Cichanoŭskaja compares regime to Nazis in Victory Day speech

May 9, BPN. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has said Alaksandr Łukašenka’s regime is doing the same as the Nazis who tortured people in concentration camps and persecuted dissenters.

In her Victory Day speech posted to YouTube, she criticized Belarus’ participation in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Belarusian and Russian authorities exploit the memory of victory over Nazi Germany for their own ends while Russian forces repeat Nazi crimes in hundreds of cities and villages, she said.

Cichanoŭskaja called May 9, 1945 a starting point for building prosperous and developed nations instead of waging wars. She cited the example of Germany, which “went through a training in democracy and overcoming the Nazi legacy.” “Germany is rapidly developing and is one of the most advanced countries in the world,” she said.

She concluded by saying that it wasn’t too late for Belarusians to choose liberty, integration into the European Common Market and massive foreign investments.