Sviatlana Cichanovská reminds in Warsaw that Poland will not be safe without a free Belarus. At the Freedom Day march, he thanks the Poles for their support.
Poland realizes that its own security depends on a free Belarus. This is how Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Cichanovská spoke at the Independence Day march, which Belarusians commemorate the establishment of the first republic, who also thanked Poland for its support so far. TASR writes about it according to the PAP agency.
- According to Sviatlana Cichanovská, Polish security depends on free Belarus.
- Belarusians commemorate Freedom Day despite the repressive Lukashenko regime.
- In Warsaw, a crowd marched with a 330 meter long historic white and red flag.
In a speech on Castle Square, Cichanovská declared that Poland, which has regained its freedom, realizes that “without a free Belarus, there will be no safe Poland.” According to her, Belarusians in their homeland are commemorating the anniversary despite repression by the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Symbolic flag on the march
The march started at Three Crosses Square and continued through the center of Warsaw. The crowd carried a 330-meter-long white-and-red flag that Belarus briefly used after declaring independence from the Soviet Union. The marchers also carried banners with the slogans “Belarus will be free” or “For our and your freedom”.
Polish MEP Andrzej Halicki and Senator Grzegorz Schetyna also supported the assembly. Halicki stressed that until Belarus is free and democratic, Belarusians have a home in Poland, while Schetyna expressed hope that Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish journalist imprisoned by the Belarusian regime, will be able to celebrate Freedom Day next year.
Freedom Day in Exile
Belarusians celebrate Freedom Day on March 25, commemorating the declaration of the Belarusian People’s Republic in 1918. It is celebrated mainly by democratic circles, while Lukashenko’s government commemorates Independence Day on July 3.
Belarusian opposition leader Cichanovska moved to Poland with her team in January from Lithuania, where she has been living in exile since the Belarusian leadership’s massive crackdown on regime opponents in 2020. She did so after Lithuania downgraded her security status last year, much to her team’s dismay.
