“Dear Frank Schwabe,
Dear President Kox,
Dear Secretary General Buric,
Dear President-Elect Rinkevics,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am deeply honored to stand here among you, awaiting the remarkable concert tonight by Volny Khor – The Free Choir.
Volny Khor symbolizes sacrifice and tireless efforts for a free Belarus.
In 2020, when Belarus had deepened in an atmosphere of terror and repression, Volny Khor invented a creative way of resistance. They started singing.
They sang at metro stations, shopping malls, markets, and public squares – places you never expected to hear Choir. Worn in white-red-white masks, they surprised not only passersby but also the regime's secret services. They were confused. They knew what to do with protesters but did not know how to react to singing people. Even when the mass rallies were suppressed, Volny Khor continued to sing.
After being forced into exile, Volny Khor resumed inspiring Belarusians inside the country and abroad. Their performances are giving people hope and energy to continue the fight. Their performances convey our stories, our pain, and our dreams to the world. Volny Khor became our Ambassadors to the world, as we can see here today in the Council of Europe.
Volny Khor means a lot to me personally. Because one of their songs was written by my husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who sent his poem from prison. He was sentenced to 19 years, and I did not see him for three years already. The regime can imprison people, but it can't imprison people's will for freedom, their dreams, and their creativity.
Among thousands of political prisoners, there are hundreds of people of culture: musicians, painters, writers, producers… The regime fights artists and creators because it is afraid of them. The power of art can demolish dictatorship more than weapons.
Today, with Lukashenka's help, Russia unleashed a war on our culture and identity. The Belarusian language is being discriminated against, and our artists are declared extremists. They want to make Belarus a small copy of Russia, and we must now allow this.
We must support Belarusian cultural initiatives; we must strengthen Belarusian national identity. A robust national identity will be the best defense against Russian imperialism.
I want to thank mr Schwabe for organizing this important concert. I want to The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for being a champion in helping democratic Belarus. I am grateful to Council for its decision to cut its ties with the criminal regime of Lukashenka and begin collaborating with democratic Belarus.
I believe that it's just the beginning of our partnership and friendship. We share the same values. We share the same ideals. And we share the same goals. We want to live in a free, democratic, but also diverse Europe. And I am proud that Belarusian culture is a part of this diversity.
Join me in applauding the Volny Chor and their performance later today. They are not only singing for themselves but primarily for those who are behind bars today. They are not only singing for their country but for our common European future.
So let their voice to sounds loud and clear today. It's Belarus singing.
Long live Belarus!”
