Belarusian leader with Roscrea links receives Tipperary Peace Award

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya returned to Tipperary to accept the Tipperary International Peace Award on Tuesday.

Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya aims to unseat Belarusian dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, and has received a flood of support from global leaders in her fight to free her country's people from the grasp of the strong ally of Russian leader, Vladimir Putin.

She also has strong ties to Roscrea after she lived and worked in the town in the 1990s when she was brought to Ireland aged 12 through the Chernobyl Lifeline campaign. She lived with the Deane family from Roscrea and forged links which she says have sustained her in some of her darkest moments.

In 2020 she was forced into exile with her children in Lithuania and also returned to Roscrea for the first time since she was catapulted into the international spotlight after her husband was jailed by Lukashenko for what was called unpatriotic political activity. Svetlana took up the mantle and continued the fight for liberation and democracy - for which she was only last month sentenced to 15 years in prison.

During that visit she addressed the Irish Parliament and met with political leaders who pledged to support the Belarusian woman, who last week was charged with 12 crimes, including "conspiracy to take power unconstitutionally," for fighting for democracy. 

She received her Tipperary International Peace Award in St. Mary's Church of Ireland in Tipperary Town on Tuesday in recognition of her fight for democratic change in her home country. Previous recipients include former South African President Nelson Mandela, former President Mary McAleese and her husband Senator Martin McAleese, Pakistani school girl Malala Yousafzai and the former Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos.

The honorary secretary of the Tipperary Peace Convention, Martin Quinn, said the award is a statement of support for the rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly in Belarus. 

“The torture and ill treatment of men, women and children in Belarus, along with the system of unfair and closed trials and the imprisonment of those that speak out against the regime, as brought to prominence by Tsikhanouskaya, has highlighted the brutality of the Lukashenka regime and its crackdown on protesters and those who speak out against them,” he said. 

Responding to the news of her selection Svetlana said that it is a great honour to become the recipient of the Tipperary International Peace Award for 2022 and to be amongst the great people who received the award before her.

“This award is not only given to me, it is given to millions of free people of Belarus, who have been fearlessly and selflessly resisting tyranny for the past three years. I’m proud of them and I thank the Tipperary Peace Committee and Ireland for this recognition,” she said.

“Ireland has always been a friend to Belarus and to me personally. 

“As a child, I came to Ireland under the Chernobyl children’s programme and I lived with the warmest family in this very region of Co Tipperary. This family showed me what a big heart Irish people have and I’m happy that I still keep in touch with them,” she added.

“Despite the distance the people of Ireland and Belarus remain close friends as we have so much in common and we understand each other. Belarus is also a country of warm and modest people and like Irish people, Belarusians know how to fight for their land, their culture and their traditions and to defend is what makes us a nation.

“I’m sure that the friendship between Belarus and Ireland will remain forever and this award is what confirms these ties between us. It is an incredible support for the democratic movement of Belarus and for the hundreds of thousands of activists who resist tyranny on the ground. This provides hope for the thousands of political prisoners who suffer in Belarusian prisons for their truth and for their thirst for freedom and commitment to democratic values,” she said.

After receiving the prestigious award she addressed students in St. Ailbe's School and attended a wreath laying ceremony at the Tipperary Remembrance Arch.