Keeping Belarus in international community’s focus: Tsikhanouskaya’s team about 6-month work
The office of Belarusian opposition politician Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has given an overview of its international activity over the past six months. During that period, the politician has held about 20 meetings with Western leaders.
According to the team, the issue of Belarus keeps being spotlighted by the press, including The Washington Post, Bild, Financial Times, the BBC and Al Jazeera, while Alyaksandr Lukashenka has become an outcast for the international community. More than 30 countries do not recognise him as President. Now Lukashenka is the only ‘head of state’ in the world who is under personal sanctions by the European Union; the restrictions also affect his administration and related companies, as well as 240 Belarusian officials. In January, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced its decision to move the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship from the Belarusian capital city, stressing that such step was ‘unavoidable’ due ‘to safety and security issues’. A number of other high-profile sports events were relocated from Minsk.
In addition, the United Nations may jump-start a mechanism to investigate crimes of Lukashenka and his aides.
The European Commission is advancing on the preparation of a comprehensive plan of economic support for a democratic Belarus, in line with its commitment to support a peaceful democratic transition in the country; the United States adopted The Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020, which gives additional authority to the US President to impose new sanctions on the back of the stealing of the 2020 presidential election and the brutal crackdown on post-election protests.
Actions of solidarity with Belarusians took place in more than 50 countries. Companies and foundations from Denmark, the United States and the Netherlands offer investment plans for a post-Lukashenka Belarus.
Humanitarian visas have been granted to thousands of Belarusian citizens; lots of persecuted students have received scholarships to continue their studies abroad; hundreds had a chance to be part of rehabilitation programs; 30 injured persons were taken to the Czech Republic; 50 athletes will be able to get help from Germany, Tsikhanouskaya’s team reports.
