Today, the Senate of the Republic of Poland hosted a conference dedicated to solving the crisis in Belarus, the organization of the negotiations with the regime, and a new free and fair election. The participants discussed how to force the regime to negotiations, as well as how to involve Russia in the discussion of the solution to the Belarus crisis.
In her speech, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya:
– spoke about the political prisoners in Belarus and mass detentions of peaceful protesters at Freedom Day rallies;
– addressed the issue of the regime's repressions against Poles in Belarus, including the head of the Association of Poles of Belarus, Andżelika Borys;
– supported the call of the Polish President Andrzej Duda to the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council, and the United States to speak more about human rights violations in Belarus;
– called on Poland and the global community to support the initiative of negotiations with international mediation to peacefully resolve the crisis in Belarus. As of now, more than 760,000 Belarusians have already voted for a peaceful dialogue;
– called on the EU to impose the fourth package of sanctions against the regime's representatives: judges and siloviki who repress people, as well as to establish high-level Missions on Belarus in the European Parliament. Senator Marcin Bosacki supported the idea of strengthening the sanctions.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya’s address was followed by the ones of her advisers AlexanderDabravolski and Franak Viacorka, as well as of the representatives of the Coordinational CouncilPavel Latushka and Volha Kavalkova. The chairman of the Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Committee, Žygimantas Pavilionis, supported Ms. Tsikhanouskaya’scall for the new presidential election in 2021.
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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's full speech:
“Dear members of the Polish Senate, ladies and gentlemen,
I feel privileged to be invited to tell you, our Polish friends, about my native Belarus. Polish and Belarusian paths have always been intertwined. We share cultural and historic ties and, most importantly, common European values.
Since King Jogaila and Queen Jadwiga’s marriage in the XIV century, there was never a border between the lands of modern-day Belarus and Poland. Such figures as Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Adam Mickiewicz, Stanislau Moniuszko are the political and cultural heroes for both of our nations. It is only the XX century with its wars and totalitarian regimes that created the wall between our countries. This historical drama is yet to be understood. But the connection between the people has never disappeared. The Polish Solidarity movement became an inspiration for many Belarusians, not only in the Soviet times but also when the new authoritarian regime destroyed our young democracy.
For 26 years, Belarusians have been resisting this isolationist regime, and Poland has always been there to support the Belarusian cause in Europe. I would like to thank you for that. Thank you for hosting public discussions on Belarus, for helping victims of torture, for supporting Belarusian students and researchers through the Kalinouski program. Thank you for being a host land for Belarusians persecuted for political reasons. Thank you for supporting the Belsat TV channel, whose journalists have shown particular heroism during the last months.
Last year the majority of Belarusians finally said “no” to the oppressive regime and voted for changes. Those who still hold power in Belarus do it by violence only and have no right to represent our country. But this can not last forever. Belarusians show incredible determination in their fight for democracy, and I am sure that we will hold new democratic elections in the upcoming autumn of 2021.
The only question is what price Belarusians will pay for their freedom. By now the price is already too high. Since August 2020, more than 32000 people have gone through prisons, hundreds were tortured and at least eight killed. The regime’s violence reaches Belarusians of all ages, occupations, and origins. Recently the regime decided to attack the Polish national minority out of prejudice that they might be unloyal. The Belarusian Poles are an integral part of Belarusian society. They are no spies or foreign agents as the regime depicts them. They became new innocent victims of the regime for promoting their culture, for their civic activism, and resistance to the oppressive Belarusian state.
Andzelika Borys, the head of the Association of Poles in Belarus, was arrested and sentenced to 15 days in jail.
Journalist Andrzej Poczobut, who has been fighting for Poles’ rights in Belarus for many years, was detained in Hrodna on March 25.
Total disrespect for the rights of national minorities shows once again that the crisis in Belarus is not only an internal matter. It is in the interest of the whole international community, and Poland in particular, to have it resolved through peaceful means to avoid further escalation.
On this occasion, I fully support Andrzej Duda in his call on the United Nations Security Council, United Nations Human rights Council and the United States to start international discussions on the human rights abuses in Belarus. And these debates shall not be limited to the persecution of the Polish community members in Belarus. They shall cover the unprecedented repressions concerning the whole Belarusian society.
