Dear President Von der Leyen,
Dear Mr. Johannes Winkel,
Dear President Lidia Pereira,
Dear Chairman Manfred Weber,
Dear Ambassador Ron Prosor,
Dear Chairman Daniel Caspary,
Dear Mr. Max Mörseburg,
Dear friends from Junge Union,
It’s an honor to speak here before you, the future political elite of Germany. And congratulations on a successful “Germany Day”.
Yesterday, on my way here to Braunschweig, I was thinking of how lucky we are to have so many allies. And here in Germany, the topic of Belarus unites all, or almost all, political parties. Because we share the same values and the same idea of a strong, united, and free Europe.
I’m honored to share this stage with President von der Leyen, a model of a modern European leader, principled and effective. Dear Ursula, thank you very much for your strong stance against Lukashenka’s regime and for your unwavering support of Belarusian democracy. Having a leader like you among our friends gives us confidence and strength to continue our fight for freedom.
We especially need strong leadership today, when democracy all over the world is under attack.
Let me use this opportunity, your Excellency Ron Prosor, to express once again our deepest sympathies for the victims of terrorism and our solidarity with Israel.
Dear friends,
I’m proud to say that Belarusian democratic forces have a great relationship with the European People’s Party.
Dear Manfred, thank you for supporting our European aspirations after the Party’s Political assembly in Brussels. Thanks for your support in the European Parliament, a crucial resolution on the EU-Belarusian relations was passed in September. Thank you so much!
And, of course, huge thanks to dear Lidia Pereira. Generations of Belarusian activists will be forever grateful to YEPP. We remember numerous protests, pickets, petitions, and solidarity campaigns for Belarus organized by you and YEPP. And I know that the Junge Union was always part of that.
As you see, our relationship started long before I came to politics.
The history of human rights violations and rigged elections in Belarus is as old as Lukashenka’s regime. Everytime that our people took to the streets to protest falsified elections – in 2001, 2006, 2010, 2020 – Lukashenka brutally crushed peaceful demonstrations.
And everytime, Junge Union reminded Europeans about what was going on in Belarus. This support was truly inspiring for young Belarusian democratic activists. Thanks to your solidarity, we never felt abandoned. That gave us energy and strength.
Today, I haven’t had much time to get familiar with this beautiful town. But when I read about Braunschweig I found out that it was here that Goethe’s Faust was put on stage for the first time. This reminded me of Antoni Henryk Radziwill.
He was a noble from Belarus, the first composer to put Goethe’s Faust to music. He was working on his opera with Goethe himself. Together, they put Faust the opera on stage in Berlin in 1819, ten years before the Braunschweig premiere of the play. This fact is worth our memory and appreciation.
But there’s more. Radziwill came to Germany as a political refugee. Guess who he was fleeing. The Russian empire.
In 1794, the Russian empire crushed Kosciuszko’s uprising in Belarus, Poland, and Lithuania. Radziwill was one of the political leaders of the uprising. So he had to leave Russia-occupied Belarus and found refuge in Prussia, where he met Goethe.
It’s a story not only about Belarusians’ European heritage, which is undeniable. Not just about cultural exchange between Belarus and Germany. It’s also a story about Belarus’ determined path to freedom.
Today, history is repeating itself. Like 200 years ago, Belarusians are fighting the empire. And again – many have to flee the country. And again Germany, together with our neighboring countries – Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and others – provides a safe refuge to Belarusian freedom fighters, students, people of culture and science.
I also had to flee Belarus under the circumstances. Even today, I don’t see myself as a professional politician. I’m a political prisoner’s wife with two children, living in exile.
In 2020, our peaceful uprising was brutally crushed by Lukashenka’s police and army forces. Russia backed him up fully: it gave the dictator financial, military, and political support.
All this happened for two reasons. Lukashenka’s ultimate priority has been to keep his personal power. Putin’s reason was to chain Belarus to Russia and subjugate it. In order to use it as a launchpad for his aggression against Ukraine.
But we must be clear eyed here: Belarus and Ukraine are not the final destination for Putin. He wants to weaken the European Union and to bring the Euro-Atlantic community to collapse.
If we all acted more resolutely in 2020, there would be no such invasion of Ukraine. No kidnapped Ukrainian children, brought illegally to Belarus. No hijacked Ryanair plane. No orchestrated migration crisis on the EU border. And no nuclear weapons and no Wagner mercenaries on our land.
But we don’t live in the world of “ifs”.
What Russia does in Belarus today can be described as neo-colonialism. They are already using our territory for confrontation with our European neighbors. We are fighting not only for a free democratic Belarus, but for the very existence of our country. Russia, with the help of Lukashenka, is trying to destroy our national identity and erase us from the map.
Today, there are about 1500 recognized political prisoners in Belarus. The real number is estimated to be at least three times higher. And a large percentage of the political prisoners are young people. We know the names of 625 of them.
Danuta Pieradnia used to be one of the best students at her university. She was just 20 years old when they arrested her and sentenced her to 6,5 years of prison. They also added her to the terrorist list. What was her crime, you may ask? She just reposted a message in social media criticizing the war in Ukraine and Lukashenka’s role in it.
There are many young people, even teenagers, who are sentenced for posting or liking something on social media. When police detain them, first thing they check their phones. So you have to be careful to delete everything when you leave your house. Can you imagine that “liking” something in social media can send you to a torture jail for years?
In Belarus, youth has been on the forefront of our struggle. In 2020, young people showed courage and determination, they were driving our movement for change.
Two years later, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Belarusian youth, in spite of all police terror, couldn’t stand aside and just watch war crimes committed in Bucha.
