“Dear Excellencies,
Dear Members of Parliamentary Assembly
Dear friends, students,
I am deeply honored to give key remarks at this roundtable and I regret I can’t be there in person today.
The fight for democracy needs its champions – those who dedicate their lives to it and their freedom at stake in its name.
One of them is our Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski. For his lifelong commitment to human rights and democratic changes, he was sentenced to 10 years by Lukashenka’s regime. He was put in a suffocating prison cell, and kept in isolation alongside thousands of other political prisoners.
Ales Bialiatski wrote: “The value of a true democracy is in promoting responsibility, morality and creativity in society”.
These three principles are key for building a strong and free society. While Lukashenka’s dictatorship does without these things: it is dull, immoral and irresponsible.
Democracy’s fight against tyranny can’t be won if we don’t share these principles. Democracies should stand united as one front and help those who continue the battle.
In 2020, people of Belarus made clear that they chose democracy. We won the elections, we rallied Belarusian cities. People on the streets were shouting: “Freedom!”. However, the regime responded with brutal terror, which first led to massive repressions, and then opened a door to the war against Ukraine, where Lukashenka’s regime became Putin’s accomplice.
Though we continue our fight underground, we realise that we can’t win this fight alone. We need strong allies and we need international solidarity. We need the democratic world to stand with us. This is the only way to stop impunity, to revive people’s hope and to make democracy prevail.
I do believe that Belarus will become a success story of transition from tyranny to democracy. I do believe that Belarus will become a key for European security. Free Belarus will be the strongest sanction against Putin’s Russia and a great contribution to Ukraine’s victory.
In opposing dictators, we stand for what is right. We give people hope for a better future. Opposing dictators is our moral duty.
Human rights and the rule of law are such strong principles, because they respect the dignity of the human being. Dictators see no value in human dignity. We, the democrats, do.
I believe that Belarus will become a country where human rights and the rule of law will be respected. Where responsibility, morality and creativity will be our motto.
I know that the path to democracy can be long and difficult, but let’s walk this path together.
Thank you”.
