“Dear Ambassador John Herbst,
Dear David, dear Hanna, dear Shelby,
Dear friends of Belarus,
I’d like to thank the Atlantic Council for your many years of support of the Belarusian democratic movement. Thank you for keeping Belarus high on the political agenda in Washington D.C. and worldwide.
When all eyes are on Russia and Ukraine, it is sometimes forgotten that Belarus is also part of the puzzle.
The so-called Prigozhin’s mutiny, on June 24, showed how shaky the Russian regime is and what a dangerous game it is playing.
We were witnessing what could become the collapse of Russia. We have seen Putin’s weakness.
Unfortunately, for now, the events ended up not like we expected. And they ended up, probably, in the worst possible way for Belarus – once again, because of Lukashenka. Russian domestic conflict escalated to our territory.
The announced presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus may have very dire consequences for our sovereignty. In addition to Russian troops and nuclear weapons, now we expect to have Russian thugs and criminals.
We don’t know yet how many of them will come to Belarus, what role will they play, how loyal, if at all, they will be to Lukashenka. Whether they’ll be integrated into the Belarusian army or not.
Wagner’s presence in Belarus is a threat not only to Belarus’ independence, but also to our neighbors. We can’t exclude provocations against Poland, Lithuania, Latvia. And especially Ukraine. There is no doubt that Lukashenka won’t control Wagner’s mercenaries, as he won’t control Russian nuclear weapons.
Belarusians certainly don’t welcome Wagner mercenaries to Belarus. They are also against Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus and against Belarusian involvement in the war against Ukraine.
Considering the scale of repression and police terror, it is very hard to organize the protest. The terror became even more brutal with the beginning of the war. People are arrested every day for messages on social media, for speaking Belarusian or for wearing the banned white-red-white combination of colors.
Human rights defenders speak about fifteen hundred political prisoners in Belarus. Their real number is estimated to be three times bigger. Among them are my friend Maryia Kalesnikava, journalist Ihar Losik, former presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka, our Nobel prize winner Ales Bialiatski. Many political prisoners are kept in an “incommunicado” mode. For months, we can’t get any information about them. Even their lawyers are not allowed to see them.
Yesterday, I received an anonymous text message saying that my husband Siarhei died in Zhodzina prison. There's no way to verify this. I haven't heard from Siarhei since March 9. It seems that all this time he has been in a punishment cell. Such messages are used as an instrument of pressure on me and other Belarusians. But all their efforts to break me are useless.
Belarusians won’t give up until all Russian occupiers leave Belarus. And until Belarus becomes a free and democratic country.
We stay in touch with Belarusians inside the country and in exile. We work on a common plan of action. On the ground, we have brave and resilient people who have not given up. We have railway partisans who stopped the movement of Russian troops. We have tens of thousands of witnesses who send us information about every sign of the Russian presence on Belarusian soil. We have those who spread self-made newspapers in their communities. Those who preserve our national identity.
An open street protest is not possible these days in Belarus. But my goal is to maintain people’s will and desire for change. To keep them mobilized, informed, and united despite state terror and the harshest repressions Europe has seen in decades.
We are strengthening our structures. We are building the United Transitional Cabinet and the Coordination Council, which represents a broad spectrum of Belarusian society and NGOs. Our task is to build a wide democratic movement which would unite all the Belarusians inside and outside the country.
Outside, we have diasporas, independent media and civil society who crowdfund, advocate, and collect evidence of human rights violations. We have built an alternative state to be ready to take over after the regime collapses.
We work closely with Ukraine. We have common strategic interests and a common enemy. Lately, in Kyiv, my representatives had several high-level engagements. It seems that Ukraine is open for closer cooperation with Belarusian democratic forces. And there are no illusions anymore about Lukashenka.
The fates of Belarus and Ukraine are intertwined. There will not be free Belarus without free Ukraine, and vice versa. Therefore, we ask our western allies to increase support for Ukraine but also for freedom fighters in Belarus.
Let’s not have illusions. Dictators can not be appeased. They can not be reeducated. Only coordinated pressure can force them to retreat.
Unfortunately, existing sanctions don’t work in full due to many loopholes. This is why it is especially important for Washington and Brussels to coordinate their efforts and sanctions enforcement mechanisms. We deal with an organized criminal gang here, which does everything to circumvent sanctions.
The West should impose additional sanctions on Russia not only for the invasion of Ukraine, but also for its attempts to undermine Belarus' sovereignty. It must send a strong signal that such attempts won’t be tolerated.
The West should stop pretending that Lukashenka is a president. He is not. Our language shapes reality: so let’s stop calling him president. He is a criminal who seized power. Lukashenka must be brought to the tribunal alongside Putin and Prigozhin.
It is obvious that the Belarusian people and Lukashenka’s regime are not the same. The regime helps Putin to implement the policy of colonization and occupation of Belarus. But the people are resisting it even under mass repressions. This is why improving Belarusians' mobility and supporting them on the international level is very important.
We welcome the United States' decision to start a Strategic dialogue between Belarus democratic forces and Washington. It will formalize our relationship and strengthen Belarus-American friendship. We already have a contact group in the Council of Europe, and last week, we had the first meeting of the Consultative group between the EU and free Belarus.
We also welcome the nomination of an American special envoy to Belarus, we are looking forward to it. We hope that the envoy will keep Belarus high on the agenda, as the former Ambassador Julie Fisher used to do.
We want to hear from the West: the world stands for independent and democratic Belarus. Belarus is a part of Europe. We will not allow Russia to occupy Belarus. Russian nuclear weapons must be taken away from Belarus immediately. This would be the message we want to hear.
The situation creates great risks, but also can unexpectedly open a window of opportunities for us to bring changes in our country. We have a historic chance to set Belarus free from the Russian sphere of influence. Our goal is to stay united, to stay brave, and to catch the moment when it comes.
In this difficult task, we count on full support from our Western partners. But, in the end, it’s only Belarusians themselves who can make Belarus free.
Thank you”.
