Belarusian Opposition Leader Hopes to Spur Action During Washington Visit

WASHINGTON - In her first official visit to the U.S., Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya hopes to spur Washington to act in support of democratic activists and civil society groups in her country. 

“I call on the U.S.A. to be with us,” she said during an interview with VOA. “It’s very important when a regime is destroying everything in Belarus, destroying mass media, destroying all the organizations, it’s extremely important to support all those people.”    Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline. Upon arrival, Tsikhanouskaya held a rally with supporters at Freedom Plaza in Washington D.C. She is scheduled to hold meetings at the State Department, the White House, with members of Congress and with the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power.   “I want the U.S. to keep Belarus on the agenda. My main purpose of course is to talk about Belarus, about the situation, about the escalation of violence from the side of the regime.”