The Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) meet with exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA and Volha KAVALKOVA to discuss the latest developments in the country in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Brussels

exchange of views

meeting

EU - Belarus (T)

McALLISTER, David (EPP, DE)

TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Sviatlana (BY)

Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought 2020 (T)

Situation in Belarus: extracts from the exchange of views with Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA and further members of the Belarus opposition

Arrival of Belarussian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and another member of the Belarusian democratic opposition, Volha Kavalkova, 3 shots

SOUNDBITE (English), David McALLISTER (EPP, DE), Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, We reject the results of the so-called presidential elections that took place in Belarus on the 9th of August as they were conducted in flagrant violation of all internationally recognized standards. We will not recognize Mr. Lukashenko as president of Belarus once his current term of office expires.

SOUNDBITE (English), David McALLISTER (EPP, DE), Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, The European Parliament condemns in the strongest possible terms for Belarus authorities for their violent repression of peaceful protests for justice, freedom and democracy in the wake of the fraudulent presidential elections.

SOUNDBITE (English), David McALLISTER (EPP, DE), Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Miss Tsikhanouskaya, it is a great honor to welcome you to our meeting today.

SOUNDBITE (English), David McALLISTER (EPP, DE), Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I'm very pleased to welcome to our meeting the remaining two members of the residuum of the Coordination Council. There's Volha Kavalkova who is with us also this afternoon. A warm welcome to you, too.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, First of all, looking at me and at all these people, you have to understand that we have been living for 26 years under the pressure of regime of dictatorship. We, all these years, we were afraid. All these years we were sleeping. But now the Belarussian people have woken up. And seven weeks in a row everyday, we are going out for demonstrations. These people protect a protest against falsified elections, against one person, who usurped the power.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, Our peaceful protesters were met with violence.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, In the prisons, they were tortured, harassed and raped.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, Some of them were killed just for their will to live in a free country.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, Belarusian uprising is not a geopolitical revolution. It's not anti Russian or pro-Russian. It's not pro European or anti European Union. It is a pro Belarusian revolution. It's a democratic revolution. Our protest is exclusively peaceful and non violent.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, Members of the council were prosecuted, jailed and forced to leave Belarus. Lukashenko hopes that our protest will fade out. But we will protest as long as it's needed.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, To recognize Mr. Lukashenko illegitimate, to release political prisoners, to introduce individual sanctions against all individuals involved in the election falsifications and political crackdown. The resolution of the European Parliament adopted last week was an important step forward. I think it was one of their most important decisions in the history of modern Belarus.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, Please consider create an international coalition to facilitate negotiations between Lukashenko and the Belarusian people represented by the National Coordination Council.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, Finally, and most importantly, I call on you to work together with us toward a free, fair and transparent election.

SOUNDBITE (Russian), Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, Belarus opposition candidate to presidential election, We ask you to stand united alongside the Belarusian people. We need your support. Zyvie Bielarus! (Long Live Belarus). Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Russian), Volha KAVALKOVA, Member of the Belarusian democratic opposition, First I was arrested and then I was taken by force from my own country. And now I would like to take this opportunity to ask you, to urge you to express your support to those who are now in prison in Belarus, they are kept in the conditions that can be equalled to torture, including those Pavel Sieviaryniec, Sergei Tsikhanovsky, Viktar Babaryka, Mikola Statkevich, Maria Kolesnikova, Maxime Znak, Tatiana Kanevskaya, and dozens of other Belarussians.

SOUNDBITE (Russian), Volha KAVALKOVA, Member of the Belarusian democratic opposition,The Belarusian people have made their choice. And this is not for Lukashenko. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is the elected leader of the Belarusian people.