Cihanouska urges Europe to be more pro-autocratic

Speaking in his opening remarks, EP President David Sasoli said that Cihanoouska was a symbol of the struggle for democracy and freedom and the voice of many political prisoners currently being held in Belarusian prisons. He emphasized that the regime would not hesitate to use men, women and children in need of protection for the sole purpose of destabilizing the European Union (EU).

Cihanouska began her speech by looking back at the Belarusian regime’s repression of demonstrators and critics of the regime following the fraudulent presidential election in Belarus last August. She mentioned those who had been attacked, imprisoned or even killed by Belarusian security forces. She also addressed the current migrant crisis on the EU-Belarus border.

She asked MEPs: “Assuming that the violence against migrants is stopped in some way, do you really think that will end the regime’s abuses and cross-border threats?”. She warned of an increase in drug and other smuggling, military provocations and even nuclear disasters at the EU’s external borders.

Cihanouska also emphasized that the democratic movement in Belarus could no longer wait for help from Europe and that now was the time to turn solidarity and concern into concrete action. Speaking about European sanctions against Belarus, she said that sanctions were working and called for a consistent sanctions policy. Cihanouska said the sanctions would divide the elite, destroy corruption schemes and divide people in Lukashenko’s immediate circle.

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She also called for Europe to be more united in solidarity with the democratic forces in Belarus. “Let us not forget the Belarusians imprisoned for their faith and help those who have been forced to leave the country. Today, not only democracy in Belarus but also democracy in Europe depends on us going down that path,” said Cihanouska.

Krastiņš said that on Tuesday afternoon, MEPs also held a separate plenary debate with Slovenian Foreign Minister Anj Logar, who represented the EU Council Presidency, and European Commission Vice-President Margarita Shin on the impact of the situation in Belarus and its border on the EU’s security and humanitarian situation.

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In the past months, an attempt has been made in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to send thousands of illegal immigrants from Belarus, most of them arriving in Belarus as tourists from Iraq, as a result of the Lukashenko regime’s large-scale hybrid attack.

The EU has accused the Minsk regime of seeking to avenge support for the Belarusian opposition and of sanctions against Belarus in response to last year’s violent crackdown on protests.