Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the democratic opposition in Belarus, recently made her first working visit to Washington to meet with government officials and the diaspora community.  She spent the week of July 18-24 in DC, then made visits in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles the following week.

Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya’s first public event in DC was a lengthy appearance at a rally on Freedom Plaza near the White House on Sunday, July 18th.  An estimated 250 to 300 Belarusian Americans and other supporters came bearing the red and white flag that symbolizes the nation’s democratic movement.  Among the sea of red and white was Estonia’s blue, black, and white, carried by the Estonian American National Council’s Washington, DC Director, Karin Shuey, showing Estonian American solidarity with the Belarusian cause.  Latvian and Lithuanian colors were also on supportive display, along with Ukrainian, Russian, and other flags from former Eastern Bloc nations.  Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya gave remarks in Belarusian and English, and clearly and admirably made dialog with the diaspora community her main priority.

Karin Shuey, together with several representatives from EANC’s fellow Central and East European Coalition member organizations, made remarks to make clear that freedom fighters in Belarus and their diaspora supporters are not alone in their struggle. Our organizations actively advocate on Capitol Hill to stress the importance of U.S. commitment to helping Belarus establish democracy.  Karin’s Estonian flag caught the eye of the Voice of America correspondent on scene and she was interviewed live as VoA broadcast the event to Belarus.  She repeated the message of solidarity, the CEEC’s work on the Hill, and the need for U.S. support of democracy there.  Her interview is part of the following video, starting at about 15:55:  www.facebook.com/watch.

The rally was followed by a busy week of engagement.  In the Executive Branch, Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya had meetings with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan during her first week in DC, then returned for a meeting with President Biden on July 28^th.  On the Hill, she had numerous bipartisan meetings with Senators and Representatives.  The House made its support clear in the establishment of the bipartisan Congressional Friends of Belarus Caucus, which was founded the week before her arrival.  (The letter announcing the caucus is provided below.)

Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya had several media interviews and appearances, including on Fox News and CNN’s Morning Joe.  Her team made a conscious effort to give equal time to media outlets on both sides of the political spectrum.  She also appeared at the Atlantic Council for a very informative interview that touched on the democracy movement, the status of political prisoners, and her personal experience of the last year.  Video of the event is posted at www.atlanticcouncil.org under Events.

EANC maintains its mission in support of struggling democracies in Europe on par with our support for Estonian independence at the end of the Cold War.  Keeping the Kremlin at bay is no less important or relevant to Estonian and transatlantic security now than it was then.  EANC will continue to include Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, and Armenia in its advocacy work until those nations enjoy the same freedoms, sovereignty, human rights, and rule of law that it helped establish in Estonia.