On November 9, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met in Berlin with the President of the German Bundestag, Julia Klöckner, and the President of the French National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet.
The meeting took place as part of the Freedom and Security Women Summit, held to mark the 37th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Prominent Iranian journalist and human rights defender Masih Alinejad, who campaigns for women’s rights and against repression in Iran, also attended the summit.
The events took place at the Bundestag and near the Berlin Wall Memorial. German school students also joined the discussion with politicians, asking questions about women’s leadership, defending democracy, political prisoners, and the role of society in standing up for freedom and human rights.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the 2020 protests in Belarus, the role of women in the democratic movement, the courage of political prisoners, and Belarusians’ continued struggle for freedom. She stressed that even under severe repression, Belarusian society continues to resist and holds on to its belief in change.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “The fall of the Berlin Wall reminds us that even the strongest dictatorships do not last forever. There was a time when it seemed impossible that this wall would fall and Germany would be reunited. But the courage of people and their determination to be free changed history.
Today, Europe is facing challenges once again. Dictatorships are testing its resilience, trying to sow fear, divide societies, and force people to abandon their principles.
But Europe’s strength lies not only in its economy or its armies. It lies in its values: democracy, freedom, and respect for human dignity. These values must be defended not only in words but through action — with principle and consistency.
Belarusians want to be part of such a Europe. And I believe that one day we, too, will be able to celebrate the fall of our dictatorship and Belarus’s return to the European family”.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked Germany and France for their support for the Belarusian people, democratic forces, and political prisoners and called on European leaders to remain united and not to compromise on human rights or the security of European countries in their dealings with dictatorships.
