Lithuanian PM congratulates people of Belarus on Freedom Day

VILNIUS – Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has congratulated the people of Belarus s they celebrate the Freedom Day on March 25.

In her message of congratulation, the prime minister wished freedom, harmony and peace in Belarus.

Simonyte conveyed her greetings to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the democratic society in Belarus, and expressed her hope that this day is celebrated in the future not only in the hearts and minds of free Belarusians but also in the towns and on the streets of a free and democratic Belarus.

"Unfortunately, today we witness an ultimate betrayal of the Belarusian nation by Lukashenko, who provides the territory of your beautiful and peaceful country as a bridgehead for Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine. I commend the free people and the leaders of the free Belarus who did not hesitate to stand clearly and publicly in support of Ukraine and chose the side of good over evil. I am glad that today the hearts of our nations—Ukrainians, Lithuanians, and free Belarusians—are beating together, that we share Ukrainians’ grief, and celebrate their victories as our own," the Lithuanian prime minister's letter reads.

Simonyte urged Belarusians not to lose patience and faith in the victory of a free Belarus, and reassures them that Lithuania sees and supports the continuous fight of Belarusians for freedom, adding that the rightful demands to stop repressions, release and rehabilitate all political prisoners and arbitrarily detained persons in Belarus, and to organize free and fair elections in Belarus as soon as possible are voiced by Lithuanian officials at every opportunity and within all international forums.