“Dear Prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir,
President Silvana Koch-Mehrin,
Chair Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir
Excellencies, friends,
First of all, let me congratulate Iceland on this great conference. You often say that you are a small country. But you have a big heart. And believe me, Belarusians feel your love and your solidarity.
Though there are thousands of kilometers between Belarus and Iceland, this distance is only geographical. What brings us close is a shared commitment to human rights, democracy, and peace.
The fight for democracy is often romanticized. We all remember the beautiful pictures of mass protests in Belarus, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets. We remember fearless women on the frontline, on the journey to victory…
However, there is another, darker picture of our struggle because the path to democracy is paved with pain, tears, and suffering.
It’s hard to be optimistic when you know that at this very moment one of your friends is being tortured by the KGB, and that another might face the death penalty for opposing the dictator.
It’s hard to be optimistic when your friends are fleeing the country they love. And it’s hard to stay optimistic when you have to explain to your kids that their daddy is sentenced to 18 years of prison just because he challenged the dictator.
Yes, it's hard. But this hardship will not stop us from doing the right thing. These hardships became part of my motivation. Every morning, when I wake up, I think about those in prison and ask myself: what can I do today to help free them?
Today, I want to share a few lessons I learned in last two years:
- Lesson number one. Tyrants can not be appeased or reeducated. Any attempts to make a deal are seen by them as weakness. Democracies must show their teeth.
- Lesson number two: Our fight is a global one. We cannot win alone. Democracy wins when we stand together and confront tyranny no matter where it appears. If we allow dictators to terrorise their people, they will go on to threaten their neighbors and then the whole world. After crushing democratic protests, the dictator Lukashenka hijacked a plane, orchestrated a migrant crisis, and then dragged our country into Putin’s bloody and unwinnable war.
- Lesson number three. Democracy is not a free gift. It must be seized by citizen engagement and active participation. After many decades of dictatorship in Belarus, many people don’t even know what democracy actually is. Therefore, we must build democratic institutions from scratch using the internet and digital technologies to ensure that everyone is included.
- Lesson number four, and the main one: And indeed it is always women who come to the rescue of Democracy when it is in danger…
In 2020 when the dictator in Belarus stated that “The Constitution does not allow for women” he actually inspired thousands of Belarusian women to lead spontaneous and peaceful marches against him.
So many were beaten, raped and imprisoned but women of Belarus remain unbowed. Just like the young women in Afghanistan beaten for demanding their right to an education. Just like the school girls leading the fight for a democratic future in Iran. Even the war against climate change was led by a school girl who took her message to the world.
Belarusian women remain on the front line of every attempt to rid our country of its terrible regime.
For the release of all political prisoners, for new elections and for a democratic future we show our teeth.
Thank you”.
