After meetings with the Czech leadership, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya paid a three-day working visit to Berlin. The Belarusian leader is meeting with the leadership of the German Foreign Ministry, is holding talks with Angela Merkel’s office and the main political parties in Germany. But the warmest meetings are with the Belarusian diaspora.
Deputies of the Green Party, which may enter the government in the upcoming elections, greeted Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya outside the Bundestag. Each of the deputies became the godfather or godmother of Belarusian political prisoners to personally facilitate their release.
“I am the vice-president of the German parliament, and I take care of Maryia Kalesnikava,” said Claudia Roth, vice-president of the Bundestag.
In the Bundestag, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the leadership of all major political parties and addressed the government in North Rhine-Westphalia.
“Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya is one of the brave Belarusian women who rebelled against the dictator who rigged the election. Millions of people in Belarus believe that the dictatorship will collapse, so they are fighting for freedom,” Armin Laschet, chairman of the Christian Democratic Union, said.
The main purpose of the working visit is to push European politicians to sanctions against the Lukashenka dictatorship and to provide even greater assistance to Belarusians affected by the repression.
“At the working meeting, we will discuss how the Lukashenka regime hijacked a plane to kidnap independent journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend. I will also inform Mr. Laschet about the depth of the crisis in Belarus and the actions of the Lukashenka regime, which have a terrible impact on people’s lives,” Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya said.
Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Svetlana Alexievich, a world-famous Belarusian writer, in Berlin.
“Dear friends, do not despair. The most important thing has happened to us — we have felt that we are Belarusians, we are a nation,” said Svetlana Alexievich, a Nobel laureate in literature.
Alexievich is currently writing a book about the peaceful Belarusian revolution.
Ales Yashchanka, Yaraslau Stseshyk, Belsat
