Светлана Тихановская. Фото: t.me/tsikhanouskaya
Hearings of the head of the United Transitional Cabinet, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, are being held today, February 7, in Warsaw at the Coordinating Council. The leader of the democratic forces spoke about the work carried out during the reporting period and shared the strategy currently being implemented.
The head of the United Transitional Cabinet is now answering questions from Coordinating Council delegates. A live broadcast is being streamed on the Coordinating Council’s YouTube channel.
Tsikhanouskaya thanked Belarusians for their support and for disagreements.
“We do not need a power vertical if there is a system built on the principles of democracy, mutual accountability, and transparency. And this system is the opposite of the so-called barracks-style governance that the regime imposes on Belarusians. I thank you for your support, but I also thank you for the disagreements,” the leader of the democratic forces said.
She proposed “accepting that the debates, discussions, and disagreements we have are normal in a democratic society,” that this is “a sign of a healthy organism,” and that “it would be much worse if there were complete silence and unanimity.”
Tsikhanouskaya thanked all factions of the Coordinating Council and especially the Belarusians faction, which initiated the hearings, as well as the United Transitional Cabinet and the office team “for sleepless nights, for work under time pressure, and very often for volunteering.”
“Today, the democratic forces are doing what a normal state should do — solving the problems of its citizens, protecting their rights, and defending the country’s interests in the international arena. The Lukashenka regime does the opposite. It persecutes its citizens and drives the country into isolation.
The authorities care not about people but about themselves, about their own survival. They rely on fear and repression. And people in Belarus and beyond its borders feel neither respect from the state nor confidence in the future in such a system built on the whim of one person. Officials are ready to carry out the most absurd orders. A clear example of this, of course, is the recent decree on switching off street lighting. Simply putting people’s lives at risk for no reason at all. This is yet another manifestation of the regime’s absurdity,” the politician said.
“Remember there used to be a phrase: ‘When leaving, turn off the lights.’ And one wants to believe that switching off the lights is a subtle hint at the inevitable departure of the dictator and, together with him, his entire inhumane system. And when this happens, of course, many Belarusians will breathe a sigh of relief, and no one will miss the dictator for sure. It is no secret that many officials behind his back call Lukashenka ‘grandfather’ and joke about his blue fingers,” she added.
Tsikhanouskaya sees two alternatives for Belarus: “the status quo of Belarus as a satellite of Russia or an independent country integrated into the European space,” and today, in her view, “it is precisely the democratic forces that embody this alternative.”
“Undoubtedly, changes in Belarus will come, and much will depend on the outcome of Russia’s war against Ukraine. There is a possibility that a peace agreement will still be signed. And if that happens, attention will return to Belarus. And it is very likely that a new window of opportunity will open, and it will be extremely important for us to seize this opportunity and not allow Russia to entrench its control over Belarus, so as not to lose sovereignty completely.
By preserving sovereignty, we will be able to restore Belarus and democracy, and then, of course, put Belarus on a European track. Many within the system share our views and are ready to negotiate with us. They understand that Lukashenka has lost subjectivity, that he is completely dependent on Russia and is leading the country into a dead end. And if this process is not stopped, we will lose our country,” the head of the United Transitional Cabinet added.