Dzmitry Klimau and Uladzimir Auramtsau declared a “railway war” against the regime. In March 2022, they destroyed relay cabinets on the railway near Asipovichy, in order to stop Russian military trains with troops heading to Kyiv. At the time, Dzmitry and Uladzimir were about 26 years old. When police arrested them, one of them was shot in the knee on purpose.
Both were sentenced to 22 years in prison. They didn’t harm anyone. They just tried to stop Russians from killing Ukrainians. Overall, 11 Belarusian “railway partisans” were sentenced to more than two hundred years combined!
Many Belarusians today defend Ukraine against the aggression of Putin’s and Lukashenkas’ regimes. Thirty five of them sacrificed their lives in combat.
Eduard Lobau was 34 when he was killed in battle by Russian occupants near Vuhledar. Eduard was a former political prisoner. As a member of the Belarusian organization Young Front, he was sentenced to four years in jail. After his release, he left Belarus to fight for Ukrainian independence in Donbas. He lived as a hero and died as a hero.
There are hundreds of Belarusian volunteers in the Ukrainian armed forces. Fighting for Ukraine, they also fight for democratic Belarus. And they fight for a free Europe. They understand that the future of our nations is intertwined.
This war won’t be over until Belarus is free. If Belarus becomes Putin’s consolation prize in this war, Ukraine will never be safe. And Europe will never be safe either.
People of Belarus, and especially young people who have traveled Europe and the world, don’t want to live in dictatorship. They don’t want to live in the “Russian world”, let alone to die for it. But in the situation, when about 20 people are arrested every day, to protest means to risk their freedom today and their future.
This is why we must become the voice of the voiceless. Young people of Europe should give a hand of solidarity to their Belarusian sisters and brothers. It is very important to support Ukraine, and it is equally important not to forget about Belarus.
November 12 is a tragic day in our history. That day, three years ago, 31-year old Raman Bandarenka was killed in Minsk by Lukashenka’s thugs. For defending Belarusian national symbols near his house.
We declared November 12 the Day of Belarusian Solidarity. I ask you to join us on that day. You can come to Lukashenka’s embassy in Berlin, demanding punishment for Raman’s killers and freedom for all political prisoners. You also can support us by a post in your social media, or a postcard written to a political prisoner. Every gesture of solidarity matters.
Allow me to remind you about your traditional cooperation with Belarusian democratic parties. All of them were recently banned by the regime. All of them have youth organizations. It’s important to invite them to your events, organize internships for them. It means very much to them. And it means very much for the future Belarus-Germany and Belarus-EU relations.
As I said in the beginning, our destiny is European. Having chosen democracy and change in 2020, Belarusians chose Europe.
Europe is not only our past, it is also our future. And I think it is time to start the conversation about Belarus as part of Europe.
Let me quote what President Von Der Leyen said a month ago in her State of the Union address:
“This is where Europe stands today. At a time and place where history is written. The future of our continent depends on the choices we make today. On the steps we take to complete our Union.”
We Belarusians believe that Europe and the European Union won’t be complete without Belarus.
And only when Belarus restores its European family ties, will it become safe as a nation and a state.
Just two months ago, Belarusian political forces adopted our clear strategic goal: to bring Belarus to the European Union as a full-fledged member.
For us, the EU is not only a successful economic power, a leader in innovation, education and social practices. Not only a space without borders, a family with strong ties. Above all, we share the values of the European Union – human dignity, respect for human rights, democracy, rule of law and equality.
The EU is also a safe space for Belarus to preserve its independence and develop its national identity. With Russia – these aspirations are unthinkable.
We know it will take time. We know it will need significant political will. But we have already made the first steps on this path. And we are ready to work very hard towards this goal.
I am grateful to President von der Leyen for keeping the European Commission open to our cooperation during these three years.
And I know we must do even more when it comes to our European choice. I also count on the support of young Europeans on our path to Europe and freedom.
Supporting Belarusians’ fight for freedom today, same as supporting Ukraine, is not charity. It’s an investment in our safe, prosperous, and democratic European future
And finally – let’s help Ukraine to win their just war for freedom. Victory of Ukraine will be the ultimate defeat of Putin and Lukashenka. We must understand that it’s not just THEIR fight – it’s OUR common fight for freedom.
Dear friends,
Let’s not be afraid of writing history. Because it is being written here and now.
Three years ago, when I unexpectedly became a political leader, I was afraid many times. I had no experience in politics whatsoever. I replaced my arrested husband Siarhei in the presidential campaign out of love for him – and for my country. Love conquers fear. Love helps you endure pressure, when your enemies try to break you. Love for truth. Love for freedom.
Don’t be afraid to engage. To speak up for the truth. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. In politics, you are learning by doing all the time. What matters is to keep going and to never give up your dream.
In every political movement, youth is very important. Because you, the young people, really care. You have to: it’s your life and your future, defined by the choices and actions taken today.
You, the young people, want to make the world a better place for you and for generations to come. You don’t want to give in to injustices.
And this is what we need more in politics: the values based approach. Clear principles and staying true to them.
These values and principles are the same for Belarusians and for Germans. Freedom of speech. Rule of law. Personal freedom. Right to choose your government. Right to preserve and develop your culture. These values and principles unite the whole Europe.
Please stay with those who share your values. Cherish democracy and freedom: they are so easy to lose and so hard to win back.
I have no doubt: Belarus will be free and independent again. With your help, it will find its way back to Europe, where it belongs. Let’s walk this road to freedom together.
Zusammen können wir Geschichte schreiben. Zusammen können wir Belarus frei machen.
Danke schön. Zhyve Belarus!
