Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: 'Don't give up! I don't want to see the Belarusization of Georgia'

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Georgia

“I urge Georgians to continue the fight! Don’t give up! I don’t want to see the Belarusization of Georgia,” said Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in an interview with InterpressNews’ special correspondent in Brussels.

According to her, “dictators learn from each other very quickly.”

The Belarusian opposition figure also stated that Georgians inspire the Belarusian people.

What does Belarus-Georgia state security services cooperation agreement mean for asylum-seekers?

Cooperation agreement between state security services of Georgia and Belarus has now come into force, leaving many wondering about the fate of the Belarussian asylum seekers in Tbilisi

В In 2020, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was the opposition candidate in the Belarusian presidential elections. She ran after her husband, Siarhey Tsikhanouski who had also planned to run for president, was arrested. However, the incumbent president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko (Aliaksandr Lukashenka), declared himself the winner of the elections. After the brutal suppression of mass protests, Tikhanovskaya was forced to leave the country.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya:

“Georgia has been a good example for Belarus because you have come so far in your efforts to join the European family of nations and are now going through very difficult times. I don’t want to see the Belarusization of Georgia, where the government oppresses everyone who disagrees with it. I sincerely urge Georgians to continue the fight and simply stand up for their principles and values.

These are tough times, but we strongly support you, and you are our inspiration. Just don’t give up. I hope this won’t take much of your time, but you still need to believe and fight.

I don’t want Georgia to become what it was like during Stalin’s times and repression. I don’t want it to experience what Belarus is going through now, where you don’t understand the rules and can be arrested for wearing the “wrong” colors [referring to the flag of the Belarusian People’s Republic] or for speaking your own language.

I hope this doesn’t happen in Georgia. But dictators learn from each other very quickly, and that’s why democratic countries and nations striving for democracy have united in the fight against Belarusization in the negative sense of the word.”