Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and United Transitional Cabinet representatives met with the Polish Sejm Speaker
This is the third meeting between Polish Sejm Marshal Elżbieta Witek and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. United Transitional Cabinet representatives Pavel Latushka, Alina Koushyk, Valery Kavaleuski, Aliaksandr Azarau, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya's Chief Advisor Franak Viacorka and Advisor for Interparliamentary Cooperation Anatoli Liabiedzka joined the meeting along with Ms. Tsikhanouskaya. The Speaker assured Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya of Poland’s unequivocal support […]
January 25, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addressed Belarusians considering returning to Belarus: “Take care of your safety”
“The regime's desire to bring people back to the country is understandable. The numbers that Lukashenka names (“fifteen hundred or two thousand people”) are significantly understated because, in fact, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave Belarus. These are specialists in various fields, whose absence hinders the proper functioning of the economy. […]
January 24, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and United Transitional Cabinet representatives met with Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński
The meeting was attended by the Polish Undersecretary of State Bartosz Grodecki, as well as, from the Belarusian side, the Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Representative for the Transit of Power Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Representative for Foreign Affairs Valery Kavaleuski, and Representative for Defense and […]
January 24, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Polish and Lithuanian presidents in Warsaw
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. The meeting took place in Warsaw after the solemn ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1863 Uprising of Kastus Kalinowski. The role of national identity was discussed in the meeting. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the significance of Kalinowski for the people and […]
January 23, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will have a working visit to Warsaw on January 23-25
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will hold a working meeting with the United Transitional Cabinet to discuss the situation of political prisoners, potential involvement of Belarusian troops in the war, and further pressure on the regime. Meetings are planned with representatives of the Polish government: the Minister of the Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister […]
January 23, 2023
“We cannot and have no right to stop fighting for our home”. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech on the anniversary of the uprising of 1863, Vilnius
“Dear President Gitanas Nauseda, Ambassador Urszula Doroszewska, Ambassador Petro Beshta, Dear ambassadors, guests, Dear friends, It is an honor for me to speak before you today. The uprising of 1863 unites Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. Our peoples refused to live under the oppression of the occupiers and stood up for their land and their […]
January 22, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met in Davos with Teresa Hutson, the Vice President of Microsoft’s Technology and Corporate Responsibility Group who oversees the company’s Democracy Forward Program. The Program has provided assistance and software to several Belarusian media outlets and journalists. They discussed: – free subscriptions to Microsoft products for independent media (Teams, MS Office); – security […]
January 21, 2023
Support for Belarusian civil initiatives and the repressed: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Wopke Hoekstra about the issues regarding legality of stay that Belarusians face in Europe as they are repressed and cannot count on assistance from their own state. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya noted that consultations are underway on EU travel documents for Belarusians. […]
January 21, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and discussed potential negotiations on the release of political prisoners
During the Davos Forum, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. She spoke about the escalation of repression and conveyed to the former PM her vision of possible scenarios for negotiations on the release of political prisoners in Belarus. She noted that the political prisoners are hostages of the regime and their […]
January 20, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya joined the Ukrainian events at the WEF in Davos
Within the World Economic Forum in Davos, the national delegations organize a number of meetings and events devoted to their countries. This year the Ukrainian delegation was represented by the President’s Office, the Verkhovna Rada, politicians, and entrepreneurs. At the invitation of Ukrainians, the Belarusian leader joined several Ukrainian meetings and events, where she had […]
January 20, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged the Prime Minister of Ireland to bring visa-free travel back for Belarusians
During the forum in Davos, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar. She thanked him for Ireland’s support for Belarusian human rights defenders and independent media. Ireland provides financial support for a major Belarusian media outlet and the International Accountability Platform for Belarus, which gathers evidence of Lukashenka's crimes. Ireland’s Prime […]
January 20, 2023
EIB and EBRD leaders assured Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya of ceasing cooperation with the Lukashenka regime and continued support for repressed Belarusian businesses in the EU
On the margins of the Davos Forum Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held meetings with the President of the European Investment Bank Werner Hoyer and the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Odile Renaud-Basso. The parties discussed the current economic situation in Belarus and the country’s prospects for quitting the recession. This is absolutely unattainable […]
January 20, 2023
Poland introduced a travel document for Belarusians who have lost their passports
On January 18, Poland’s Interior Ministry working group held another meeting involving Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor Kristina Rikhter, Belarusian Solidarity Center representative Volha Dabravolskaya, and National Anti-Crisis Management lawyer Artsiom Praskalovich. The meeting discussed changes in the Belarusian legislation allowing the regime to deprive opponents of citizenship. Undersecretary of State Bartosz Grodecki assured the Belarusian side […]
January 20, 2023
A precedent set: the UN Human Rights Committee is considering two complaints regarding the strikes in Belarus
The first case is the strike at Belaruskali in August 2020, which the Belarusian court declared illegal and whose participants were repressed. In their complaint, members of the strike committee recount their politically motivated dismissal and torture during imprisonment. The second case is the Nationwide Strike of October 2020, many of whose participants were fired […]
January 20, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held talks with the Vice-President of the European Commission in Davos
