December 2, Pozirk. Norway will allocate additional funding to support victims of politically-motivated reprisals in Belarus through the International Humanitarian Fund, opposition politician Franak Viačorka told Pozirk.
The announcement coincided with a visit by Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja to Oslo. Cichanoŭskaja came up with the idea of the fund after jailed Belarusian human rights champion Aleś Bialacki was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Norway provided major support in setting it up, with the Norwegian government, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee being among the founders.
In the 18 months of the fund’s operation, it collected €2.9 million and distributed €1.3 million. Major donors are Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, Croatia, Iceland, Spain, Finland, Latvia and Austria.
Norway will continue its existing programs to support Belarusian civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders, Cichanoŭskaja’s aide Viačorka said. Oslo also reportedly pledged to resolve legalization issues for exiled Belarusians, who will no longer be required to return to Belarus to renew their IDs.
Cichanoŭskaja discussed Ukraine peace talks and risks for Belarus with Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. The agenda also included ongoing hybrid attacks from Belarus targeting Lithuania and Poland as well as Lithuanian trucks stranded in Belarus and prohibited from returning by Minsk.
The politician lobbied for support for the Belarusian independent media during her meeting with Norway’s Minister of International Development Åsmund Grøver Aukrust, stressing that Belarusians need to see “the future after Alaksandar Łukašenka and without him.”
