Your excellencies,
Dear friends,
I wish to start with words of gratitude to each of you and your governments for your unprecedented support and solidarity. These three years were tough, but we sustained our movement and continue fighting for our freedom. This would not be possible without your support.
I wish to thank Europa House and the EU delegation for hosting us today. Let me also congratulate Poland on the spectacular elections last weekend. You showed the example of democracy. I am sure that your support and assistance for free Belarus and Ukraine will remain no matter what the government coalition will be.
I came to London to take part in the UK-Belarus forum and to give the Westminster Annual Lecture at the British Parliament. I plan to meet the Foreign Secretary and other representatives of FCDO. Today, I’ve met the shadow foreign minister David Lammy and the ambassador of Spain in the UK, his excellency José Pascual Marco Martínez.
Meeting senior officials here in the UK and everywhere, I have to start with an observation: Belarus is NOT high on the international agenda right now. But Belarus definitely must not be forgotten. In the current attempt of tyrannies to undermine democracies, Belarus is a part of the problem, but also a part of the solution.
It’s not by chance that Lukashenka’s media, as well as Putin’s, were cheering after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. Propaganda wrote that the attack on Israel is “the victory of Minsk and Moscow”.
We see that Russia is using the situation in the Middle East to escalate its attacks on Ukraine. Lukashenka is using the same situation to intensify repression against Belarusians. His military factories continue producing and repairing weaponry for the Russian army. In violation of sanctions, he still receives some materials and components from the European Union and democratic countries. It’s simply unacceptable.
If we want to defeat tyrannies, namely Russia, we should start with closing the loopholes in the sanctions. Let me point to the third countries of Central Asia and the Middle East that help Lukashenka and Putin circumvent the existing sanctions. Even the message that those who assist in circumventing sanctions will face consequences might be effective.
We also ask to synchronize sanctions between EU countries, the US, the UK and other countries. Impose individual sanctions against the regime’s cronies. Judges, propagandists, prison chiefs, KGB officers – they must all be on the sanctions list. For example, propagandists who are under sanctions, are immediately blocked by YouTube, which also helps to fight propaganda.
Sanctions are also a message. When you introduce the sanctions against Russia, the reasoning should include undermining Belarusian sovereignty. Putin must know that his hostile actions towards the Belarusian people will not be forgotten.
Russia is de-facto occupying and colonizing Belarus. With economic, informational and military means. A few thousands of Russian troops are in Belarus, and their aim is to subjugate Belarus, to keep the population in fear. Also, they deploy nuclear weapons, and conduct the massive campaign of Russification. On a positive note, of 4000 Wagner mercenaries, only several hundreds remain in Belarus.
At my meetings here in the UK, I will suggest that the UK initializes hearings in the Arria Formula on Belarus in the UN Security Council, together with Albania, Brazil and the US.
I don’t believe that the Belarusian army will join the war. And it’s not a merit of Lukashenka. There is a strong consensus in the society that Belarus should not get involved.
The human rights situation remains a catastrophe. There are about 1500 political prisoners, the real number can be much higher. Up to 5000. At least.
Arrests continue every day. In August, 20 people were detained daily. Beaten, tortured. People are kept in harsh conditions, incommunicado. I haven’t heard anything from my husband Siarhei since March. I don’t even know if he is alive. The same with Maryia Kalesnikava, Viktar Babaryka, Mikola Statkevich and many others. Political prisoners are being killed slowly.
The resistance went underground. Every month, we see courageous acts of disobedience, and sabotage. Cyber partisans are hacking state institutions. Recently, Belarusian railway partisans have blown up a section of railway track used by the Russian military. Belarusians continue to help the Ukrainian army with intelligence, via Belarusian Hayun. More than 1000 fight for Ukraine as military volunteers.
Contacts with Ukraine are of key importance. Our relationship with Kyiv has significantly improved since spring. I have opened the mission in Kyiv and have regular meetings with presidential advisors. We continue improving our relations with the EU and the US. This December, we will launch the Strategic dialogue with the US. We already have the consultative group with the EU and a Contact group with the Council of Europe.
I invite your countries to join the Group of friends of Belarus in OSCE. So far, it’s ten countries: USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, France, Denmark and Estonia. I wish to see this coalition broad and efficient. We also ask our allies to assign special envoys to work with democratic Belarus instead of sending ambassadors to Minsk.
The dictator Lukashenka is afraid of accountability. At the CIS Summit in Bishkek, several times, he has expressed concerns about international courts. It’s a painful topic for him. If ICC will issue the arrest warrant on Lukashenka, it will affect him a lot. For the deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories, but also for crimes against humanity. With your support, the International Accountability platform has collected enough evidence to open cases against the regime’s cronies in your countries under universal jurisdiction, as Switzerland did a month ago.
Meanwhile, we keep strengthening our movement. We have a well-established system of governance within democratic forces. The United Transitional Cabinet is an executive body, while the Coordination Council represents NGOs and political parties.
Next year, we want to conduct the elections to the Coordination Council as an alternative to Lukashenka’s so-called elections to Parliament scheduled for February. I ask you not even to consider recognizing the regime’s elections. They are a farce. We will use them to put focus on our own democratic agenda.
I ask your governments to provide assistance to our democratic forces and civil society. Right now, we have enough resources to subsist, but not to win. Supporting repressed and political prisoners, strengthening the capacity of democratic institutions, and countering propaganda are of key importance.
I ask you to support our project of a New Belarusian passport. Two months ago, Lukashenka issued a decree not to renew national passports for Belarusians living abroad if they don’t want to go back to Belarus. Hundreds of thousands of people can become de-facto stateless. The passport of New Belarus, confirming the identity of Belarusian citizens, can be a solution. We plan to start issuing the passports next year and will ask your governments to recognize them.
I also ask your countries to endorse the idea of a European perspective for Belarus. It is the only alternative to the “Russian world” for us. Only there can the Belarusian national identity be preserved, our freedom protected, and our sovereignty guaranteed. I know it will take many years, but Belarusians must know that the door to Europe is open to them.
Finally, I ask you to join the Day of Solidarity with Belarus on November 12. On this day, you can raise Belarusian flags at your embassies, make a statement, or a tweet. Every act of solidarity matters.
Thank you. Zhyve Belarus!
