Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is in Italy, where the First European Conference for Freedom and Democracy, backed by the European Parliament, is taking place. The event gathers journalists, scholars, European politicians, Nobel Prize laureates, and young activists.
The conference included a panel on Belarus, during which Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya delivered a speech and touched upon the following issues:
- Situation in the country
“Every day, for five years in a row, Belarusians have been arrested for political views, for anti-Lukashenka statements, for supporting Ukraine, or for donating to the Ukrainian army. Solidarity today is a crime. If you buy a political prisoner’s child a Christmas gift, you can end up in prison for years. We’re talking not about days, but five, ten, fifteen years of imprisonment”.
- Belarusian identity
“This regime wants to destroy everything Belarusian, to carry out Russification. They are doing the same as in the occupied territories of Ukraine. And we must preserve our identity and open Belarus to Europe”.
- Achievements of the democratic movement
“We must remember that street rallies are only one part of the uprising and revolution. We must stand together, preserve unity, and build a society that resists the regime. Over these five years, we have achieved a great deal”.
- Resistance inside the country
“Those who remain in Belarus share information about what is happening locally and carry out small acts of sabotage. There are also people in power, close to Lukashenka, who want to help. They pass on information, for example, about how sanctions are circumvented, how the regime militarizes the economy, and profits from Ukrainians’ blood. They want change and democratization too, and they help as much as they can”.
- What Belarusians can do
“Democracy means the responsibility of politicians and parliamentarians, but also of every individual. Each person can make a contribution by spreading the truth, talking to neighbors, helping others, and showing their will through actions. We must maintain unity because dictators prey on our feelings, seeking to destroy faith from within. We cannot allow this. This is my message to all people and nations fighting for change in their countries, for democracy”.
- Release of political prisoners
“We are grateful to President Trump and his team for launching these humanitarian releases. But there are many complications around these so-called releases. People were let out of prisons but are not free. They are forcibly expelled from the country. They have no choice – to stay in Belarus or be sent to Lithuania. This defies all notions of justice”.
