The democratic opposition in Belarus, represented by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Svetlana Alexievich, Maryia Kalesnikava, Volha Kavalkova, Veranika Tsapkala, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Ales Bialiatski, Siarhei Dyleuski, Stsiapan Putsila and Mikola Statkevich, was awarded, on Wednesday 16 December, the 2020 Sakhahrov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
This is the third time that Belarusians have received this prize awarded by the European Parliament, after the president of the Belarusian Journalists’ Association, Zhanna Litvina, in 2004 and political opponent Alexander Milinkevich, in 2006.
“What a wonderful recognition to say that Belarusians are free thinkers, it's a motivation to continue, we are bound to win and we will win”, Tsikhanuskaya said as she received the award, which she called a “new beginning for Belarus”. According to her, “the dream of a better future is what drives us forward”.
Beyond these ten personalities, it is a whole people who have been demonstrating since 9 August and the presidential election marred by irregularities. “We are not alone, there are thousands of Belarusians at our side who inspire us, give us strength and hope”, the political opponent said, paying tribute to the entire population who have risen up against the regime, including those who are currently imprisoned, including her husband, or who have lost their lives. “Each of them is a hero, an example of courage, compassion and dignity”, she said.
Call for EU support
Mrs Tsikhanouskaya also called on the EU to stand by the Belarusian people. “Without a free Belarus, Europe is not truly free”, she recalled, asking the Union to be “more courageous in its decisions, and starting today, not tomorrow”. “Fighting for human rights and democracy is not interference, but the duty of every self-respecting country. The voice is important, but it's the actions that count, be present for the Belarusians”, said the opposition member in the European Parliament hemicycle.
New sanctions imminent
A message that seems to have been heard. In the morning of 16 December, Member States' Ambassadors to the EU agreed to sanction 29 individuals and seven additional entities found responsible for electoral fraud and repression in Belarus. The decision is expected to be formally adopted on Thursday 17 December with the publication of the legal acts in the Official Journal of the EU. Fifty-nine persons, including Alexander Lukashenko, are already subject to sanctions (see EUROPE 12597/11).
A delegation of MEPs is also due to visit the country in early 2021, according to the European Parliament President, David Sassoli. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)