Olekas backs Belarusian hopes for a free, democratic future

LRT, citing BNS, reports that Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas has marked the 35th anniversary of Belarus’s Independence Declaration by expressing support for the country’s democratic forces and hope for its free future.

“We sincerely believe that the day will come when the rule of law is restored in Belarus, its people can elect a president and parliament in free and fair elections, and Belarus becomes a full and respected member of the European family,” Olekas said while opening an extraordinary sitting of Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday.

On August 25, 1991, Belarus’s Supreme Council granted constitutional-law status to the country’s Declaration of Independence.

Olekas said the anniversary was an opportunity to reaffirm Lithuania’s “firm support for democratic forces” and wish them unity, close coordination and close ties with the people of Belarus.

He said Lithuania would continue supporting Belarusians’ democratic aspirations and their wish to live in a free state governed by the rule of law.

Following Belarus’s 2020 presidential election, in which Alyaksandr Lukashenka again declared himself the winner after more than two decades in power, mass protests broke out across the country. The authorities responded with a crackdown, detaining about 65,000 people, while leading opposition figures were imprisoned or fled the country. Western sanctions were subsequently imposed on Belarus.