Belarus' sovereignty and regional security
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya represented Belarusians at the Munich Security Conference, the major forum on European security. She held about 30 working meetings – from US congressmen and Ukrainian MPs to Bill Gates. At all political meetings, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya's priority was to convey the position on the need to preserve the sovereignty of Belarus, as the regime keeps threatening it. In addition, she emphasized the illegality of the “referendum”, which therefore must not be recognized by the international community. Read more on Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's meetings at the conference: Day 1, Day 2.
– One of the regime's threats is that its illegal draft Сonstitution excludes the neutral and nuclear-weapon-free status of Belarus. To draw attention to the issue, the OST Research Center held an expert discussion: “Nuclear-free Belarus: is it in danger?”. Watch the recording here. On February 24 at 15:00 GMT, the Center will hold a discussion on the “referendum”. Register here.
Prices, labor practices, and rehabilitation: dialog with Belarusians
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held a round of public phone-ins with Belarusians. Anyone could register for the online meetings. Belarusians of all ages, people from the regions and Minsk, relocated Belarusians, former political prisoners, and relatives of those who are now behind bars on political grounds joined the call. They discussed rehabilitation for the Belarusians released from prison, support for activists, security issues Belarusians face in Belarus and Ukraine. Registration will open soon for the next round of public phone-ins with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her team.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, OST Acting Representative on Legal Affairs Kristina Rikhter, and representatives of the Workers' Movement Yury Ravavoi and Aliaksandr Sakalou held an open online discussion on the topic: “Labor practices in Belarus: workloads, compensations, social benefits”. Belarusians spoke about the working conditions at their enterprises, unpaid overtime, shortage of tools and overalls. As the organizers conducted a survey, 61% of those present responded that they had encountered a violation of an employment contract, 60% said that the trade union does not protect their rights. The registration link for the next open discussion will be published soon.
Mutual help and support
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called Natallia Hersche following Natallia's release on February 18. Hersche shared the conditions of her detention and spoke about the punishments in solitary confinement. She added that after her release, she will not stay silent about what is happening in Belarusian prisons. Sviatlana told Natallia that for Belarusians, she is a heroine: “You are a symbol of courage. I just bow down to you.”
– The team of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Representative on Education and Science, Tatiana Shchyttsova, published the second issue of the ASVETA monthly digest. The digest covers news from initiatives, statistics on repressions against students and the faculty in Belarus, as well as new scholarships and study grants for Belarusians.
– The Freedom Postcards initiative joined the MOVA24 marathon dedicated to the International Mother Language Day. The initiative's volunteers will mail everyone free postcards with political prisoners' drawings.
– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya congratulated Belarusian freestyle skier Hanna Huskova on her Olympic silver medal. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also supported the athletes who were forced by the regime to publicly apologize for their poorer performance at the Olympics: “We all need a country in which every Belarusian is valued, regardless of Olympic medals, loyalty to the government, or voicing the private position”.
