Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the Carleton University in Ottawa, 2022
“Dr. J. Paul Goode, Dean Brenda O’Neill, Thank you for the invitation. Many thanks to the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, and to the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. I feel a great responsibility speaking before students. And to be honest – I’m a little nervous. Being a politician […]
November 22, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is on a working visit to Canada: meeting with Poroshenko, equipment for volunteer fighters, proposals for US congressmen
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya continues her 5-day visit to Canada. Canada has been consistently supporting Belarus since 2020 in international organizations, as well as providing assistance to Belarusian civil society, including Belarusian journalists, human rights defenders, women's initiatives, and opinion polls. In the first days of the visit, she spoke at the plenary discussion of the Halifax […]
November 21, 2022
Scholarships for politically imprisoned students, new residence permits, and Office of Belarus Democratic Forces in Prague: results of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s visit to Czechia
On November 16-17, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited Prague at the invitation of the Czech Prime Minister to mark the anniversary of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya met with Prime Minister Petr Fiala, President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil, Speaker of the lower house of Parliament Markéta Pekarová Adamová, and Belarusians living in Czechia. In addition, […]
November 18, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the Memory of the Nation Awards in Prague, 2022
“Chairman Jan Dobrovský, Mr Mikuláš Kroupa, Excellencies, Friends, I would like to thank the Memory of the Nation project and the organizers of this ceremony. People who receive this award have shown with their lives that truth, freedom and pride are not just empty words. And such events make us remember everyone who, in […]
November 17, 2022
One hundred days of the United Transitional Cabinet
One hundred days following its establishment, the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus releases a report on its track record and upcoming plans concerning goals formulated in its early days. Why was the United Transitional Cabinet established? Given the unprecedented brutality of the regime against the Belarusian people and the emergence of a new threat to […]
November 17, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech “Belarus and its European Future” in Prague, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya выступила at the opening of the international conference “Russia’s hybrid war against the democratic world. A challenge for European remembrance policy” in Prague. “Prime Minister Fiala, President Nauseda, Dear excellencies, Dear friends, I am so proud to be here to commemorate the anniversary of the Velvet revolution and to speak on behalf of those brave […]
November 17, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Education in Belarus is becoming increasingly obsolete and sinking into crisis”
Unlike in most post-Soviet countries, the Soviet system of compulsory postgraduate work assignment has not been abolished in Belarus. Those graduates whose tuition fees are paid from the state budget are obliged to work for 2 or more years for a company assigned by the state. In many cases, they are assigned to work in […]
November 17, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to Belarusians: “Speak to your children, defend their right to a happy childhood”
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Today I heard that Belarusian prosecutors and police officers now hold lessons on patriotism not only for high school students but also for kids in kindergartens. As a mother, I could not contain my anger when I heard this. I immediately imagined my children forced to listen to the ideological slogans of the […]
November 16, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya arrived today on a working visit to the Czechia
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya arrived in Prague at the invitation of the Czech Prime Minister to celebrate the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Within her visit, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya is scheduled to meet with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Senate President Miloš Vystrčil, Speaker of the lower house of Parliament Markéta Pekarová Adamová and Belarusians of […]
November 16, 2022
The status of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is seen as President-elect. Her mission in this role is to ensure transition period and hold new election
Numerous reports from observers, polls, and electronic voting suggest Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya won the 2020 election. But she did not take office as the official election results were rigged, and thus her status is seen as President-elect. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya’s mission in this role is to ensure a transition period and hold a new election. Unable to […]
November 16, 2022
The regime denounced the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Lawyer Kristina Rikhter commented on the implications
Lawyer of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office Kristina Rikhter commented on the consequences of the denunciation. What is the Covenant? “The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a treaty that contains a list of human rights. And the states that have signed the Covenant must respect them. The Optional Protocol is an additional document to […]
November 16, 2022
“Belarus is the only state in Europe that still executes people”. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the 8th World Congress against the Death Penalty
“Dear friends, Today I speak on behalf of millions of Belarusians who in 2020 chose freedom, democracy, and human rights over oppression and tyranny. The dictator Lukashenka lost the election, and waged a war against his own people. Hundreds of thousands were forced into exile, jailed, tortured. Many got charged with terrorism, and may even […]
November 15, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged EU foreign ministers to simplify visa procedures for Belarusians
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has joined the meeting of EU foreign ministers at the invitation of High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell. 20 out of 27 EU member states were represented at the meeting by ministers. Almost all of them took the floor to express their support for Belarus. In her address, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya called for: […]
November 14, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “It has been two years since Raman Bandarenka died”
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “It has been two years since Raman Bandarenka died. He only went out into the yard of the house he lived in to ask strangers why they were cutting ribbons off the fence. He never made it back to his apartment that night. Raman's death has still not been investigated by official bodies […]
November 12, 2022
Day of Solidarity with Ales Bialiatski and Belarusian human rights defenders
