WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
From January 19 to 23, the Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya took part in the World Economic Forum in Davos. She held meetings on the sidelines with Gitanas Nausėda, Anita Anand, Mélanie Joly, Boris Johnson, Andrej Babiš, Alexandru Munteanu, Annalena Baerbock, Mark Rutte, Agnès Callamard, Ruth Porat, Szymon Midera, Vahagn Khachatryan, Svein Tore Holsether, and José Manuel Albares.
In addition, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya took part in a number of public events, including the discussion “Can Russia Sustain a Wartime Economy?”, the IGWEL roundtable “A New Era of Geopolitical Uncertainty”, and the panel discussion “Democracy in Exile: How Belarus Continues Its Struggle for Freedom”.
FIRST BILATERAL MEETING WITH UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY
On January 25, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, held a bilateral meeting in Vilnius with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya proposed appointing a Special Envoy for Belarus, as many other democratic countries have done, and strengthening cooperation with the Mission of Democratic Belarus in Kyiv.
They also discussed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s visit to Ukraine: President Zelenskyy invited her to Kyiv. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that the fates of a free Belarus and Ukraine are closely intertwined, and that she, her team, and the United Transitional Cabinet would welcome even closer cooperation with Ukraine.
JANUARY UPRISING COMMEMORATIONS IN VILNIUS
On January 25, commemorative events were held in Vilnius to honor the participants of the 1863–1864 January Uprising led by Kastus Kalinouski. The events were attended by the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, with his wife Diana; the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, with his wife Marta; and the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with his wife Olena. As part of the commemorations, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya attended a Mass dedicated to the memory of the insurgents.
After the service, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya joined the Presidents of Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine to lay wreaths at Rasos Cemetery. The events were also attended by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Chief Advisor, Franak Viacorka, and Diplomatic Advisor, Dzianis Kuchynski, as well as representatives of the Belarusian community.
JANUARY UPRISING COMMEMORATIONS IN WARSAW
On January 24, at the invitation of the Chancellery of the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya took part in a commemoration ceremony honoring the participants of the January Uprising.
The events included a wreath-laying ceremony. 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”.
PAVEL TERESHKOVICH’S COMMENT ON NEW STATISTICS
The National Statistical Committee of Belarus has published new statistics on the number of kindergartens, schools, universities, students, and educators. According to the updated data, since 2020 the number of kindergartens has decreased by 146, and the number of schools by 192.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Education, Pavel Tereshkovich, commented on what these figures may mean for Belarusians: “I would also very much like to hear an answer as to why, over the past five years, the number of children attending kindergartens has decreased by 103.1 thousand, or 24.3%! 103 thousand is roughly the population of Lida, or the average number of kindergarten attendees in Minsk. The obvious answer suggests itself: these are precisely the children whose parents decided that the best solution was to move them to places where kindergarten visits are not accompanied by prosecutors coming in to talk about ‘genocide’. But will the Ministry of Education acknowledge this?”
ANATOLI LIABEDZKA’S VIDEO ON THE ECONOMY AND THE STAFFING CRISIS
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Parliamentary Cooperation, Anatoli Liabedzka, recorded a video to address the economic issues in Belarus, including the staffing crisis. Following the forced departure of nearly half a million working-age Belarusians, the regime has sought to address the resulting labor shortages by attracting migrant workers. The video examines whether this approach has been effective. Anatoli Liabedzka explains why the notion of a “Belarusian paradise” has failed both for migrant workers from countries such as Pakistan and for those transiting Belarus while fleeing war and poverty en route to the European Union.
MEDIA
BelSAT (Belarus), Dawn News English (Pakistan), Suspilne (Ukraine), Nikkei (Japan), ELTA (Lithuania), Bloomberg (International).
Public discussions featuring Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (recordings available): World Economic Forum (International), The Print (India), The Straits Times (Singapore), World Economic Forum (International).
