Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called on the European Union to do more to help the Belarusian people on Wednesday 24 November in a solemn speech to the European Parliament.
“It is already late. Will the EU have the courage to act now or will we have to wait a year?”, asked the 2020 Sakharov Prize winner, adding that neither Belarus nor Europe had a year ahead of them. “We can do more than wait and react” she added, noting that “tyrants are always encouraged by passivity”.
“While Europe hesitates, time passes for those who are unjustly imprisoned, killed or exiled. Time is measured differently for Belarusians”, stressed Ms Tikhanovskaya, whose husband is in prison.
The opponent politician compared the Belarusian dictatorship to the Covid-19 pandemic. “We need your help, we need to be more proactive when dealing with an autocratic regime”, she said, highlighting three key words: isolation, treatment and immunity. Ms Tikhanovskaya here called for the isolation and non-recognition of the regime. “Europe, wake up and act on your words. Speak up! (...) The policy of non-recognition must be maintained, and should be consistent”, she said.
In terms of treatment, Ms Tikhanovskaya prescribes “opposing the regime and limiting access to resources. Sanctions do work; maintaining a coherent sanctions policy is essential”, she said. She explained that these measures divided Lukashenko’s entourage. She called for EU initiatives to bring international justice to bear on the Belarusian situation.
Finally, Ms Tikhanovskaya called for reinforcement of the natural resistance of Belarusian society. To this end, she called on the EU to take an “unconventional” approach by reaching out to Belarusian civil society on the ground. “People need to feel that they are not being abandoned”, she pleaded. Ms Tikhanovskaya highlighted that 882 Belarusians were in prison “for expressing their fundamental rights” - more than the number of MEPs. She called for Belarusians who have had to flee their country to be helped as well.
She also pleaded for a voice for Belarus, wanting democratic forces to be invited to all international forums, “including the Eastern Partnership summit”, scheduled for 15 December.
“Democracy is about fine words, but also about small gestures”, she said. And went on to stress that, “Our struggle for freedom is also your struggle for freedom. Only by standing side by side will democracy have a chance of survival in this world”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)