Bacik expresses solidarity with Belarus in Rome

Today, 6^th March 2025, Labour Party Leader Ivana Bacik TD travelled to Rome, alongside parliamentarians from across Europe, to address the Rights and Authoritarianisms: The Case of Belarus Conference.

 Speaking in advance of her panel, Deputy Bacik emphasised the importance of continued solidarity with Belarus.

“Ireland must continue to stand with the people of Belarus and against the autocratic regime in that country. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the pro-democracy opposition leader in exile, has strong connections with Ireland. Indeed, I have been glad to meet with her on several occasions now, to affirm my Party’s commitment to supporting democracy in Belarus. This gathering of public representatives from across Europe is vitally important. Belarus cannot be forgotten, especially at this increasingly uncertain time, as Putin’s brutal project to annihilate Ukraine continues, now apparently with the tacit endorsement of US President Donald Trump.

“January’s sham election in Belarus served as a reminder of the need for a Europe-wide concerted effort to give solace to the repressed people of Belarus, and to the approximately 1,300 political prisoners and millions-strong community in exile. I am proud to sponsor one such political prisoner, who has been detained since September 2020 for participating in peaceful protests.

“As we see Trump’s Administration turn its back on Ukraine, the need to show a united front across the EU and in Europe is more important than ever. We must stand for democracy and against authoritarianism. There can be no capitulation to despots or dictators. As we know, Russia’s all-out attack on Ukraine three years ago was facilitated by Lukashenko, who allowed Putin’s forces to enter Ukraine via Belarus. I echo Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s call for guarantees that a Ukrainian peace plan will not hand Belarus over to the Kremlin as a consolation prize. There can be no facilitating Russia’s creeping occupation of Belarus.

“The events in Belarus have a particular resonance for me because of my family history – my Czech grandfather took a stance against the Nazis, and was also strongly opposed to the Communist regime in what was then Czechoslovakia. My family fled a country which once was controlled by Russia and which had no democracy of its own for far too long. Czechia’s democratic status and national autonomy today shows that democracy cannot be stymied forever. Belarus will be free one day from Lukashenko and his puppet master, Putin. It falls to us, the international community, to ensure its freedom comes sooner, rather than later.”