Minsk in August 2020: People with flowers and the Belarusian flag denounce police violence against opposition supporters
millions of Belarusians voted in the presidential election
Maria Kolesnikova and I went to our campaign's headquarters in the center of Minsk
our headquarters were surrounded by KGB vans
Tsikhanouskaya ran against long-term ruler Alexander Lukashenko in the country’s last presidential election
Lukashenko declared himself the winner of the election
Tsikhanouskaya was put under such massive pressure by the regime that she left for Lithuania
she became the recipient of the Charlemagne Prize together with her fellow campaigners Maria Kolesnikova and Veronika Tsepkalo
We were receiving tens of thousands of photos of ballots with a mark next to my name – every message made us slightly more hopeful
people stayed at voting stations to demand a fair count
thousands went to protest in the city center
The building's security guard reported: "Police truck ran over a protester … they are shooting." We were horrified
2020: Opposition supporters protested after polling stations closed in the presidential election in Belarus in 2020
Since the outbreak of the war against Ukraine
ordinary Belarusians continue to stand up for what they know is right
oppose Belarusian military involvement in the war
Belarusians have distributed over 500,000 anti-war pamphlets
medical supplies and toiletries to our volunteer Belarusian fighters on the front
Up to 1,500 Belarussians are volunteering to defend Ukraine
and a total of at least 11 have already died fighting the Russian invasion
Belarusians inside the country have hacked the regime’s websites and committed acts of sabotage on the railways to stall the Russian advance
None of these acts of defiance have been violent
but the police still shot three partisans in the knees when they were caught
they are facing capital punishment for "attempted acts of terrorism." In total
more than 2,100 people have been detained or jailed for acts of defiance
Belarusians around the world have used their new and old diaspora networks to help Ukrainian refugees
Thousands of stories like those make up the story of Belarus
And they show that our story is a European one
we are walking the same path that so many European nations have already walked before us: Poland and Solidarnosc
the Czech Republic and the Velvet Revolution
We are peacefully taking on a brutal dictatorship in defense of human rights and peace
We are asking the same question that Václav Havel wrote about in "The Power and the Powerless" – that of why peaceful protest is the right way
We are dealing with the same fear as Germans when they were hiding from the Stasi
We are arguing about our future the same as the Portuguese did during the Carnation Revolution
A New Year's Eve party at the Berlin Wall in December 1989
My lawyer Max Znak is reading Erich Maria Remarque in the original German in jail
If he had access to information from the outside
he would know that there are many Belarusian "Ravics'' roaming Europe right now: people running from repression and war with expiring Belarusian passports
what we are asking for is simple: Recognize our story as your own European story
values and freedom from dictatorship at home and imperialism from abroad
as a new Iron Curtain is descending in Europe
Belarus should end up on the right side of it
The announcement of the results of the 2020 Belarusian presidential election triggered mass protests in the capital Minsk and other cities in Belarus
the first step in recognizing our story as a European one would be learning from the mistakes of Ostpolitik
I understand that it stems from good motivations: to compensate for the pain inflicted on our region during World War II
We are grateful without a doubt for the support that Germany has provided to the democratic elements of Belarus since 2020
there are still opportunities for rethinking and improving policies toward our region
German politicians were mistaken in thinking that collaborating with authoritarian governments would make the countries more prosperous and effect political change
The war in Ukraine and repression in Belarus have clearly illustrated that
helping the people protect themselves and their values from tyrannical governments does
we sometimes feel too many of the vestiges of Realpolitik
some still consider everything east of Poland to be "Russia." In the heads of those involved
the concept of spheres of influence and negotiations with the Kremlin provided a handy shortcut
political recognition led only to impunity and repression on the part of the emboldened dictators
The first step in the right direction could be recognizing that it was not the collective Soviet Union
but actually Belarus and Ukraine out of all the Soviet states that suffered the most during World War II
One of the most recent constitutional amendments in Belarus has enabled Alexander Lukashenko
it is precisely Ukraine and Belarus that need German leadership and support
Belarus was the first in the chain of events that led to the Russian attack on Ukraine
when Putin saved Alexander Lukashenko’s regime from collapse
we didn’t know we were already in the crosshairs
getting military control over Belarus was the first step in preparing the attack on Ukraine
the fates of our nations have become deeply intertwined
There can’t be peace for Ukraine without freedom for Belarus and vice versa
Ukraine can’t be safe with a Russia-supported autocrat next door
And Belarus can’t be free if Russia succeeds militarily in Ukraine
Europe-wide Ostpolitik that includes both Ukraine and Belarus and recognizes our struggles as deeply European
I am happy to see politicians who are already leading the change
we need your support to make this change lasting
Real change is the product of millions of small acts of courage
Belarusians have united themselves and the world around them
as big as enlisting to volunteer to protect freedom in Ukraine or even singing a Ukrainian song in public and being arrested for it
Today is a great day to reflect on what democracy means to us all
Ukrainians are paying for their European story with their lives
and only Europeans have the opportunity to decide how much it is worth