This week, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya began working in Warsaw, where the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will soon open and operate both in Warsaw and Vilnius. Part of the team will relocate to Warsaw, in particular those who speak Polish and are well acquainted with the Polish context, including the Chief Advisor, Franak Viacorka, and the Senior Political Advisor, Alexander Dabravolski. This move will help strengthen relations with Poland. Meetings with representatives of the Belarusian community are currently taking place, along with preparations of the physical office space for the start of operations.
Over the past few days, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has met with representatives of the Belarusian community spaces in Warsaw, former political prisoners, members of the Coordination Council, and civil society initiatives that support those subjected to repression. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also visited a shelter and met with representatives of the media community and the volunteer movement. She held meetings with Viktar Babaryka and his team, as well as with Pavel Latushka and the National Anti-Crisis Management. On Saturday, February 7, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will take part in a Coordination Council hearing.
With the opening of the Office in Warsaw, the Vilnius Office will continue its work, retaining its registration and diplomatic accreditation.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “I will also seek to visit Lithuania frequently and would like Vilnius to remain our diplomatic center of operations, as well as one of the centers of the democratic forces and civil society of Belarus. That is why a large part of my team, including the international department, will continue working in Lithuania. The director of the Vilnius Office will be my Diplomatic Advisor, Dzianis Kuchynski. Advisors who have worked with Lithuanian colleagues over recent years, such as Anatoli Liabedzka, will remain in Vilnius. Part of the United Transitional Cabinet will also stay in Vilnius, in particular the Representative for Social Policy, Volha Zazulinskaya.
We are expanding our activities to Warsaw, and I hope our presence here will strengthen coordination with Polish and international allies, as well as with the Belarusian community in Poland. Poland is currently home to the largest Belarusian community in exile. At the same time, we continue our work in Lithuania and with the Lithuanian government. We are grateful to the Polish and Lithuanian governments for their continued support of our movement and solidarity”.
Together with the United Transitional Cabinet, the National Anti-Crisis Management, the Coordination Council, civil society and human rights initiatives, international partners, and organizations providing systematic assistance, the Office will continue its work toward the release of political prisoners and an end to repression.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office will also continue addressing the challenges faced by Belarusians abroad and inside the country, drawing international attention to Belarus, advocating for international support for independent media, cultural and educational initiatives, and working to bring about change in Belarus.
Our goals remain unchanged – a free and independent Belarus, systemic change in the country, and the opportunity for all Belarusians to return home safely.
