“Ms. Lapina, dear fellow panelists,
It is a great honor for me to be part of such a distinguished panel of women who are on the frontline of the global struggle for human rights. Your courage and determination inspires me every day and gives me new hope. I would like to pay tribute to our hosts and to the women in the Lithuanian diplomacy, especially to Justina Jakavonyte, who risked her life to save almost two hundred people from Afghanistan during the evacuation of Kabul.
I take part today on behalf of all the brave women of Belarus who have captured the hearts and minds of the world by their actions. They have shown the path to a democratic future for all and they have shown courage against an opponent who has no other answer than violence. In this time of crisis for my country, these brave women have stepped to the frontline – and suffered the consequences. Women are often blamed for being emotional. But I believe that it’s not bad. We as Women have so much empathy towards others and we can tell stories better. At this very moment in Belarus we need patience, and I know for sure women are good at long distances. Women are more patient.
Maybe there is no stronger symbol for the revolution in my country Belarus than the female activists who took to the streets to protest dressed in white, wearing the colors that have become a symbol for this movement. Forming chains of solidarity and facing the forces of repression and terror not with weapons, but with flowers in their hands. No one who has seen the pictures of these women holding hands can forget them or can deny that their courage is an inspiration for all of us.
Many have paid a terrible price for their courage. At this moment, 92 Belarusian women of all ages are political prisoners. Many more have been exiled, forced to leave their country. They have sacrificed their personal freedom in the fight for the freedom of their country. The only crime they have committed is to dream of freedom and to raise their voice in a call for democracy.
I think of my friend Masha Kolesnikova, who refused to leave her country and received a sentence of 11 years. Already, she has spent more than a year in prison, a year without the music that she loves. I think of the mother of five children, Olga Zolatar, who wrote in one of her letters: “Despite the high bars and wall, I feel free”. I think of Natalia Hershe, who refused to sign a petition for clemency three times. Her crime was to tear off a balaclava from a riot policeman.
But the repression against women continues. Olga Gorbunova was recently detained. She has created shelters for women who have suffered from domestic violence. Olga is on a hunger strike in a pre-trial detention center.
In the name of these women and so many more, I call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Belarus and I urge the international community to continue to pressure the regime with sustained and coordinated sanctions. We need to bring those guilty of these crimes to justice.
Now, when we hear the news that Europe should start talking with Lukashenka, because of the migration crisis, I want to remind you: people on borders should not die, just as people should not die in Belarusian prisons. People at the borders should not starve, just as people in Belarusian prisons should not starve either. Mothers at the borders should not think about how to feed their children, just as the wives of political prisoners should not think about it. The crisis inside the country and on its borders is happening through the fault of Lukashenka, for whom migrants, Belarusians, and the international community are just tools, and you can be sure that he will use us. If we allow him.
We expect a strict and consistent position from the international community, and our voice, a woman's voice, must be heard and counted.
You called it Revolution with the Women’s Face. So do not betray the women of Belarus who have taken a powerful role in a time of crisis, full of courage, full of hope and love. We must do everything to support them in their struggle for freedom and to remember their sacrifice. When I am tired, I think of these women in their prison cells – by their actions, they have freed themselves from a tyrant, who thinks that walls can hold them back. What walls have ever stopped a revolution? What walls have ever stopped a woman? None.
Thank you and I'm looking forward to a great discussion!”
