Cichanoŭskaja receives Irish international peace prize

May 2, BPN. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has received the Tipperary International Peace Award in Ireland.

In her acceptance speech, the politician said that Belarus and Ireland were united by “the thirst for freedom.” She thanked the organizers for their solidarity and stressed that she was receiving the prize “for millions of freedom-loving Belarusians.”

“With this award, they will know that they are not alone in their struggle,” she said. “At the protests in Belarus, we were chanting: ‘We believe, we can, we will win’. Seeing how much support we get from you and from people around the world, I have no doubt about our victory.”

Cichanoŭskaja spoke about the ongoing reprisals and also recalled the peaceful protests of 2020, her adviser Franak Viačorka told BPN.

“I want to dedicate this prize to all those, whose freedom was taken away. I dedicate this award to my husband Siarhiej Cichanoŭski, sentenced to a 19.5 years imprisonment. To my friend Maryja Kaleśnikava, 11 years imprisonment. To Viktar Babaryka, 14 years, Ihar Łosik, 15 years, Mikoła Statkievič, 14 years. To the Nobel Peace Prize winner Aleś Bialacki, 10 years imprisonment. To all the thousands of our political prisoners and to their families,” she said.

She added that “for our regime every thought is political and every idea, a threat,” so Belarusians “are beaten, humiliated and raped in horrible Soviet-era prisons.”

Cichanoŭskaja stated that after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, “the suffering of political prisoners, and of nine million Belarusians, is joined by the suffering of Ukrainians.” According to her, Ukrainians and Belarusians faced “the same enemy: the tyranny and imperialism of Russia.”

“In 2020 we were fighting for free and fair elections. Now we are fighting for the very existence of Belarus,” the opposition leader stressed. She pointed out the Kremlin’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, and argued that by allowing this “Łukašenka has traded our sovereignty for his own personal safety.”

“Belarus is fighting for its life and we will do everything to bring victory closer,” the politician stressed.

Cichanoŭskaja was announced as the recipient of the 2022 Tipperary International Peace Award on March 8. Martin Quinn, honorary secretary of Tipperary Peace Convention, said it was an expression of support for freedom of speech, association and assembly in Belarus.

The award’s past recipients included South African President Nelson Mandela, US Senator Edward Kennedy, Pakistani female education activist Malala Yousufzai, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja is visiting Ireland on May 1-5. Her schedule includes meetings with President Michael Higgins and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.