© RTL
The leader of the Belarusian opposition-in-exile was in Luxembourg this week for the 'Luxembourg Solutions' conference.
The conference, among other things, sought solutions for Belarusians who, for example, live in exile in a European country and do not have valid papers.
At the moment, Belarusians living abroad cannot renew their papers without returning to Belarus, which is not an option to many due to the risk of political persecution. Without valid papers, they can neither register their newborns nor get divorced, says the opposition politician. Short-term solutions are needed, for example for countries to accept expired passports, but also long-term solutions.
"We are working on having our own Belarusian passports issued abroad. It may be an unorthodox approach, but we live in unconventional times that require unconventional decisions."
During the so-called ‘Luxembourg Solutions’ conference, these long-term and short-term solutions were discussed on the basis of an assessment by CSV politician Paul Galles within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where virtually all European countries are represented.
In addition to passports, they discussed ways to support exiled Belarusians to preserve their culture. According to Tsikhanouskaya, Belarusian culture is in danger because of the Lukashenko regime.
"Many Belarusian authors are declared extremists. Before 2020, they were not terrorists, but now they are because they stand up for freedom and for Europe. We see the process of repression in Belarus. The Belarusian regime is currently changing street signs from Belarusian to Russian. There is also now a threat of imprisonment for anyone who speaks Belarusian."
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also argues that Belarus should no longer be categorised as a safe country, because Belarus crucially finds itself between freedom and independence, and Russian control.
Regarding this week's European elections, she encourages European voters not to be influenced by Russian propaganda. "I want people in Europe to understand that there is a moral obligation to help those who are fighting back against a brutal Russian dictatorship."
She hopes that people in the EU will be willing to give up some of their comfort to support Belarusian and Ukrainian citizens: "If we don't win together against dictatorship now, European nations will become the next target of these enemies of democracy."
Dictatorships see democracies as undecided. It is therefore high time that democracies show their teeth, she adds.
Watch the original report in Luxembourgish:
