Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Three years ago, the regime attempted to destroy Viasna, the largest Belarusian human rights organization. To achieve this, they fabricated criminal cases to imprison members of the movement: Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, and Uladzimir Labkovich.
They were given lengthy prison sentences simply for legally assisting Belarusians who faced persecution. For the democratic world, this may sound weird and horrific, but for Belarus, the last four years have made this a daily reality. The concepts of ‘human rights’ and ‘assistance’ have become synonymous with ‘crime’.
The founder and leader of the human rights center ‘Viasna,’ Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a person who has always actively supported the Belarusian language and culture – Ales Bialiatski’s achievements are endless. Under different circumstances, the country would be proud of such an outstanding citizen. But the dictatorship sees him as a threat – just like it sees anyone who disagrees with the system created by Lukashenka and challenges it.
We have not heard from Ales and his colleagues for a long time. But we uphold their values and beliefs, which resonate everywhere: in the thoughts of like-minded people, in the speeches of human rights defenders and politicians, and in the words of gratitude of Belarusians who have been helped by Viasna. I am proud to know Ales personally and eagerly await the moment when we can all meet together – in a free Belarus.
Ales once said, ‘By writing a few words of support and dropping a letter into the mailbox, those who support me receive an invisible response right away’. I often recall these words.
Write to the political prisoners. If possible, support their families. If it is safe for you, share their situation on social media and encourage others to support the prisoners. Today, each of us can take a small action – and thereby hasten the day when Belarusians are freed from prisons”.
