Questions of Belarusians in Lithuania and Preparations for the Release of Political Prisoners. Tsikhanouskaya Meets Lithuanian Seimas Speaker

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Lithuanian Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas and members of the “For a Democratic Belarus” parliamentary group, representing most political parties.

As reported by Tsikhanouskaya’s Office, she expressed deep gratitude to the Lithuanian parliament for its consistent and principled position and support for the Belarusian people, as well as for decisions that did not equate Belarusians with Russians. Particular attention was paid to Speaker Olekas’ speech at a plenary session and his Aug. 25 greetings to Belarusians on the Day of the Adoption of the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of Belarus.

“Lithuania remains one of the most reliable political friends of democratic Belarus. Our main goal is to turn this support into even stronger and more concrete action in the interests of Belarusians”, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya concluded.

The key topics of the meeting were:

• Lithuania’s presidency of the Council of the EU. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called for Belarus to be included among the priorities of the European agenda during the Lithuanian presidency;
• preparations for the release of political prisoners. Tsikhanouskaya thanked Lithuania for its support with logistics and legalization;
• the possibility of exchanging Belarusian driver’s licenses without additional examinations for people holding humanitarian residence permits, following Poland’s example, and introducing examinations in the Belarusian language;
• returning Belarus to the list of countries whose citizens can receive Lithuanian state scholarships to study for master’s degrees, and restoring this opportunity for the 2027 intake;
• discussion of organizing Lithuanian language courses for Belarusians;
• social issues, including support for children with disabilities;
• the future of the European Humanities University and the importance of preserving access to education for Belarusians;

The meeting also resulted in an agreement in principle to sign a memorandum of cooperation between Belarusian democratic forces and the Lithuanian Seimas, as well as to organize and hold a meeting of the Alliance of Parliamentary Groups “For a Democratic Belarus” in Vilnius.

Representing Belarus at the meeting were Tsikhanouskaya’s advisers: Franak Viačorka, Dzianis Kuchynski and Anatol Liabedzka.