On Human Rights Day, December 10, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, together with Belarusian human rights organizations, asks you to express solidarity with Belarusian human rights defenders, including Ales Bialiatski, founder of “Viasna” human rights center, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and one of almost 1.400 political prisoners in Belarus. Since Lukashenka’s regime came to power in 1994, […]
November 11, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya handed Iceland a list of proposals for implementation during its presidency of the Council of Europe
This week Iceland assumed the presidency of the Council of Europe, and from January 1 Iceland will preside over the Nordic Council, which consists of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and itself. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya paid a working visit to Reykjavik, where she met with Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Foreign Minister Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, the Speaker […]
November 11, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the Women Leaders 2022 Reykjavik Global Forum award ceremoby
“Ladies and gentlemen, Dear friends, I’m grateful to Women Political Leaders for this incredible honour. Thanks to the Government of Iceland and the Prime Minister for hosting this great event. And of course, congratulations to all Laureates! I must admit that I am very nervous even if it doesn't seem like it. Three years ago I […]
November 10, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the Reykjavik Global Forum – Women Leaders 2022
“Dear Prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, President Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Chair Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir Excellencies, friends, First of all, let me congratulate Iceland on this great conference. You often say that you are a small country. But you have a big heart. And believe me, Belarusians feel your love and your solidarity. Though there are thousands of […]
November 09, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wished Viktar Babaryka a Happy Birthday
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Today is Viktar Babaryka's birthday. But, like thousands of Belarusians, he can't celebrate his birthday surrounded by his loved ones, and for the third time he has to celebrate it behind bars. Eduard Babaryka, held hostage by the regime only as revenge on his father for his desire to help Belarusians get out […]
November 09, 2022
The Council of Europe Contact Group on Relations with Belarus: present and future value for Belarusians
In March 2022, the Council of Europe decided to cease all contacts with the Belarus regime. Its resolution instructed the CoE bodies to deepen relations with the Belarusian democratic forces and civil society and cooperate on human rights, independent media, and youth policy. In September 2022, the decision was made to establish a Contact Group […]
November 09, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya shared a list of initiatives that help political prisoners and their families
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “In October, the “courts” in Belarus passed a total of 425 years of imprisonment in the so-called protest cases. All these years, the regime took away from free Belarusians in just one month, and this figure keeps growing every day. So does the number of political prisoners held in inhumane conditions. So does […]
November 08, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya completed her visit to Strasbourg, where she opened the Contact Group of the Council of Europe and discussed tribunal for Lukashenka
As part of the visit, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke at the World Forum for Democracy held by the Council of Europe and attended by representatives of more than 100 countries. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya met with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Tiny Kox and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe […]
November 08, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the opening of the Contact group in the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, 2022
“Dear Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great pleasure to be here today and, together with Madam Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić, inaugurate the work of this Contact Group. This is indeed a unique situation. Never in the history of the Council of Europe the state was presented not by a formal government. But […]
November 07, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “While the regime rewrites our history, we must do everything to guard it”
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Last Friday a man called me during my public phone-in. He has been fascinated by the history of Belarus his entire life. His father cultivated this love for it. The man was outraged by the regime's recent attempts to rewrite our history, hide the real facts, cross out our national heroes from the […]
November 07, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the plenary session of the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg, 2022
“Vice President Charanzova, President Elbegdorj, Minister Romascanu, Professor Tiburi, Excellencies, friends, First, let me address young Belarusians, who are here in the audience today. I know that you participated in the pro-democracy uprising in 2020, and had to flee the country. I know that each of you has friends or family members who were jailed […]
November 07, 2022
United Transitional Cabinet provided two state-of-the-art drones to the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment in Ukraine
During a working visit, Head of the Cabinet Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya asked foreign partners to help Belarusian volunteers. As the result, an agreement was reached on providing support for the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment. Funds were disbursed for the purchase of two state-of-the-art drones to help Belarusian volunteers perform their mission of protecting Ukraine from the Russian […]
November 07, 2022
The inaugural meeting of the Contact Group on Belarus will be held in Strasbourg on November 7
The Contact Group, established by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Belarusian democratic forces and civil society, will hold its first meeting on November 7 at 15.00 in Strasbourg at the Palace of Europe. The work of the Contact Group will be opened by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and […]
November 05, 2022
United Transitional Cabinet Representatives Valery Kavaleuski and Alina Koushyk met with parliamentary group For Democratic Belarus in Kyiv
United Transitional Cabinet Representative For Foreign Affairs Valery Kavaleuski and Representative For National Revival Alina Koushyk held a working meeting in Kyiv with MPs Oleksiy Goncharenko, Vadym Halaichuk and Bohdan Yaremenko, who head the Interfaction Association For Democratic Belarus within the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. At the meeting they: discussed their positions on the involvement […]
November 04, 2022
What concerns all of us? Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on the shortage of doctors and teachers, falling wages and new bans
In this video Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya speaks about what concerns every Belarusian. Belarus has an acute shortage of doctors, with healthcare institutions lacking up to 3.5 thousand physicians. This means that one day a standby doctor may not have enough time to save the life of someone we love. Belarus does not have enough teachers in […]
November 03, 2022