“Promoting and defending democracy is invaluable work, and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has excelled at it. An integral part of the daily activities of cities is the development of inclusion and democracy, which Helsinki is ready to support,” says Mayor Vartiainen.
During her visit, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Sanna Marin, the Speaker of Parliament Matti Vanhanen, as well as members of the delegations of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament, the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council.
Finland and Helsinki support democracy building in Belarus. Finland finances the work of an international accountability platform, which collects and stores evidence of human rights violations committed by the Belarusian regime. Finland also supports the Belarusian European Humanities University, which operates in exile in Vilnius, Lithuania.