Today, January 24, at the invitation of the Chancellery of the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya took part in a ceremony honoring the participants of the 1863–1864 January Uprising led by Kastus Kalinouski (Konstanty Kalinowski). The event took place at the Warsaw Citadel.
An honor guard of the Polish Armed Forces participated in the ceremony. Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda delivered speeches, emphasizing that the struggle for freedom and independence was a shared cause of four nations – Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. President Nawrocki also welcomed representatives of the democratic forces of Belarus in attendance.
Following the speeches, a wreath-laying ceremony took place. On behalf of the Belarusian delegation, a wreath was laid by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, United Transitional Cabinet Deputy Head Pavel Latushka, Coordination Council Speaker Artsiom Brukhan, as well as a veteran of the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment known by the call sign “Pchala” (“Bee”).
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Freedom is not granted forever – it must be defended again and again. The January Uprising reminds us that we have dignity, we have a voice, and we have the right to live in freedom. We honor the memory of the insurgents because this experience of resistance and solidarity remains important for us today, when Belarus and Ukraine are once again fighting for freedom from the ‘Russian world’”.
