Belarus opposition leader calls for Radio Free Europe to stay on air
The Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has called for US foreign broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) to keep broadcasting, despite its uncertain future.
"Free media are our link between the truth, between the people in exile and the people in the country," she said in a speech in the Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday. "If these media die, they will be replaced by propaganda media."
Tikhanovskaya, who lives in exile in the European Union, was referring to the dramatic moves by the new administration in Washington.
"RFE/RL is threatened with closure following funding cuts by US President Donald Trump's administration. Several European countries, led by the Czech Republic, are discussing ways in which RFE/RL can be preserved," she said.
RFE/RL began broadcasting during the Cold War and has had an office in Lithuania from which it covers neighbouring Belarus since the beginning of 2023.
The dissemination and use of its news has been a criminal offence in Belarus since Minsk declared the broadcaster an "extremist organization" in 2021.
In August 2020, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, in office since 1994, was again declared the winner of the presidential election, unleashing mass protests that were brutally suppressed. The opposition, however, saw Tikhanovskaya as the real winner.
The EU no longer recognizes Lukashenko as head of state. He is considered to be completely dependent on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
RFE/RL's Vilnius office is staffed by Belarusian journalists who went into exile like Tikhanovskaya after the 2020 elections.
They produce television and radio programmes in Belarusian, which are also broadcast online.
The programmes are broadcast from the RFE/RL broadcasting centre in Prague, where the station has been based since 1995. The centre also makes programmes in Russian, Ukrainian and other languages, reaching nearly 50 million people in 23 countries every week, the broadcaster said.
Since taking office, Trump has drastically cut funding for numerous government offices that focus on domestic and international affairs alike. This, combined with Washington's pivot to Russia, is deeply worrying to many in Europe, particularly as the Kremlin's war on Ukraine rages on.
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