Former Belarus diplomat praises Canada’s support amid migrant crisis at Poland border

'Canada was among the first countries to express support,' says Valery Kavaleuski, who once represented Belarus as a diplomat in the United States.

From the safe confines of Washington, D.C. and his comfortable World Bank job, Valery Kavaleuski was powerless to resist the riptide of democratic reform washing over his homeland of Belarus last summer.

Kavaleuski went back to the capital city of Minsk in August 2020, diving headlong into the waves of pro-democracy protests that were providing hope around an unlikely but inspiring new leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in the face of a massive government backlash.

“I saw the crackdown. I participated in all the marches, in the lines of solidarity and such. And I stayed for a bit longer and then longer and longer. I just didn’t want to leave,” Kavaleuski recalled in an interview in Ottawa this past week.

Kavaleuski – who once represented Belarus as a diplomat in the United States – praised Canada, the U.S., the European Union and Britain for their continued backing of the Belarusian democracy movement.

“Canada was among the first countries to express support,” he said, talking over the bustling clatter of a Thai fast food restaurant near the University of Ottawa.

“We’ve seen a series of practical steps in terms of aid for the civil society, independent media, coordination of the sanctions policy,” he added. “I would say this level of engagement is unprecedented.”

Moments earlier, the trim, silver haired Kavaleuski had emerged from a white sedan that dropped him at the curb of the Canadian headquarters of Amnesty International. He had come from a debriefing at Global Affairs Canada before his scheduled meeting with the rights’ watchdog and found time to sit down with The Canadian Press between appointments. He was next slated to attend the Halifax International Security Forum, a global conference of security leaders from democratic governments taking place in Nova Scotia this weekend.

Kavaleuski recalled how he took to the Minsk streets in the summer of 2020, joining the thousands of protestors rallying behind Tsikhanouskaya. She was running in place of her husband, whose own campaign to unseat a long-time authoritarian leader was upended after he was jailed by Belarusian authorities.