Documents on Democracy

Belarus/Global

After her husband, an activist and 2020 presidential candidate, was arrested during the campaign, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya ran in his stead against longtime dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Since the regime's brutal crackdown against postelection protests—the largest demonstrations in the country's history—she has led the prodemocratic opposition from exile. She spoke at the Summit for Democracy, a set of meetings that U.S. president Joseph Biden convened from December 8 to 10 with democratic stakeholders from around the word. Excerpts of her remarks follow:

I feel angry. Thousands of my fellow citizens are in prison because they dared to speak up against a dictator. It all started as a protest against rigged elections, but it became something much bigger. It became a struggle for dignity and justice.

Belarusians had enough of the regime ruling the country for 27 years. They felt that they deserved to be respected and heard. We continue to pay a big price. Forty-thousand people have been detained since last year. Many suffered endless interrogations at the hands of the KGB and many were tortured and humiliated. You could see their forced confessions posted by the regime on YouTube. Many lost their lives. More than three-hundred thousand were forced to flee, and more than nine hundred have been recognized at political prisoners.

Among them is my husband, Sergei, who [is] likely to be sentenced to fifteen to twenty years imprisonment next week. It is because of him that I am here today.

I feel awful that my children haven't seen their father for 18 months, and some mothers will never see their children again….

For the last eighteen months, I have been trying to understand why the democracies of the world are so reluctant [to take more action against Lukashenka]. Taken together, they are the most powerful force in the world today. Their economies are vast. They have enormous wealth, expertise and power—both soft and hard. And many brilliant, charismatic leaders … are here today. Leaders that really could defeat dictatorships, if only they set their minds to it. If only they realize that the fight for our freedom is the fight for their own freedom, too.

I'm not an experienced politician, but I'm not naïve either, and I truly believe in the power of international institutions and our democratic community. Perhaps I believe in them more than you do, but this belief comes from the bottom of my heart. The heart of a mother and wife, but also a Belarusian who patiently desires [her] country and its people to be free….

Let me put it in simple words. Imagine that your neighbor is an abuser. You can't ignore him, but also you cannot change his ways. So what can you do? You can try to appease him or try to satisfy his demands, but that will only make the abuser feel that he can control you. That he can manipulate you. Because if you are accommodating, you lose ground. Twenty-seven years of oppression taught us that appeasement never works. If you give him an inch, he will take a mile.

Let me be clear. Dictators cannot be re-educated. On an individual level when we see an abuser we know what the right thing to do is: Send a collective message loud and clear that such behavior will have punitive consequences.

This abusing neighbor is a problem for the whole neighborhood. Not only for the left or right side. Why then does the world do so little when it comes to the abuse going on just across the border, in neighboring Belarus, and what hope is there for any us if we cannot stand up for our own values?

China

Olympic tennis player Peng Shuai disappeared after accusing Zhang Gaoli, China's former vice-premier under Xi Jinping, of sexual assault in a November 2 social-media post. Despite global outcry, the Communist Party has not provided verifiable proof of Peng's safety and freedom. In response, Women's Tennis Association (WTA) chairman and chief executive Steve Simon suspended the Association's tournaments in China and Hong Kong. Excerpts...