The United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus has decided to honor a number of public, cultural and human rights figures. The relevant resolutions were signed on July 31 by the head of the Cabinet, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
The Francysk Skaryna Medal has been awarded to choral conductor, composer and music teacher Halina Kazimirouskaya, Belarusian minority activist in Poland, educator and cultural project organizer Jerzy Ostapczuk, as well as singer, educator and organizer of cultural initiatives in Poland Bogusława Karczewska.
The “Unbroken (Larysa Hienijuš)” Medal has been awarded to human rights defender, member of the Viasna Human Rights Center council and vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Valiantsin Stefanovic.
The “For Productive Work for the Benefit of Belarus” Medal has been awarded to cultural figure and journalist, custodian of the cultural legacy of People’s Writer Vasil Bykau, Iryna Bykava (posthumously); singer, poet and musician Katsiaryna Kalanchuk-Vadanosava; Lithuanian lawyer, Doctor of Law and professor Dainius Žalimas; and Ukrainian politician, lawyer and member of the Verkhovna Rada Serhii Soboliev.
One additional person will receive the Cross of Freedom in a non-public ceremony. The United Transitional Cabinet said the award recognizes a personal act of civic courage that became a symbol of Belarusians’ struggle for freedom, as well as many years of work in support of democracy in Belarus.
The task of notifying the award recipients and their relatives, as well as organizing the official award ceremony, has been entrusted to the United Transitional Cabinet’s representative for national revival, Pavel Barkouski.
