Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya continues her working visit to Brussels. On Thursday morning, she participated in the high-level conference titled “Standing with the People of Belarus”. The event also featured the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, its members, EU representatives, ambassadors, and special envoys on Belarus.
The conference, organized by the European External Action Service and the European Parliament as part of the Belarus Days, aims to express solidarity with the Belarusian people and discuss ways to support them. Over two panels, participants are exploring methods and strategies to achieve the release of political prisoners, hold the Lukashenka regime accountable, increase support for those facing persecution and their families, and build a democratic future for Belarus.
Below are the key points from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech.
“Despite centuries of oppression by empires and tyrannies, Belarusians have always fought for a European future. Belarusians do not need imperial Russia to tell us how to live and what to do. We have our pride, culture, and identity. And that is what we defend. That is what Russia is trying to destroy. They are erasing our culture and rewriting our history.
I always say that Belarus can’t be freed alone. It is our shared responsibility to free political prisoners and lead the country to a free and fair election.
We must free Belarus from Russia’s claws to revive our national identity and make our country a guarantor of peace and security, not a threat.
We cannot give in to fatigue. We cannot abandon our political prisoners. We must fight until everyone is free. Until Belarus is free”.