At the meeting with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Yurova, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya discussed the regime’s abuse of Interpol and Europol to persecute Belarusians. Belarusians, who have fled abroad in view of repressions, get detained while crossing the borders at the request of the authorities. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stressed the importance […]
January 19, 2023
«Belarus will always be a part of the huge European economy». Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the panel discussion on Belarus at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2023
Panel discussion: Belarusian business today and economic revival in a democratic Belarus “Dear guests, dear speakers, Dear all, I am happy to see you here. This is a historic event. The very first Belarus event at the World Economic Forum in Davos. And I would like to thank representatives of the Polish House, the host […]
January 19, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Prince of Liechtenstein and arranged for cooperation within the Council of Europe
At the meeting Sviatlana Tihanowskaya spoke about the situation in Belarus, the regime’s attempts to stifle any freethinking, repression against media and national identity. They discussed Belarus-Russia relations, as well as possible steps in international organizations. The Prince, who is also the acting head of the state, said that Liechtenstein would consider supporting Belarusian human […]
January 19, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with King Philippe of Belgium at the Davos Forum
The King in Belgium is the head of state and represents Belgium at the Davos Forum along with the Prime Minister. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told the King about the recent trials, prison conditions, rail partisans, and the United Transitional Cabinet, and urged him to support the initiative to establish an international fund to support the repressed. […]
January 19, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with President of the Swiss National Council Martin Candinas
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the situation of political prisoners in Belarus and called for finding ways to negotiate their release through the mediation of Switzerland. Mr. Candinas and Ms. Tsikhanouskaya discussed creating a group of Friends of Belarus in the Swiss parliament. The President said they had eliminated the group that coordinated relations with the […]
January 18, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Moldovan President Maia Sandu in Davos
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya expressed her support for the President and her efforts to integrate Moldova into the European Union, as well as to resolve the crisis caused by Russia's war against Ukraine. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya thanked the Moldovan Parliament for its decision to create a formal group of Friends of Democratic Belarus. The leaders discussed joint efforts […]
January 18, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Eurocash CEO Paweł Surówka
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya invited the company to invest in the future Belarus after the democratic transition, but in the meantime refrain from cooperation with the regime. Mr. Surówka and Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also discussed possible assistance to Belarusian shelters in Poland and Belarusian volunteers in Ukraine. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya suggested the company hire repressed Belarusians fleeing to Poland. […]
January 18, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held talks with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked the Prime Minister for the support in launching the Mission for Democratic Belarus and invited him to the official opening of the office on 27 February in Brussels. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also spoke about the ongoing trials against journalists, rail partisans, activists, and human rights defenders, and urged for increased support to the […]
January 18, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Prime Minister and the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Guillaume, and Prime Minister Xavier Bettel during the Davos Forum. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya urged the Luxembourg leadership to pay attention to prison conditions and new arrests in Belarus and make efforts to pressure the regime into releasing political prisoners. She also called for assistance to the repressed […]
January 18, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo in Davos
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the recent wave of repressions against the workers in Belarusian, noted the systematic violations of their rights, and told about the trials that took place in recent months against the trade union leaders. The ILO head assured Ms. Tsikhanouskaya that the Organization under his leadership would keep Belarus in focus and […]
January 18, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Spain at the WEF in Davos
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during the World Economic Forum in Davos. She thanked the Spanish leader for the support and solidarity that the country systematically renders for Belarusians. The Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez expressed his full support to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the Belarusian democratic forces. He also stressed […]
January 17, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at the Davos Forum commented on her trial in absentia
“Today begins the “trial in absentia” that the regime started against me. I am accused of every conceivable crime under 10 articles. I can’t take this farce seriously, but I am not going to ignore the violation of rights. My team and I didn't know much about the trial. I learned about the trial from […]
January 17, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya – about Siarhei Tsikhanouski and new charges against him
“Belarusians must not suffer because of someone’s craving for power. Mikalai Statkevich, Andrzej Poczobut, Darya Losik, Eduard Babaryka, and thousands of other Belarusians are charged with more and more crimes that they never committed. The people inventing these charges are the same people who made Belarus a co-aggressor in Russia’s war against Ukraine. These same […]
January 16, 2023
Davos Forum will discuss Belarusian businesses’ issues for the first time in 30 years
A delegation of ABBA, the Association of Belarusian Business Abroad, in partnership with a delegation of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s team, will take part in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. The delegation intends to raise existing problems of Belarusian business, including visa issues, discrimination, access to banking services, financing, and support programs, legal status, […]
January 16, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will join the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 16-19 to represent the United Transitional Cabinet and the democratic forces of Belarus
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will attend the Forum alongside leaders from 52 countries and about 600 CEOs of international companies and corporations. The Belarusian leader will speak twice within the core program of the Forum. On January 17, she will join the session entitled “In Defense of Europe” alongside the Presidents of Poland, Lithuania, and Northern Macedonia, […]
January 15, 2023