FREEDOM DAY
March 25 marked Freedom Day, Belarus’ key independence holiday. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addressed Belarusians with a message, while rallies and events took place around the world, including in Prague, Białystok, Warsaw, Salzburg, Vienna, Brussels, Edmonton, Toronto, Limassol, Tallinn, Paris, Cologne, Munich, Batumi, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Riga, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Vilnius, The Hague, Gdańsk, Kraków, Poznań, Szczecin, Wrocław, Bratislava, Stockholm, Irpin, Lviv, London, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, and other cities.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya joined the events in Vilnius. She attended the raising of the white-red-white flag near the Lithuanian Seimas, addressed a special plenary session in the Seimas (read the full speech here), and took part in a rally and march.
International politicians expressed solidarity with Belarusians on this day.
DEMOCRATIC BELARUS MISSION IN TALLINN
On March 24, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was in Estonia for a short visit and took part in the official opening of the Office of the Democratic Forces of Belarus. She also met with the Chairman of the Riigikogu, Lauri Hussar, the Mayor of Tallinn, Jevgeni Ossinovski, and the Secretary General of the MFA, Jonatan Vseviov. The meetings focused on steps to secure the release of political prisoners and support Belarus.
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION IN THE SEIMAS
On March 26, a roundtable discussion was held in the Lithuanian Seimas, attended by about 50 people. During the event, Belarusians and Lithuanians discussed the fight against the Lukashenka regime, issues faced by Belarusians in Lithuania, and regional security matters.
LUKASHENKA’S INAUGURATION
On March 25, as Belarusians celebrated Freedom Day, Lukashenka held an “inauguration”. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya commented on this regime-staged farce: “The so-called ‘inauguration’ on March 25 was not a show of strength but an admission of fear. Lukashenka is afraid of Freedom Day, historical memory, and the truth. But Belarus is not him. Belarus is its people – people who will not forget the violence, forgive the betrayal, or accept the lies of propaganda. People who cherish their identity, culture, and independence. No formal ceremony or staged oath can change that”.
CASE IN THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
It was announced on March 27 that a group of Belarusian human rights organizations had compiled and submitted evidence of crimes against humanity committed by the regime in Belarus to the International Criminal Court. The evidence was gathered and summarized by the National Anti-Crisis Management. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Legal Affairs, Leanid Marozau, commented on this report.
MASS CLOSURE OF UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS
In just the past two years, 57 university programs have been discontinued in Belarus, and starting from the new academic year, universities will have to shut down all programs outside their focus area. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Education and Science, Tatiana Shchyttsova, commented on these developments, linking the closures to shrinking academic staff, including forced emigration, as well as chronic underfunding. According to her, the authorities may be consolidating programs within a narrow circle of controlled institutions.
UKRAINIAN LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE FOR BELARUSIAN VOLUNTEER FIGHTERS
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Parliamentary Cooperation, Anatoli Liabedzka, participated in a discussion organized in partnership with the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council. The discussion included Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as members of the Verkhovna Rada and the Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs. As a result, work began in Ukraine on a draft law to address key issues faced by Belarusian volunteers – from citizenship to financial support.
MEDIA
The following media released interviews with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya this week: The Times, Euronews (1, 2), Belsat (1, 2), Radyio Svaboda, Pozirk, Index on Censorship, and W Insight.
