In an interview with ČT24 (Czechia), the Belarusian leader discussed the mechanisms of pressure on the regime and analyzed how the opinions of Belarusians have changed over the past few years. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also answered questions about political prisoners and emphasized that the regime has failed to break their spirit.
📌 “We know that pressure on the regime is not a silver bullet that will solve all the problems. But it is an effective mechanism. However, sanctions cannot be effective as long as there are ways to bypass them. Therefore, all loopholes must be closed so that the regime cannot benefit from relations with Europe”.
📌 ”Millions of Belarusians in the country do not support the regime. But they cannot openly speak about it because of the repressions. People live like in the Gulag, like in Stalin’s times. And I must support them”.
📌 “Belarusians’ attitudes have not changed. They do not want to fight for the two dictators. More and more people in the army understand that this war is a moral defeat for Russia. I am confident that Belarusian soldiers will not agree to fight in another country. We have no violent ambitions. I believe Lukashenka himself understands that he cannot issue an order that will not be executed”.
📌 ”The regime tries to break political prisoners but their spirit is unbreakable. They face torture and other trials. Imagine what a person feels when they are repeatedly told in prison that everyone has forgotten about them – because they do not receive letters and the lawyer does not visit them. The regime wants to make people think that they sacrificed their freedom in vain because others have stopped fighting. And it’s easy to believe that in prison”.
