March 25, Pozirk. Freedom Day “heralds that freedom will come to the Belarusian people,” exiled opposition politician Paviel Sieviaryniec, released from prison in mid-December 2025, has told journalists in Vilnius.
The politician, along with several dozen Lithuania-based Belarusians, participated in a rally near the Lithuanian Seimas, tying white-red-white ribbons to the trees on Belarusian Democracy Alley.
“The [Alaksandar Łukašenka’s] regime is very afraid of freedom. It fears the white-red-white flag like the devil fears holy water,” Sieviaryniec commented on the recent threats that Belarusian officials issued in connection with Freedom Day celebrations abroad. Anyone involved in identifying and targeting exiled regime critics abroad should know that their own identities will be exposed, he added.
Sieviaryniec described Łukašenka’s visit to North Korea on Freedom Day as symbolic of the regime’s trajectory. “This is the course the current government is taking, with North Korea as its final destination,” he warned. “They want to lead all Belarusian people down this path.”
The main rally planned in Vilnius will take place in the evening at Lukiškės Square, where Russian imperial authorities executed Belarusian national hero Kastuś Kalinoŭski in 1864, the politician noted. From there, participants plan a march to the Belarusian embassy to hold what Seviaryniec described as “a vigil of light.”
The Freedom Day events in Vilnius will conclude with a service at the Belarusian Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and a concert by the Daj Darohu band, he added.
Celebrated on March 25, Freedom Day marks the 108th anniversary of the Belarusian independence proclamation. The current Belarusian government does not recognize Freedom Day as an official holiday. After the 2020 presidential election, any attempts to publicly celebrate anniversaries led to arrests, trials and jail terms.
The state-run propaganda has been vocal in demonizing historical events related to the proclamation of the short-lived independence in 1918, banning all symbols linked to the first Belarusian state.
Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja announced that a Freedom Day rally will also take place in Warsaw on March 28.
