We Will Return Belarus to Our Common European Home. There is No Other Way
- Pavel Latushka
- Feb 11
- 3 min read
Theses of the speech by Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus and recipient of the Lech Wałęsa Solidarity Prize, at the official events during the award ceremony of the Poland–Lithuania Cooperation and Dialogue Forum and the Jerzy Giedroyc Dialogue and Cooperation Forum.
Ladies and Gentlemen! Your Excellencies! Distinguished organizers and members of the Chapter! Dear laureates and friends!
This year has been declared the Year of Jerzy Giedroyc by the Senate of Poland. This is not merely a tribute to the memory of a great thinker; it is a moment of truth for our entire region. For us Belarusians, Jerzy Giedroyc is particularly close — for he was born in our native Minsk, and his vision of a free Belarus was an integral part of his European dream.
Jerzy Giedroyc said that without a free Ukraine, Lithuania, and Belarus, there is no free Poland. Today, in the Year of Giedroyc, these words resonate like a prophecy. The expansion of this award to scholars and researchers from Belarus during this difficult time for my country is a signal that the Europe of Giedroyc does not end at the Bug River. Belarus is not the dictator; it is the people who choose Europe. Thank you for your solidarity, which is our most powerful common weapon.
Giedroyc dreamed of a space of freedom where Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine are not just neighbors, but a single geopolitical organism united by common values. Today, we see how Ukraine is paying in blood for this dream.
As the former Permanent Representative of Belarus to UNESCO, I will never forget the emotions I felt when visiting Giedroyc’s home in Maisons-Laffitte near Paris — the moment I first held the legendary "Kultura" in my hands.
It was a great honor for me to personally know past laureates of this Prize — Their Excellencies President Lech Kaczyński and President Valdas Adamkus. These are leaders whose visionary leadership continues to demonstrate to us the importance of freedom today.
For the first time this year, this prize has been extended to representatives of democratic Belarus. I sincerely congratulate Professor Alyaksandr Smalyanchuk. Mr. Smalyanchuk, your work in reclaiming our true history is the foundation of our dignity. Your award is a sign that Belarus is Europe, and Europe recognizes this, refusing to accept a new "Iron Curtain" along the Bug.
Dear friends! As a laureate of the Lech Wałęsa Prize — the legendary leader of "Solidarity" and a man who played a leading role in the dismantling of the communist empire in Europe — I believe in the power of unity and collective resistance. Today, we need solidarity more than ever.
We understand: as long as Belarus remains in the hands of a dictator, the security of the entire region will be under threat. But Belarus is not Lukashenko. Belarus is the people who, in 2020, made their irreversible European choice.
Maciej Radziwiłł, who has also received this award, knows: our nations have always triumphed when they stood together. We are the descendants of the Grand Duchy and the Rzeczpospolita. Our intellectual code is freedom.
Thank you, Poland and Lithuania, for your faithfulness to the testament of Giedroyc. We will return Belarus to our common European home. There is no other way.
Long Live Belarus! For our freedom and yours! Glory to Ukraine!
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