Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the biggest challenger of President Alexander Lukashenko, talked to Euronews about her fight for a free Belarus from exile.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko dismissed her as a “housewife,” but when the Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya entered the race for the presidency in 2020, she became his greatest challenge.
Now that she is in exile, she continues her fight for a free, democratic Belarus. When Euronews met her in Berlin, her strong personality and her longing for her homeland immediately came to the fore.
“I miss everything. I miss my apartment, which had been confiscated. That was our family’s nest. I miss my husband,” Tsikhanouskaya said, after a deep sigh.
Lukashenko’s biggest challenger
In 2020, Tsikhanouskaya’s husband Syarhey Tsikhanouski decided to run for president of Belarus. However, he was soon arrested, and Sviatlana decided to step into his shoes and challenge Lukashenko.
After Lukashenko rigged the elections in his favour, Tsikhanouskaya said, she had to flee from Belarus, leaving everything behind.
“In 2020, at least half a million people fled Belarus because of repression,” she remembered. “But people don’t just go into exile and become foreigners. They continue to be Belarusians. They continue to fight against Lukashenko’s regime.”
“My task is to keep people united and inspire people to not give up,” she said.
Since then, Tsikhanouskaya has been working on building strong relations with political leaders from Western countries. Forming a democracy in exile is not the easiest task. But she relentlessly fights for a free Belarus.
“Our task is to prepare our democratic movements and forces for the transition period in Belarus”, she explained.
“Belarusian democratic forces and people are united as never before because we have a common aim: to release our beloved ones, our friends, and political prisoners, but also to have free and fair elections.”
Her visit to Germany is a vital step into that direction, Tsikhanouskaya believes. In order to build a democracy in her own country, she needs the support of other democracies.
“We are asking you to be with us on this difficult path toward democracy”, she said. “If the governments of the countries you live in don’t hear your voice, it means that there is no problem.”
While Tsikhanouskaya is making her voice heard by building strong connections with European politicians, her opponent, Lukashenko, has hunkered down back home, facing significant sanctions. Yet, more pressure needs to be put on Lukashenko to make him loosen up on his repressions.
Political prisoners should not become bargaining chips
This might be a reason why, during the recent political prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries, not one Belarusian political prisoner was released.
Meanwhile, many political prisoners in Belarus are hovering between life and death. Opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova, who supported Tsikhanouskaya during the presidential elections in 2020, is serving an 11-year prison sentence.
Amnesty International reported that, like many other political prisoners, she has to endure isolation and torture and weighs only 45 kilograms.
“We all want them to be released, said Tsikhanouskaya. “But we don’t want our political prisoners, our heroes, to be bargaining chips in Lukashenko’s game.”
Tsikhanouskaya is convinced: negotiating with Lukashenko will only bring more misery to the Belarusian people.
“They are taking more and more and more hostages to sell them for more money”, Tsikhanouskaya said.
“We are asking our democratic partners: don’t trade, don’t make deals with Lukashenko, because he can ‘sell’ one to 300 people, and he will detain twice as many. Recently, Lukashenko released 115 people. For the same period of time, he detained 140.”
According to Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenko is playing an unfair game.
“It’s not an act of humanity from the side of Lukashenko. I can’t suspect him of humanity at all”, she states. “He wants to send a message that he is changing, that his policy is changing, but it is not so”, she said.
Will the Belarusian opposition run against Lukashenko in 2025?
In 2025, Lukashenko plans to hold presidential elections. Yet, it is not the right moment for the Belarusian opposition to enter the game, Tsikhanouskaya believes.
“All the leaders of democratic movements are in prison or in exile, or the civil society field is ruined. No NGOs, no alternative media […] People are mostly working underground at the moment”, she explained.
However, it seems that the more Lukashenko holds on to his power, the less support he gets from the Belarusian people. Four years after the elections largely condemned as falsified, people in Belarus live in constant fear of his repressions. In addition, they now have to witness the war, with Russia’s war in Ukraine practically at their doorstep.
“The majority of Belarusians are fighting against Lukashenko’s regime”, Tsikhanouskaya said.
“Of course they [Lukashenko and his supporters] have violence as their weapon, they have brutality … But he doesn’t enjoy the support of the Belarusian people. And he knows this”, she added.
Although Tsikhanouskaya is not planning to return to Belarus for the presidential elections in 2025, she is preparing the ground for the right moment.
“We have to prepare for a real moment of opportunity”, said Tsikhanouskaya. “There will be a call for action for the Belarusian people. But I don’t want people to sacrifice themselves in vain”,
Meanwhile, Tsikhanouskaya is supporting the Ukrainian people fighting against the Russian aggression.
“The relationship with Ukraine is of high importance for us because we both face the same. […] So we’re also trying to help Ukrainians as much as we can”, she explained.
“We can’t give Ukraine military equipment or millions, but we advocate for Ukrainian interests. Belarusian soldiers are fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the Ukrainians against the enemy. Our refugees are supporting Ukrainian refugees. We organise and joint events. We are working together.”
Supporters turning into enemies?
Poland has been a strong supporter of Belarusian and Ukrainian refugees. However, recently, it announced a full temporary suspension of the rights of Belarusian citizens to seek asylum in their country.
In spite of this, Tsikhanouskaya is talking rather warmly about Poland.
“For four years, Poland was a strong supporter of the Belarusian people. For four years they have been supporting our civil society and most of the people who fled repression. Poland became a safe haven for these people. They changed the laws to give people stability for people to feel comfortable in Poland”, Tsikhanouskaya recalled.
“I don’t think this is a change of policy”, she said. “But we will be in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just to find out what this message means.”
Between her political engagement and fierce fight for a democratic future for her country from exile, Tsikhanouskaya’s thoughts are in Belarus.
“I wake up every morning and go to bed with thoughts about my husband. I miss all of my children’s memories. They are always recalling what was happening to them at school and our summer house,” she said.
“We spent so many wonderful years with our family in Belarus. I miss the village where my grandmother is buried. In the way, I spend my childhood there. So all these memories. But, you know, I want to see free Belarus.”
