Nobel laureate and head of the Viasna Human Rights Centre Ales Bialiatski spoke at the Campus Polska Przyszłości youth event. It brings together young activists from across Poland every year. This year’s meeting with Bialiatski opened the camp’s program.
As PAP reports, Ales Bialiatski said he was proud of his country and its young people, who had shown that they wanted to live in a free country.
“Young people have proved that they are normal European youth, that they want to live in a normal country. And for me, the price they are paying for this is very high. I understand that our work was not in vain, that there is a group of people who want to live in a free Belarus,” he said.
According to him, he was cut off from the outside world while in prison, so when he arrived in Lithuania in 2025, he was surprised by the number of youth initiatives.
“Belarusian youth are not wasting their time. We need to learn and prepare for change. I am sure it will come. Belarusians in Belarus cannot act freely; they cannot even publish anything on social media, but the work continues. It is like a river flowing underground, but if the situation changes, I am convinced that this river will come to the surface. I have spoken with hundreds of people and seen how much Belarusian society wants nothing to do with the dictatorship. People are waiting for the right moment, their time. They need to work, act, learn and create,” he said.
Bialiatski recalled that repression in Belarus continues and that the regime is totalitarian. He noted that another criminal case had recently been opened against him.
“There are hundreds of such cases. Society is under enormous pressure, people are afraid, but people are angry with this regime,” he said.
The Nobel laureate believes that the Polish authorities are correctly assessing the political situation in Belarus.
