Debate: Award of the Sakharov Prize
Date: WEDNESDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
Language: EN

We feel humbled that our story of resistance touched so many people across the globe. On your way to the European Parliament, you could see a shocking photo on the façade of the building. A woman in white falling down to her knees before the riot police. It’s not a wartime movie scene, it’s a ‘peaceful’ Belarus in 2020. People locked inside a cathedral by special forces. It’s a ‘peaceful’ Belarus. Detainees marked with different colours to determine how severely they should be beaten by the police officers, and it is a ‘peaceful’ Belarus. Deliberately infecting prisoners with COVID—19. It is a ‘peaceful’ Belarus – in the heart of Europe. Fear is what one feels hearing those stories. I am one of the thousands of Belarusians who used to be afraid. An invisible wall of fear was built around us. This wall of fear held us back for almost three decades. But this year everything has changed. This year we united in our aspiration for change. United, we believed that this wall of fear can be taken down, brick by brick. United, we overcome our fear on the way to freedom, day by day, week by week, month by month. The photo on the façade of the European Parliament is not a story of fear, it is a story of hope, courage and freedom. For the third time in 20 years, Belarusians have been honoured with the Sakharov Freedom of Thought Prize. What is better recognition that we are freethinkers? What is better motivation for us to keep going? We are bound to win, and we will win. A simple wish to walk freely in the streets of our cities and towns keeps us going. Desire to celebrate holidays with our families keeps us going. The dream of a better future for Belarus keeps us going. A Belarus where justice and truth prevail. A Belarus that our children can be proud of. I am endlessly honoured to speak in front of you. We receive this prize together with the brave Belarusians Maria Kalesnikava, Veranika Tsapkala, Sviatlana Aleksievich, Volha Kavalkova, Ales Bialiatski, Mikola Statkevich, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Siarhei Dyleuski, Stsiapan Putsila and all the members of the Coordination Council. But we are not alone here today. Beside us are thousands of Belarusians who inspire us, give us strength and hope. Many of them are not here today. Our courageous women, workers, students, doctors, teachers, lawyers, writers, journalists and activists – all of them are in Belarus fighting for our freedom. It is to them that this prize belongs. Last Sunday, I met with our distinguished Belarusian writer Sviatlana Aleksievich, who is with us remotely today. Sviatlana received the Nobel Prize for telling the stories of a ‘little big man’ in the light of historic events. This is how she created ‘a monument to suffering and courage in our time’. For me, such a ‘little big man’ is each and every Belarusian who takes part in this peaceful protest against violence and lawlessness. Each of them is a hero. Each of them is an example of courage, compassion, and dignity to me.  Freedom is made of simple things and often requires fearless resistance. For Aliaksandr Taraikouski it was protesting against the falsified election. He stood raising his bare hands in front of men with rifles and he was shot dead. Fearless he was. For the artist Raman Bandarenka it was going out to protect the national symbols in the courtyard where neighbours gather. He was kidnapped and beaten to death in the police office. Fearless he was. The journalist Katsiaryna Barysevich and the doctor Artsiom Sarokin dared to unveil the truth about this murder by the regime cronies. This bravery cost their freedom. Fearless they are. Natalia Hershe could not stay on the sidelines and came back to Belarus after living abroad for many years. Out of solidarity, she participated in peaceful protests and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for taking the mask off the police. Fearless she is. Freedom is victory over fear. Seventy-three-year-old Nina Baginskaya … … has become a symbol of our struggle. Despite countless detentions and intimidation, she has been protesting against injustice for 30 years already, often alone. Truly free she is. Mikola Statkevich … … was a presidential candidate in the 2010 election. He has been imprisoned and recognised as a political prisoner for the third time in 15 years. His commitment to the values of freedom is something that no prison sentence can take away. Truly free he is. My friend Maria Kalesnikava tore up her passport and chose prison over exile to remain in Belarus, with our people. Truly free she is. My thoughts are with her every day.  My husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski decided to tell the truth no matter the cost. For that, he was thrown in jail on trumped—up charges. He has not seen his family for seven months already. But these are only some of the courageous people our European nation is extremely proud of. Freedom is also universal. Belarusians have been marching every week since the 9 August election. They march for their future and the future of those who cannot be there. They march for the freedom and dignity of Belarusians, of Europeans – yours, and ours. Without a free Belarus, Europe is not fully free either. We ask Europe and the whole world to stand with Belarus. We call on Europe to be braver in their decisions and support the people of Belarus now, not tomorrow, and not sometime in the future. Standing for human rights and democracy is not interference but is the duty of each self—respecting country. Your solidarity and your voice are important but it is actions that matter. Please, be there for the Belarusians and be assured that Belarusians will do the same for you in the future. I have only one wish this year. I want every Belarusian who is now in jail or was forced to live in exile to return home. The third Sakharov Prize will mark a new beginning for Belarus. Nelson Mandela, who received the prize in 1988 together with the Soviet dissident Anatoly Marchenko, said: ‘I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it’. He believed that brave are those who conquer their fear. Only united we can fully conquer fear on our long path to freedom and build a new Belarus. Every country has its own path to democracy, and this is ours. Long live Europe! Long live Belarus!