After receiving the Tipperary International Peace Award, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya joined the ceremony organizers and guests to visit a memorial arch honoring Irish soldiers who fought in the First and Second World War. The Belarusian leader expressed a wish that similar memorial arches, honoring the heroes of 2020 and volunteer fighters who died defending the freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine, will also appear in Belarus.
Later, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited a high school in the town of Tipperary and talked about her experience of visiting Ireland as a teenager. She encouraged students to be brave, follow their values and ideals, and always achieve their goals.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also visited the Tipperary County Council, where she met with the local leadership. The Council held a solemn meeting in honor of Belarus and adopted a resolution in support of Belarus. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya proposed to join the international campaign of solidarity with political prisoners on May 21 and support Belarusian creators and musicians who promote Belarusian-Irish cultural ties, including musicians recording Irish music in the Belarusian language, as well as Belarusian poets who use the Irish limerick form of verse. She called for seeking similarities and parallels and expanding each other's cultures.
The Belarusian leader visited memorial sites related to the rehabilitation program for Belarusian children affected by the Chornobyl accident. The Chornobyl programs helped bring the Irish and Belarusian societies closer together. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya called for finding ways to accept several dozen children of repressed families for a month of recovery, as was done during the Chornobyl program.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited a cancer treatment center, where she met with volunteers and the center's leadership. She talked about political prisoners suffering from cancer and suggested a campaign of solidarity with those who are imprisoned in dire physical conditions. She also said that in the new Belarus, such initiatives and communities should be supported by the state.
Tomorrow, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will meet with the Irish President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Speakers of Parliament, and the Belarusian diaspora.
