Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is on a visit to Oslo, where she took part in a public event at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. She delivered a speech, addressing the current situation in Belarus: despite work on the humanitarian track and releases, politically motivated persecution in Belarus continues every single day.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Last year, you helped launch the International Humanitarian Fund. Hundreds of political prisoners and hundreds of their families have received assistance. Of course, in a better world, we wouldn’t need such a fund at all. But we live in a different reality. And political prisoners need our support.
Unfortunately, arrests continue. The regime uses people as commodities for bargaining. It releases some and arrests others. Belarusian citizens who have been released are forcibly deported, stripped of documents, and expelled from the country without being given the choice to stay with their families. While we fight for the release of everyone, we must ensure that those who are freed have a real choice – to stay or to leave. And we must ensure that repression stops completely.
Right now, we see a window of opportunity. The uncertainty surrounding Ukraine is forcing the regime to make concessions, and we must take full advantage of that. Now is not the time to ease the pressure – we need to make it even more effective. Lukashenka is releasing people not out of humanity. He is doing it because of isolation”.
During the ceremony, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya awarded Special Envoy for Eastern Europe of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Ole Terje Horpestad, the Cross of Good Neighborhood, and the Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Berit Lindeman, the medal “For Distinguished Work for the Benefit of Belarus”.
