Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja, Natalla Pinčuk call for firm international support for Belarus

March 29, BPN. The Belarusian people remain faithful to the ideals of democracy, opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja and a jailed activist’s wife Natalla Pinčuk have told the virtual Summit for Democracy.

Cichanoŭskaja told the US-organized event that “the cancer of tyranny must be fought, not compromised [with],” and that freedom “is never given for free.”

“The war of Russia against Ukraine clearly showed that the struggle for independence from imperial Russia is also a struggle for freedoms and human rights. And the fight against the pro-Russian dictatorship in Belarus is a contribution to the victory of a free Ukraine,” the politician said.

Pinčuk, whose jailed husband Aleś Bialacki co-won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, said that for Europe, Belarus had been a “blind spot” for years, “despite persistent peaceful struggle against the dictatorship by many brave people.” “The path of peaceful, non-violent resistance that we chose will be successful only with strong international support and solidarity,” she said.

“Democracy may seem fragile. And tyranny can seem invincible. But what we all know is that dictatorship ends in chaos whilst democracy ends in prosperity and peace,” Cichanoŭskaja added, stressing that the Belarusian people have already chosen a free, European future, stable and democratic.

The opposition leader called on the world to help Belarus “to defend this choice” and “win our country back.”