On April 11-12, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was in Greece on a working visit, where she participated in the Delphi Economic Forum and held a series of meetings with key politicians of the country.
With the President of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the Belarusian leader discussed the current situation in Belarus and the region – and stressed the importance of holding the regime accountable, in particular for the hijacking of the Ryanair plane, the forced displacement of Ukrainian children from occupied territories, and crimes against humanity. The parties also talked about the legalization of stay problems faced by Belarusians in Greece and rehabilitation programs for children of repressed Belarusians.
With the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya talked about supporting the Belarusian diaspora activities in the city and cultural diplomacy initiatives like residences for Belarusian artists and internships for the Personnel Reserve, helping honest Belarusian businesses, as well as organizing exhibitions and Belarusian-Greek events.
With former Prime Minister of Greece, George Papandreou, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited a number of historical sites in Athens, where Mr. Papandreou spoke about the traditions of Greek parliamentarism. It is worth noting that Mr. Papandreou’s great-grandfather, Zygmunt Mineyko, was born in Belarus and actively participated in the Kastus Kalinouski Uprising. The Belarusian leader brought archival materials about this remarkable person, including information about his line of descent, photographs of ancestors, as well as documents about the property and lands of the Mineykos in Belarus.
At the end of the meeting, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya invited Mr. Papandreou to Vilnius to visit the graves of his relatives and presented him with a book of memoirs “Z Taihi pad Akropole” (“From the Taiga to the Acropolis”) in the Belarusian language.
