Statement of the Congress Organising Committee on military aggression against Ukraine

The Organising Committee of the International Congress of Belarusian Studies resolutely condemns Russia’s military aggression against independent and sovereign Ukraine.

Russia is violating international law and trampling on universal human values.

Our thoughts and hearts are with the Ukrainian people, who are courageously defending the sovereignty of their country.

To our great regret, the authorities of the Republic of Belarus, deprived of democratic legitimacy in 2020, have acted as an accomplice in Russia’s military operation.

Russian tank units launched their offensive on Kyiv from the territory of Belarus; missile strikes against Ukraine are being carried out from the territory of Belarus; Russian troops are using the infrastructure of the Belarusian army for their needs.

This is a gross violation of Belarus’s international obligations and of its Constitution.

Dragging Belarus into war is a crime and a gross disregard for the interests of the Belarusian people.

We must draw the special attention of the Ukrainian and international community to the fact that Belarusian society does not support the war.

If Belarusians had the opportunity to choose democratically, they would never elect supporters of war, and especially a war against fraternal Ukraine, to the highest state offices.

Unfortunately, Belarus is an authoritarian country.

In 2020, the Belarusian people clearly demonstrated their aspiration for democracy and freedom by refusing to trust A.

Lukashenka.

Using physical violence, large-scale repression, and Russia’s political and economic support, A.

Lukashenka retained power.

Since then, the rhetoric of the Belarusian authorities has contained ever more xenophobia, hatred toward the West and Ukraine, as well as propaganda of physical violence and war.

The academic community of Belarus actively supported democratic processes in Belarus; the result was mass repression: arrests, criminal cases, intimidation, and dismissals from the Academy of Sciences and universities.

Hundreds of lecturers and scholars have faced this.

There is no doubt that the absolute majority of the Belarusian academic community, both in Belarus and abroad, categorically condemns the actions of Russia and the Belarusian authorities, supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and respects its aspiration for freedom and its right to choose its own future independently.

We consider measures aimed at terminating cooperation between Ukraine, EU countries, and the United States and the Belarusian academic community to be mistaken.

Restrictions on contacts and cooperation with state institutions may be justified, but the termination of contacts at the individual level and with civil society is counterproductive.

This will weaken the ability of Belarusian society to resist the propaganda of war, militarism, and imperial revanchism by the authorities of Russia and Belarus.

Since its founding in 2011, the International Congress of Belarusian Studies has been a platform for dialogue and cooperation among academic and expert communities, and has always proceeded from respect for and support of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of all countries of the region, especially Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland.

Ukrainian researchers have always been an important part of the Congress, forming one of the largest delegations by number.

The Organising Committee has always facilitated the broadest possible participation of Ukrainian scholars in the work of the Congress.

We express our support and sincere solidarity at this critical moment, as well as our readiness to support Ukrainian scholars by all means available to us.

We are convinced that cooperation between Belarusian and Ukrainian scholars must continue and become even more intensive.

The academic communities of the region must resist external aggression.

Together, strengthening one another.

Andrei Kazakevich (Chair of the Organising Committee)
Tomasz Blaszczak (member of the Organising Committee)
Vika Velichkaite (member of the Organising Committee)
Rustis Kamuntavičius (member of the Organising Committee)
Daria Kushitskaya (member of the Organising Committee)
Aliaksei Lastouski (member of the Organising Committee)