It is alarming that control, oppression, arrests, and persecution became an integral part of Belarusians’ everyday lives. The regime is afraid of decentralized actions of protests. It perceives as its existential threat the emergence of new communities united around the shared feeling of belonging, national identity, and solidarity.
It affects me deeply to know that our white-red-white flag is at risk of being recognized as extremist. The Belarusian Prosecutor General’s Office is preparing necessary documents with a view to passing the respective law.
Under the white-red-white flag, Belarus gained twice its independence. First, our Belarusian People’s Republic was proclaimed in 1918. Second, under the white-red-white flag, Belarus gained its independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union.
Last week, the Belarusian People’s Republic’s proclamation was celebrated by all the Belarusians worldwide and inside Belarus. It breaks my heart to learn that on the 25th of March, on our Freedom Day, and also during last weekend, more than 500 people were detained all over the country for celebrating our independence.
For years, state officials have been linking the white-red-white colors to the opposition. For years, the Belarusian state has been relying on the Soviet legacy, rejecting Belarusians’ ethnonational identity. Today hanging out our national symbols even on windows or balconies might be penalized under administrative law. Instead of being a tool for the consolidation of the Belarusian nation, the state ideology is used by the regime as a tool for legitimizing its own power. The regime refuses to benefit from the multicultural background of the Belarusian nation and does not want to build bridges with other countries.
I am here as someone who wants their fellow countrymen to finally feel free and to reclaim their national identity, to be who they truly are. Belarusians. With deep feelings for their land. With an immense love for their language. With complete freedom to choose their national symbols and cherish their Belarusian identity. This feeling of belonging to the Belarusian nation does not depend on the government, parliament, or president’s decisions. This feeling does not come from the Belarusian state ideology educational classes. This is a feeling of belonging to history. And this feeling of unity and solidarity keeps us going altogether in our joint fight against the state of lawlessness in Belarus.
My country is going through an unprecedented political and human rights crisis.
Prisoners behind bars have to go on hunger strikes to be seen and heard. To remind the world about the atrocities of the regime, they often put their lives in danger. And this is my role and yours to give voice to those whom the system wants to silence.
To the two female journalists, Darya Chultsova and Katsiaryna Andreyeva, who worked for Belsat TV channel, were sentenced to two years in prison for their live stream of protests. They are treated by prison authorities as extremists.
To Maksim Znak who was my legal counsel and is now facing 12 years in prison on trumped-up charges.
To Ihar Losik who slit his wrists to protest against his new unfair sentence.
To Natallia Hersche who went on a hunger strike after she stopped receiving letters from her family.
To Siarhei Piatrukhin who tried to slit his wrists to avoid being put in a cell with unsanitary conditions.
To Viktar Babaryka, who was running for a presidential office and who is now denied the right to address the court in his defense during the trial.
To my husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a prominent video blogger, who is charged with organizing mass protests but his only guilt is telling the truth and running for president. Yesterday it was exactly 10 months since he was detained.
We call upon our Polish friends and the whole international community to speak altogether, as a global coalition of friends of the Belarusian people. The support of the international community is crucial for making a reality our nation-wide goal to organize new free and fair elections.
We need the assistance of the international community for setting up the negotiations on the peaceful transition of power with the regime representatives under the auspices of the OSCE or the UN. Over 750.000 Belarusians expressed their support for such negotiations during the national vote initiated by democratic forces two weeks ago.
A comprehensive fourth package of sanctions must be passed as soon as possible. It should include high and middle-ranking officials, judges, entrepreneurs, and companies known for supporting and benefiting from the regime. Sanctions do send a strong signal to abusive regimes and individual perpetrators.
We count on your support to make sure the European Parliament’s high-level mission happens. It will show that the EU is serious about its solidarity and support.
With your support, we can make sure that a real international investigation into the regime’s crimes is conducted as soon as possible to finally end the impunity.
With your support, we can ensure that civil society, independent media, youth, and small businesses are provided with the assistance they need.
With your support, we can guarantee that the families of political prisoners and people who had to flee the country are supported by all means possible.
We need your helping hand here and now.
Dziękuję bardzo.
Zhyve Belarus!”.
