Mutual assistance and support
– The team of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Representative on Education and Science, Tatiana Shchyttsova, launched the ASVETA monthly digest. The digest will be covering news from initiatives, statistics on repressions against students and the faculty in Belarus, as well as new scholarships and study grants for Belarusians.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held a call with Belarusian athletes and the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF). They discussed how to raise the issue of repression in Belarusian sports in the lead-up to the Olympics, deal with the sports “quarantine”, and promote the campaign against the Football Federation of Belarus, while the Federation pressures honest football players. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya will support the BSSF and raise these issues during international meetings and media appearances.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had a working call with BYPOL representatives to discuss the issue of foreign troops in Belarus, and the hacking of the Belarusian Railway (BCh) by “Cyberpartisans”. They also touched upon the BYPOL’s new cyber-department of IT specialists based on the Peramoga Plan. BYPOL is a Belarusian union of former security officers whose goal is to restore democratic rule in Belarus. Its Peramoga Plan is meant to create a mobilization reserve and, at the right time, mobilize the people of Belarus.
– The Volnyja Pashtouki initiative released a guide on how to provide parcels to political prisoners using the penal establishments’ online stores. You can show solidarity with political prisoners by becoming a Family Friend under the “A Country to Live in” Foundation’s program or supporting the BYSOL Foundation’s fundraiser to support former political prisoners after their release.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office held a call with representatives of the Belarusian diaspora in Germany, France, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, UK, Ukraine, and other countries. The discussion covered preparations for the Day of Solidarity with Belarus on February 9 dedicated to the repressed Belarusian media, as well as the organization of exit polls to demonstrate falsifications at the “referendum”.
– The Spotlight of the Regions project’s latest report told how the chief physician of one of the Belarusian hospitals used his employees’ labor for building his own cottage.
– Representatives of the Office had a call with the OST volunteers. They talked about the action plan for the illegitimate “referendum” and raising awareness by explaining the strategy to the public, as well as distributing stickers and leaflets.
– The Office’s Solidarity Hub held a workshop on promotion in social media. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Representative for the Constitutional Reform and Parliamentary Cooperation Anatoli Liabedzka presented the Constitution project for the new Belarus and discussed it with the residents of the Hub and the Solidarity Platform. Read the project here.
– Head of the Cabinet Valery Kavaleusky answered the most pressing questions from Belarusians regarding the military threats in the region.
International work
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addressed a letter to the ICAO Council President and contacted the delegations of the Council member states to encourage them to advocate forwarding the ICAO report to the UN Security Council President.
– Following the letter to the ICAO, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya had a call with the Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary. O’Leary expressed support for the investigation into the incident involving the Ryanair flight, as well as for the release of Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega, and shared his interest in establishing Ryanair flights in new Belarus.
– The OST Research Center, joined by the University of Oxford's Belarus Observatory and the GCFR COMPASS project, held a discussion on the following topic: “Belarus’ integration with Russia: assessing the challenges for the country”. Watch the webinar in English here.
– During a working visit to Warsaw, Valery Kavaleuski held consultations at the Polish Foreign Ministry to discuss the ICAO report on the hijacking of the Ryanair plane, the OSCE's potential to resolve the crisis in Belarus, the expected package of the EU sanctions, and activities within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. In Warsaw, Kavaleuski also held a briefing for the diplomatic corps and met with the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Belarus Daphne Bergsma.
– The Union of Belarusian Business Abroad was opened in Warsaw, under the patronage of the Association of Belarusian Business Abroad (ABBA) and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office. The Union was founded by businessmen of Belarusian descent to facilitate and complement ABBA’s activities.
– Closed PACE hearings on the constitutional reform in Belarus were held in Strasbourg. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Representatives Anatoli Liabedzka and Alexander Shlyk spoke there. The hearings were also attended by representatives of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, as well as representatives of the regime. Anatoli Liabedzka shared his impression of the hearings: “On February 27, no page will be turned over”.
