Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya made a call to Norwegian Foreign Minister Ina Mari Eriksson Serede. During the call Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya:
– encouraged Norway to join the EU 4 Package of sanctions and sectoral sanctions. Areas such as potassium fertilizers – in which the regime will try to circumvent restrictions – receive special attention;
– discussed with the Minister the work of the new International Platform for Data Collection on Torture (IAPB) – more mechanisms need to be put in place to stop the violence and achieve justice;
– invited Norway, together with Ireland and Estonia, to organize a hearing in the United Nations Council on Belarus and to discuss the establishment of an international tribunal for crimes of the regime;
– called for more aid to the Belarusians: political prisoners and their families had to pay exorbitant fees for fines, lawyers, and transfers to prison. It is also important to help the independent media that the regime is trying to destroy.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Norway has been and remains one of our main allies. We discussed the regime’s use of potassium transit as a cover for smuggling cigarettes – which means that the new sanctions should not allow for that. And, more importantly, we discussed how to make aid to Belarus more practical so that it reaches those within the country. The Minister told me that Norway has already quadrupled its support to civil society. I thank her for such assistance to the Belarusians”.
