocated to the Czech Republic, started manufacturing bulletproof vests that save the lives of Belarusians and Ukrainians fighting on the front lines. I was impressed by what a 12-year-old girl named Varvara, who lives here, in the Czech Republic, has done. She donated to the Ukrainian army a drone for which she had been saving money for more than a year. “I want all of you to stay alive”, she wrote in an accompanying note.
The Czech Republic has always been a safe haven for Belarusians. In 2020, the Czech Republic welcomed hundreds of refugees. Injured Belarusians received medical care, and students who had been repressed were able to continue their studies. History repeats itself: a hundred years ago, President Masaryk welcomed hundreds of students from Belarus. Back then, they fled the Bolsheviks, now they flee Putin and Lukashenka’s regimes.
I am delighted that we can rely on such allies as the Czech Republic in our struggle. The Czech Republic has clearly stated that it does not recognize the Lukashenka regime. It has supported our efforts in the international arena. During this visit, I will call on the Czech Republic to make Belarus a priority during the Czech Presidency of the European Union that starts in a month. Lukashenka must be held accountable, and the Belarusian people must be represented in the Eastern Partnership that was launched here, in Prague, 13 years ago.
I hope that we will be able to establish cooperation at the parliamentary level and create a Friends of Free Belarus group at the Czech Parliament. I am glad that our cooperation begins now. There is no need to wait for the fall of Lukashenka's dictatorship.
We will also discuss prospects for the opening of a Representative Office of the Belarusian democratic forces here in Prague. Lukashenka’s regime lost the right to represent our country and its people. We had already discussed this last year. Little progress has been made, but we need to finalize this work.
And last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to all journalists who write about Belarus and Ukraine. Thanks to you, the world is learning the truth.
Thank you!”
