Ukraine war: Exiled Belarus opposition leader speaks out against Russia’s threat | BBC News

Ukraine war: Exiled Belarus opposition leader speaks out against Russia’s threat | BBC News

in an exclusive interview with the world
today the exiled belarussian opposition
leader spana tiova has spoken to me
about the impact of the war in Ukraine
on her country and the personal loss of
being separated from her imprisoned
husband whom she hasn’t heard from for a
year she said a victory for ke would
give people in bellarus an opportunity
to overthrow Alexander lukashenka The
Man known as Europe’s last dictator she
also called on the west to help
political prisoners like her husband
telling me she didn’t know if he was
alive or dead well lukashenka has ruled
Belarus with an iron fist since
1994 although he’s not recognized as the
legitimate president by two neighboring
countries he’s already said he plans to
seek yet another 5-year term in 202’s
presidential election s Lana ran against
him in the last election after her
husband Sergey a former blogger and
presidential candidate was taken into
custody Sergey kovski was later jailed
for 18 years in a trial condemned as a
sham well she claimed victory in the
2020 polls which were widely thought to
be rigged but was forced into Exile with
her children the day after the vote well
after that election protest swept across
the country before demonstrators were
brutally suppressed by the security
forces then last year a bellus court
sentenced vlana in absentia to 15 years
jail the charges included High trees and
conspiracy to seize power I began the
interview with swetlana by asking her
about the relationship between the war
in Ukraine and what’s happening in belus
belus and Ukraine are intertwined we
both our countries are facing the same
enemy in politic Ambitions of Russia and
Russia wants to subjugate Ukraine and
belus if in Ukraine they are fighting
with tanks missiles they’re killing
people so in belus it’s like creeping
occupation they interfere into our
culture into our uh media
economy education just to step by step
subjugate our nation and only strong uh
national identity strong Society will
help us to avoid uh this
crucification how difficult is it going
to be to build that strong nation that
strong Society uh from where you are I
mean you are a leader in Exile how uh
realistic is it that you’re going to
influence citizens within
bellarus look I’m in Exile the same as
at least uh half a million of people who
fled belus because of repressions but
still 8 million people inside barus and
belus Society has full consensus uh
about situation in our country we are
against dictatorship we are against uh
against the war in Ukraine against
participation of our country into the
war we want free independent and
Democratic Belarus through FR Fair
elections you want to release our people
from prisons return back of course to
our homeland and start developing our
country as part of European fam of
countries so uh it’s not difficult to
unite people who have the same AIM now
it’s not time for competition between
people it’s time to fight against one
enemy is dictator and the system that
dictator has built for 26 years and to
change dismantle the system what’s your
plan to do this because let’s say for
example if you cre
does end up beating Russia in its War
what happens next in Belarus the victory
of Ukraine and I’m sure that with the
support and assistance of all Democratic
world uh Ukraine definitely will win uh
it will be simultanously mean one more
window of opportunity for belans because
victory of Ukraine will mean uh weak uh
Putin we Russia and hence we Lenka and
now we are preparing for this moment uh
for this trigger moment of opportunity
and now we are uh on the one hand we are
trying to weaken lukashenka through
economic and political pressure and to
strengthen uh our buan nation our civil
society our media uh our strengthen our
agency of democratic forces to take
political space from lukashenka kronis
and give it to uh democratically
oriented people so so people who are
even in the system of lukashenka regime
they also watch closely what’s going on
where the wind is blowing from and they
see that uh belan Democratic forces
propose very good alternative to Russian
World in in belus to Rus kir we uh
propose uh being part of European family
of countries we propose Investments we
propose reforms that influence uh
well-being of uh belans and believe me
people who around to lukanka they also
want changes but now they to scared by
this regime to oppose him spana your own
husband Sergey has been imprisoned he
was sentenced to 18 years in prison in
berus I wonder whether you’ve been
hearing from him whether he’s okay and
what his prolonged imprisonment is doing
to you on a personal
level uh so actually we have thousands
of political prisoners behind the bars
and it’s the most painful part of our uh
fight uh when thousands of people are
suffering behind the bars because of ill
treatment we have a list of people with
bad diseases like cancer uh like uh
diabetes heart attacks people with
special needs who are deprived of any
medical care uh we have to learn uh one
term it’s in communicat mode it means
that people who are behind the bars are
kept in full isolation this is about uh
my husband as well so I haven’t heard
about my husband for one year already no
information at all lawyer is not allowed
to visit him letters are not delivered
you know I don’t know how to what to
answer to my children about uh their
daddy and there are plenty of people who
are kept uh who are kept like this you
know regime wants to persuade Our Heroes
behind the bars that the world forgot
about them that you know nobody’s
thinking about them just look law is not
coming letters are not delivered your
sacrifice was in vain and I really want
the world to be loud about political
prisoners about humanitarian situation
in barus uh for people not to fa
forgotten in um in our country so you
don’t know you don’t even know whether
Sergey is alive or dead right now yeah I
I don’t know this and of course the
situation for example with Alex Nani you
know it’s uh caused a lot of emotions
inside me because uh my husband is like
personal enemy to lukashenka and I think
that only strong decisive step from
democratic World defending uh political
prisoners and human rights you know uh
can protect our beloved who are in jail
so when you saw what happened to Mr Nal
that upset
you yeah of course because you know it’s
uh this murder uh and U you know the
reaction of uh of democratic world it’s
uh could be or green light or uh Red
Line for further killing of the
opponents of the regime and of course so
is and other people who are behind the
BS you know the enemies of this regime
they can kill them without any
consequences

In August 2020, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was elected president of Belarus.
Tsikhanouskaya then fled to Lithuania in 2020 after President Alexander Lukashenko deployed a severe crackdown on protests against his disputed election win.

Siarhei Tsikhanouski is among several prominent imprisoned opposition figures whom relatives say have not been heard from in over a year.

“Russia wants to subjugate Belarus and Ukraine,” Tsikhanouskaya told BBC News.

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994.

Opposition figures are subjected to harsh penalties for organising protests.

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