“Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
I am grateful for the invitation to speak to you on behalf of the Belarusian people about the recent events in my country and the possible ways to overcome the crisis there. First, let me express to you our support after Saturday’s dramatic episode when Denmark's player Christian Eriksen had a heart attack during Euro-2020. Many Belarusians saw it and expressed their compassion. I know that the same way many Danish people are deeply moved by the dramatic and sometimes tragic news about Belarusians. I believe that this human empathy and solidarity is crucial.
As you know, since last summer Belarus has been in constant turbulence. The people did not accept the results of the rigged presidential elections in August and started the peaceful protest, which lasts for more than 300 days already. The dictatorial regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka answered by terrorizing the whole population.
However, the people do not give up and continue struggling for the new democratic Belarus.
A year and a half ago, I would not imagine or believe anything that I've just said. I lived my own life, and Belarus was in the state of so-called "stability", which was, in fact, stagnation. Then the pandemic began, and everything has changed. The dictatorship left the people alone with the problem, and it became clear that "the king is naked", to quote the famous tale by the Danish genius Andersen. My husband Siarhei was among those who managed to wake up the nation, I followed him and found myself in politics, and now my husband is in jail, and I am here speaking to you. The Belarusians delegated me to organize the peaceful transfer of power and the new democratic elections, and I cannot give them up.
In summer and autumn, hundreds of thousands of Belarusians flooded the streets of Minsk and other cities. Still, the regime turned the country into a prison camp where people are arrested almost every day, and no laws work anymore.
On May 18th TUT.BY, the biggest independent website was blocked, and its main editors were arrested. TUT.BY was read by almost half of all Belarusian internet users. Imagine, for example, the Politiken newspaper simply destroyed in one day!
Then on May 21, one of more than 400 political prisoners, a 50-year old activist Vitold Ashurak died in jail under unclear circumstances. With the laws abandoned, the crisis was getting only deeper and deeper.
It was predictable that one day this escalation by the regime must have gone too far. This had happened on May 23d, when the Ryanair plane from Athens to Vilnius was landed by force in Minsk, and the independent journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega were kidnapped. The moment when Lukashenka pointed guns of the jet-fighter at the plane with 120 Europeans, including children, the Belarusian crisis ceased to be an internal problem and turned into a challenge for the security of the whole region.
Denmark and Europe have all the means to give a practical answer. Before now, the sanctions against the regime in Belarus had rather a symbolic character and had not managed to change the situation. Now, combined with the renewed sanction by the USA, the fourth and fifth packages of European sanctions can actually work. They should include all the regime's so-called "wallets", as well as the judges, officials, propaganda makers, and policemen who take part in the mass repression of Belarusians. The investments and credits for the state companies and banks should stop. We see that even the perspective of these measures has an effect – now the regime tries to force some of the political prisoners to write petitions to be "pardoned," hoping that Europe will step back. But such kind of human trafficking is unacceptable — all political prisoners must be released unconditionally and fully rehabilitated.
It’s also extremely necessary and crucial to help those who suffer from the regime and are at the forefront of our struggle. I call on Denmark and the EU to provide assistance to repressed families, journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders.
As for the Belarusians themselves, after the regime's big mistake with landing the plane with Pratasevich, they see that the window of possibilities is opened. The local rallies got a new breath. BYPOL, the association of policemen and law enforcement professionals who took the side of the people, has prepared the initiative called "Peramoga" ("Victory"). Its idea is to organize the network of activists to make the non-violent protest as safe and effective as possible. Meanwhile, the striking committees from different key factories have united, and it is quite probable that the new wave of strikes will begin as the regime continues to destroy the Belarusian economy. The external and internal pressure on the dictatorship will lead to the mediated negotiations about new elections in 2021. We should make these negotiations happen as soon as possible because each day that the crisis is still unresolved, the risk of new tragedies grows.
A year and a half ago, I did not yet know what atrocities the uncontrolled power is capable of. But I also did not yet see what human solidarity and mutual help are capable of. Together with all the other Belarusians, I rediscovered my nation with thousands and thousands of beautiful faces and names. Belarusians proved to themselves and the world that they are strong, brave, and creative. But we still have to win. As my husband repeatedly said, "I will be out of prison as soon as Belarusians let me go because the power belongs to the people". I keep going for the sake of Siarhei, Raman Pratasevich, Maria Kalesnikava, and all others to make them and my beloved Belarus free.
And I am sure that the Danish people will help us in this way”.
