“You make people think and scare politicians.” RFE/RL Belarus 70th anniversary celebration held in Lithuanian Seimas
On May 22, a ceremony dedicated to the 70th anniversary of RFE/RL Belarus was held in the Lithuanian Seimas.
Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen delivered a welcoming address.
“The RFE/RL Belarus appeared earlier than the Lithuanian office, which opened in 1957. Radio Liberty has become an important alternative to the state media. But its mission has not been fulfilled yet: Belarusian history is now written from Vilnius. The opening of the RFE/RL Belarus office in Vilnius a year ago testifies to the very difficult situation in Belarus.”
The speaker said that Lukashenka’s regime is destructive for journalists and civil society. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Belarus and Russia have become closer, which has made things worse for human rights in Belarus. The speaker thinks it’s important to support Ukraine, not just for the sake of Ukraine, but also for Belarus and other countries nearby.
Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen said that Lithuania is ready to support the independent Belarusian media. Vilnius has become the center of Belarusian democratic opposition.
The speaker of the Lithuanian parliament also mentioned the imprisoned employees of RFE/RL Belarus, Ihar Losik and Andrei Kuznechyk. Ihar Losik celebrated his third birthday in prison yesterday.
The leader of the democratic forces of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, sent a video address with congratulations to the RFE/RL employees.
“You make people think and politicians afraid. With your help, Belarusians learn the truth, while the world learns about what’s happening in Belarus,” the politician told the media workers.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya mentioned the 2020 events, when “neither bullets nor repression prevented you from doing your work. You didn’t give up and continued your work in exile”.
The democratic leader also mentioned the imprisoned media workers: “My thoughts are with Losik and Kuznechyk, they are true heroes. Our task is to fight for their release.”
RFE/RL Belarus representative Stephen Kapus recalled that the Belarusian authorities recognized this media outlet as an “extremist formation”:
“Despite being labeled as an undesirable organization and agent, we continued our mission of bringing light to areas of darkness. While they may imprison our people, seal the office in Minsk, or close our representative offices, they cannot hide the truth from the people.»