On January 6, GMF hosted the first event in Washington, DC to discuss the December 19 presidential election in Belarus and subsequent riots and government crackdown. Natalya Kalyada, the director of the Free Theater of Belarus who was also jailed during the crackdown, and Irina Krasovskaya, president of the We Remember foundation, gave first-person testimonies of what it was like in Minsk that day and outlined the most effective response strategies for the United States and Europe.

Kalyada and Krasovskaya explained that Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, has been suppressing opposition leaders for more than a decade leading up to the events of December 19. Both women were in the main square in Minsk when the riots began. Kalyada, who was able to escape from Belarus after her arrest during the crackdown, explained how important GMF’s presence and support to Belarus civil society has been for them.

David Kramer, president of Freedom House, spoke strongly on the need for a more forceful approach toward Lukashenko’s regime, with a united voice from the United States and EU. He emphasized that leaders, not spokespersons, of key countries must speak out against these events.

All panelists agreed on and underscored a number of points: that the demand for the immediate release of all political prisoners has to be forcefully sustained; that immediate support to the relatives of those arrested is crucial because the regime is using repressive measures toward families to try to weaken prisoner morale; and that continued, rapid, and flexible support to all civic, democratic, and cultural actors should continue.

“We warned that you cannot trust a dictator,” said Kalyada. “It is time not to pretend; time to talk about human dignity; time to talk about morality.”

Lastly, they stressed that sanctions banning travel for key figures of the regime and their families, as well as economic sanctions to freeze assets, must be put into place.

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