• by MEP David MCALLISTER, Chair of the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET)
• by MEP Małgorzata GOSIEWSKA, chair, on behalf of the Bureau of the EP Delegation for Relations with Belarus
Brussels, 25 March 2025 - Today, we join the people of Belarus in commemorating Belarus' Freedom day. On this date, 25 March 1918, the independence of the Belarusian Democratic Republic was declared, marking the beginning of the modern statehood of Belarusians as a European nation. While the life of the new-born democratic republic was short, being soon forcibly absorbed into the Soviet Union and thrown into a new dictatorship, the unique culture, identity, language and values of freedom and humanity, cherished by the people of Belarus, have prevailed and thrived.
Today, 107 years later, the people of Belarus continue their fight. Afraid of losing power, the authoritarian leader Aliaksandr Lukashenka has been cracking down on all dissent, including political opponents, human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists. Over 1200 husbands, wives, sons and daughters convicted under politically motivated charges are being held in inhumane conditions, denied adequate healthcare and contact with family members and lawyers. Torture and other ill-treatment remain widespread with perpetrators enjoying impunity. Countless others continue to face relentless persecution, live in constant fear, or have been driven into exile.
By orchestrating sham 'presidential elections' earlier this year, Lukashenka is subjugating Belarus to the Kremlin in return for consolidating his despotic, illegitimate rule. By allowing Belarus' territory to be used for Russia's ongoing unprovoked full-scale war against Ukraine, thus becoming accomplice to Vladimir Putin's war crimes, Lukashenka is once again betraying the people of Belarus and its independence.
On this very special day, we stand firmly in solidarity with the courageous people of Belarus who, like their ancestors in 1918, continue striving for the sovereignty, freedom and European future of their homeland, standing up against the oppressive state apparatus, corrupt judicial system and brutal police forces.
History has shown that all dictators eventually fall. In the meantime, the hundreds of thousands of Belarusians who have fled their country and plenty of those who continue defying the regime from inside Belarus have become guardians of the Belarusian cultural heritage and the legacy of the first democratic republic. The EU and its Member States must step up their support to the people of Belarus to safeguard their culture and identity, helping them to protect and promote the values and principles of freedom and democracy on which the free Western world was built.
We firmly believe that the day will come when Belarus will become part of the European family, standing on the side of the countries where citizens enjoy the right to elect their representatives in free and fair elections, societies that believe in diplomacy and in the right of all nations, small of big, to determine their future.
To achieve this goal, we remain committed to continue supporting Belarus' European path in close cooperation with the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the Coordination Council, working tirelessly to achieve an immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners as our first and utmost endeavour and doing our best to preserve the independence of Belarus for the sake of its people and for the good of all of Europe.
Жыве Беларусь! Long Live Belarus!
• by MEP Małgorzata GOSIEWSKA, chair, on behalf of the Bureau of the EP Delegation for Relations with Belarus
Brussels, 25 March 2025 - Today, we join the people of Belarus in commemorating Belarus' Freedom day. On this date, 25 March 1918, the independence of the Belarusian Democratic Republic was declared, marking the beginning of the modern statehood of Belarusians as a European nation. While the life of the new-born democratic republic was short, being soon forcibly absorbed into the Soviet Union and thrown into a new dictatorship, the unique culture, identity, language and values of freedom and humanity, cherished by the people of Belarus, have prevailed and thrived.
Today, 107 years later, the people of Belarus continue their fight. Afraid of losing power, the authoritarian leader Aliaksandr Lukashenka has been cracking down on all dissent, including political opponents, human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists. Over 1200 husbands, wives, sons and daughters convicted under politically motivated charges are being held in inhumane conditions, denied adequate healthcare and contact with family members and lawyers. Torture and other ill-treatment remain widespread with perpetrators enjoying impunity. Countless others continue to face relentless persecution, live in constant fear, or have been driven into exile.
By orchestrating sham 'presidential elections' earlier this year, Lukashenka is subjugating Belarus to the Kremlin in return for consolidating his despotic, illegitimate rule. By allowing Belarus' territory to be used for Russia's ongoing unprovoked full-scale war against Ukraine, thus becoming accomplice to Vladimir Putin's war crimes, Lukashenka is once again betraying the people of Belarus and its independence.
On this very special day, we stand firmly in solidarity with the courageous people of Belarus who, like their ancestors in 1918, continue striving for the sovereignty, freedom and European future of their homeland, standing up against the oppressive state apparatus, corrupt judicial system and brutal police forces.
History has shown that all dictators eventually fall. In the meantime, the hundreds of thousands of Belarusians who have fled their country and plenty of those who continue defying the regime from inside Belarus have become guardians of the Belarusian cultural heritage and the legacy of the first democratic republic. The EU and its Member States must step up their support to the people of Belarus to safeguard their culture and identity, helping them to protect and promote the values and principles of freedom and democracy on which the free Western world was built.
We firmly believe that the day will come when Belarus will become part of the European family, standing on the side of the countries where citizens enjoy the right to elect their representatives in free and fair elections, societies that believe in diplomacy and in the right of all nations, small of big, to determine their future.
To achieve this goal, we remain committed to continue supporting Belarus' European path in close cooperation with the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the Coordination Council, working tirelessly to achieve an immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners as our first and utmost endeavour and doing our best to preserve the independence of Belarus for the sake of its people and for the good of all of Europe.
Жыве Беларусь! Long Live Belarus!
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP
