Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is on a working visit to Brussels, where she took part in a meeting of EU ministers for European affairs. She called for active efforts to resolve Belarus’ political crisis.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya proposed 3 practical steps:
- Isolating the regime. She called on the EU to maintain pressure on the Lukashenka regime as long as repressions continue and political prisoners remain behind bars. She also strongly urged ministers to support Lithuania’s referral of the regime’s crimes to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
- Supporting Belarusians. The leader stressed the need to increase support for civil society and democratic initiatives. She highlighted the urgent need to compensate for the reduction in US funding to sustain independent Belarusian media.
- Ensuring Belarusians’ mobility and rights. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya emphasized the importance of guaranteeing visa access and legal status for Belarusians. She pointed out the pressing need to find a comprehensive solution for thousands of Belarusians in the EU who cannot renew their passports or safely return home.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “As long as Lukashenka remains in power, the European Union will face constant threats. Just this past weekend, we saw hundreds of new attempts at illegal border crossings into Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. This is not just a threat – it is blackmail.
Belarus shows that democracy and security are interconnected. When a government does not respect its own people, it will not respect its neighbors either. But we want Belarus to be as safe as the EU. And that is only possible if it becomes democratic.
Democratic change in Belarus means 1,000 kilometers of secure borders – free from migrant attacks and the constant fear of war”.
