February 3, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja met with diplomats from nine countries on in Vilnius on January 31 to discuss financial assistance to the Belarusian independent media amid the US freeze on foreign aid, her aide Franak Viačorka told Pozirk.
The freeze affected the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which, among other things, implements programs to support exiled journalists.
Diplomats from Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden as well as Anna Kozłowska-Słupek, first counsellor of the Polish embassy in Lithuania, attended the meeting.
Alaksandar Łukašenka and his officials are not ending politically-motivating persecution of Belarusians despite the expectations of some pundits, Cichanoŭskaja noted.
The politician also thanked the Nordic-Baltic Eight for strong-worded resolutions regarding Belarus’ recent presidential election that took place amid reprisals and extended Łukašenka’s rule.
Many independent media outlets have been branded extremist groups for political reasons in Belarus after the disputed 2020 presidential election and have relocated abroad. Belarusian authorities routinely use terrorism and extremism designations to silence critical voices.
Exiled journalists have been reporting financial problems over the past year, among them KYKY, Reform, Belsat, Plan B, EX-PRESS and the Belarusian service of the Polish Radio Wnet, which eventually ceased operations.
