Natallia Pinchuk: Fruitless Are Negotiations With Lukashenka Who Has Putin's Shadow Behind

A powerful speech by the wife of the Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski.

The annual World Expression Forum (WEXFO) takes place in Lillehammer, Norway on May 22-23, Radio Liberty reports.

The WEXFO gathers defenders of the freedom of expression and is dedicated to empowering and defending the freedom of expression as an absolute prerequisite for democracy and the progress of mankind.

The mission of the forum is to unite the defenders of freedom of speech in a strong and active global community, to be a catalyst for change, striving to give new generations strength, freedom and security when expressing opinions.

On May 23, Natallia Pinchuk, the wife of imprisoned human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, spoke at the forum.

Natallia Pinchuk stated that her husband Ales Bialiatski, all imprisoned human rights activists and all political prisoners in Belarus should be unconditionally released:

“Any contact with the authorities in Minsk is possible only after that (and after the termination of support of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine). The release of prisoners is not a subject for endless negotiations, not a commodity for a bargain, but the only way out of the impasse into which the dictator has led the country and the people.

Fruitless are negotiations with Lukashenka who has Putin’s shadow behind him. Therefore, great respect for those countries and politicians who take a principled stance and have no illusions.

We should also hope for the strong position of international organizations, they should stand guard over democratic values and peace.”

At the same time, Pinchuk drew attention to the fact that the United Nations, represented by the UN Secretary-General, invited Lukashenka to the World Sustainable Development Summit, and UN officials praise the Lukashenka regime for achieving these goals:

“Do complicity in criminal aggression against Ukraine and mass repressions from which hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have already fled contribute to sustainable development?

The principled policy of the democratic community should make it impossible for the regime to exist easily and show that Lukashenka personally and his allies, including state media propagandists, will bear responsibility, and most importantly, give the Belarusian society a signal that the sacrifices were not in vain providing readiness for the return of freedom.