"The greatest sanction against the Kremlin would be a free Belarus," said Svetlana Tichanovskaya when she accepted the Aachen Charlemagne Prize on Thursday.

The Belarusian opposition leader was honored along with her two fellow campaigners: Veronika Tsepkalo and Maria Kolesnikova.

The trio organized the democratic opposition against dictator Alexander Lukashenko in the summer of 2020.

Of course, he had the election rigged and put Kolesnikova in prison with 1,200 other political activists for eleven years.

At the ceremony in Aachen City Hall, she was represented by her younger sister.

For all three, it was an opportunity to commemorate the fate of their country after the Russian invasion of Ukraine drew all international attention there.

Thomas Gutschker

Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.

  • Follow I follow

The Karlspreis Society honored the three politicians for their "courageous and encouraging commitment against brutal state tyranny, torture, oppression and the violation of elementary human rights by an authoritarian regime, for democracy, freedom and the rule of law".

They are "energetic, living symbols of the spirit of freedom".

Their sacrifices are unprecedented, their messages contagious and evocative.

This was linked to the fact that in old Europe this passion often died out and was replaced by cost-benefit calculations.

Annalena Baerbock held the laudation for the three award winners.

The German Foreign Minister spoke of the “boldest women in Europe”;

they are role models for millions of other women.

She paid tribute to her achievements and her sacrifices in personal words before making a few general remarks on Germany's longstanding policy towards Belarus and Russia.

"The belief that cooperation with dictators like Lukashenko is at least possible to a certain extent has perhaps made us act too hesitantly towards the Belarusian regime," said the Greens politician.

And then came the mantra to which the Social Democrats in particular had subscribed for decades: "Other hopes, such as that that trade alone could bring about change and a change in values, have also proven to be wrong." , act even more decisively" when "our values ​​and our freedom are attacked" - not only when thousands are arrested or tanks roll.

Regarding the relationship with Moscow, Baerbock said that for the foreseeable future it could only be about security from Russia instead of security with Russia.

After the award ceremony, Baerbock and the three award winners performed at a public rally in Aachen, which replaced the traditional reception.

The day began with a service in Aachen Cathedral.

In his sermon, the Bishop of Aachen, Helmut Ders, decidedly distanced himself from Patriarch Cyril.

It is "sad and shameful" that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is trying to religiously justify the war of aggression against Ukraine.

With that, according to the Bishop of Aachen, Kyrill “left the ecumenical community”.