Among the regime’s numerous crimes is the imprisonment of political opponents including Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Tsikhanouskaya’s husband, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for attempting to challenge Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential elections.
“I haven’t heard from him for more than 500 days,” she said. “No letters, no communication, no lawyers. So nothing.”
Tsikhanouskaya told TVP World that Lithuania brought the case against Belarus for the “forced deportation of Belarusian people.”
“We, of course, welcome it [the case being brought before ICC],” Tsikhanouskaya said, “and encourage Poland to support this initiative, the same as other countries, because we should send a clear signal to [the] Lukashenko regime that all the crimes will not be left unaccountable.”
Tsikhanouskaya added that although Belarus is not party to the Rome Statue, which established the ICC, Lithuania, as well as Poland, can bring a case against Minsk on account of being affected by the regime’s policies.
She said: “Lithuania and Poland and any other country can use its right to speak on behalf of other countries if your countries are affected by the situation in Belarus,” adding that recognizing the jurisdiction of the ICC is among the priorities of the Belarusian opposition as soon as the Lukashenko regime is removed from power.
The opposition leader said that Poland has so far been “one of the most firmly standing for principled position[s] regarding the Lukashenko regime” in sanctioning individuals connected to it and calling for trade sanctions against Belarus. Tsikhanouskaya believes that this is the best way to apply pressure on Minsk.
“Punish [the] regime, help [the] people,” she said. “And Poland is advocating a lot for imposing additional sanctions for additional pressure on Lukashenko’s regime.”
She also pointed out that many companies that normally catered to civilian needs have been “reoriented” by the regime to work for the war effort, and called for them to be sanctioned, along with individuals involved with the regime: “perpetrators, judges, prosecutors, [...] propagandists.
“It’s not only about [economic] isolation, it’s about political isolation. It’s a policy of non-recognition,” Tsikhanouskaya said, adding that for years this has been the consistent policy of Warsaw that remains unchanged.
This is not the only way in which Poland supports the Belarusian people's struggle for freedom.
“Simultaneously, [...] we see how Poland is supporting Belarus and [civic] society, supporting our political and cultural initiatives, for example, you are the most welcoming country for Belarusians and we are so grateful for this.”
To further facilitate the cooperation between the Polish authorities and the Belarusian opposition, which has effectively formed a government in exile, Warsaw is establishing a special representative with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to serve as a liaison.
Artur Michalski, Poland’s former ambassador to Belarus whose social media accounts have recently been deemed as spreading ‘extremist’ content by the regime, is to serve as the first representative.
“I have to say that Ambassador Michalski was always a huge friend of Belarus,” Tsikhanouskaya said. “And it’s another strategy of the regime to declare channels as extremists, you know, prohibiting [...] Belarusians [from reading] any news,” adding that this only proves that the regime is in a state of “panic” on account of Michalski’s content being popular in Belarus.
The regime often uses such accusations to target its opponents. Tsikhanouskaya, who has also been branded an extremist, said that perhaps the next step for Minsk to take will be branding Michalski himself, and not just his social media channels, as ‘extremist.’
She said: “Maybe it’s the first time when [the] regime did it to a diplomat, but there is no end of stupidity [of] this regime.”
Michalski was Warsaw’s last ambassador to Minsk, and the fact that he is now appointed a special representative to liaise with the opposition only legitimizes it, Tsikhanouskaya said.
In her eyes, such a special representative is “like a bridge between us and the [foreign] country. In the case of Poland, for example, we have a very open relationship with the government.”
