Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Chief Advisor, Franak Viacorka, joined journalist Yauheniya Suhak’s YouTube show to discuss the diminishing mobility of people within the country and explain what the democratic forces are doing to address this issue.
Here are the key points highlighted by Mr. Viacorka:
📌 “We advocate for one million Schengen visas for Belarusians per year to be a standard. This is the level that existed before the war and revolution. Now it seems unrealistic but we should strive for it”.
📌 “Student visas are vital. This year, more students traveled to Russia than to the EU. This trend is concerning because, in five years, these students will have established contacts, connections, and ways of thinking aligned with Russia. The fewer the contacts with Europe, the more they grow with Russia.”.
📌 “Belarusians should understand where the discomfort and problems come from. It’s not the EU’s bad intentions but the Lukashenka regime’s deliberate policies that create these problems”.
📌 “Belarusians in exile should demonstrate support for Ukraine and be more public. Our visibility matters to foreign politicians. A great responsibility lies on us, those in exile, Belarusian diasporas. We should be more vigilant and work more with politicians”.
📌 “As soon as we stop our international advocacy, we will quickly be lumped together with Russians”.
