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Ministries
of
Foreign
Affairs
Ministries
of
Sport
National
Olympic
Committees
H.E.
Minister
Juraj
Tomaga
Minister
Branislav
Gröhling
President
Anton
Siekel
H.E.
Minister
Eva-‐Maria
Liimets
Minister
Tiit
Terik
President
Urmas
Sõõrumaa
H.E.
Minister
Jan
Lipavský
Minister
Mgr.
Petr
GAZDÍK
President
Jiri
Kejval
H.E.
Minister
Mevlüt
Çavuşoğlu
Minister
Mehmet
Muharrem
President
Ugur
Erdener
H.E.
Minister
Wopke
Hoekstra
Kasapoğlu
President
Anneke
Van
Zanen-‐
H.E.
Minister
Jeppe
Kofod
Minister
Ernst
Kuipers
Nieberg
H.E.
Minister
Ann
Linde
Minister
Ane
Halsboe-‐Jørgensen
President
Hans
Natorp
H.E.
Minister
Anniken
Huitfeldt
Minister
Lena
Hallengren
President
Mats
Arjes
H.E.
Minister
Pekka
Olavi
Minister
Anette
Trettebergstuen
President
Berit
Kjøll
Haavisto
Minister
Antti
Kurvinen
President
Jan
Vapaavuori
April
19,
2022
Re:
effective
sanction
implementation
towards
Belarusian
sport
with
regard
to
Putin’s
aggression
facilitated
by
Lukashenko
H.E.
Ministers
of
Foreign
Affairs,
Dear
Ministers
of
Sport,
Dear
NOCs
Presidents,
I
am
Aliaksandra
Herasimenia,
a
well-‐known
Belarusian
athlete,
two-‐time
Olympic
vice-‐
champion
and
bronze
medallist
in
swimming,
world
and
European
champion,
founder
and
head
of
the
Belarusian
Sport
Solidarity
Foundation
(BSSF).
On
behalf
of
our
BSSF
Team
and
my
own,
I
would
like
to
express
our
deepest
respect
and
gratitude
to
your
governments
and
to
you
personally
for
the
unprecedented
support
that
you
provide
to
the
people
of
Belarus
and
Ukraine
in
their
struggle
against
dictatorship
and
their
right
to
live.
We
also
know
how
much
you
care
about
the
reputation
of
sports
at
the
international
stage
and
in
the
eyes
of
millions
of
fans,
and
that
is
why
we
are
sending
this
letter
to
you.
1
The
BSSF
began
its
activities
in
October
2020,
after
the
presidential
elections
in
Belarus,
and
was
created
to
support
athletes
and
sports
professionals
who
had
come
under
the
pressure
of
political
repression.
We
were
able
to
quickly
engage
with
the
International
Olympic
Committee,
present
evidence
of
the
Lukashenko
regime's
desire
to
use
sports
as
a
tool
of
political
pressure,
and
convince
them
to
impose
sanctions.
In
the
international
arena,
our
activities
have
been
recognised
by
leading
sports
organizations.
As
a
result,
we
were
able
to
have
major
international
sporting
events
canceled
and/or
withdrawn
from
Belarus,
thereby
depriving
the
regime
of
the
opportunity
to
demonstrate
its
legitimacy
through
sporting
forums.
These
include
the
World
Hockey
Championship
2021,
the
World
Championship
in
Modern
Pentathlon
2021,
the
European
Track
Cycling
Championships
2021,
and
others.
We
defended
the
interests
of
Kristina
Tsimanouskaya
at
the
Tokyo
Olympics,
and,
with
the
support
of
the
Polish
government,
she
managed
to
avoid
being
sent
back
to
and
repressed
in
Belarus.
For
over
a
year
now,
the
BSSF
has
been
fighting
against
UEFA,
which
has
shown
a
formal
approach
to
its
values
and
rules
by
turning
a
blind
eye
to
repressions.
The
BSSF
has
also
filed
several
appeals
on
the
relevant
procedures
with
FIFA
and
has
filed
the
case
to
the
Court
of
Arbitration
for
Sport
in
Lausanne.
Since
its
establishment,
the
BSSF
has
provided
targeted
assistance
to
117
athletes
and
functionaries
who
have
been
discriminated
against
by
the
Lukashenko
regime.
In
the
early
days
of
the
war
of
the
independent
Ukraine
and
a
free
Ukrainian
nation
against
Russia's
aggression,
at
that
tragic
and
difficult
time,
the
BSSF
immediately
interceded
with
the
International
Olympic
Committee
and
international
sports
organizations
to
suspend
Russian
and
Belarusian
teams
and
athletes
from
participation
in
international
competitions.
Separately,
we
insisted
on
the
suspension
of
the
mandates
of
the
NOC
Belarus
and
the
federations,
and
on
the
imposition
of
personal
sanctions
on
a
number
of
Belarusian
sports
officials.
The
National
Olympic
Committee
of
Ukraine
thanked
the
BSSF
for
its
support
and
solidarity.
Today,
the
entire
BSSF
Team
is
exclusively
involved
in
humanitarian
projects
and
its
own
initiatives
aimed
to
support
Ukraine
and
its
people
against
the
Russian
aggression.
Having
worked
in
the
international
arena
for
more
than
a
year
and
a
half,
while
cooperating
with
sports
officials
of
the
highest
rank,
politicians,
and
mass
media,
calling
for
sanctions
against
Belarusian
sports
organizations
and
their
officials,
we
are
convinced
of
the
efficiency
and
effectiveness
of
this
approach
in
the
fight
against
dictatorial
regimes.
We
consider
the
application
of
collective
responsibility
to
representatives
of
Belarusian
sports
in
the
international
arena
as
a
justified
response.
We
also
believe
that
the
prohibition
of
performance
in
international
competitions
is
not
an
exhaustive
measure
and
leaves
room
for
circumventing
sport
sanctions,
considering
the
specifics
of
different
sports.
Thus,
for
example,
representatives
of
playing
sports
are
deprived
of
the
opportunity
to
represent
the
country
on
the
international
level
but
can
quite
2
successfully
continue
performing
at
club
level.
For
example,
Belarusian
tennis
players
are
banned
from
representing
the
country
in
team
events
but
can
participate
in
the
most
prestigious
competitions
-‐
Grand
Slam
and
ATP
tournaments.
At
the
same
time,
numerous
free
Belarusian
athletes,
including
Olympic
medallists,
world
and
European
champions
and
sports
managers,
continue
to
fight
against
the
dictatorship
and
defend
the
rights
of
those
who
remained
in
Belarus
under
the
oppression
of
the
Lukashenko
regime.
Forced
to
remain
outside
Belarus,
persecuted
by
the
security
forces,
having
lost
their
careers
and
regular
sources
of
income,
many
are
separated
from
their
families
-‐
that
is
no
small
price
to
pay.
And
with
international
sports
sanctions
imposed
on
their
performance,
they
pay
a
double
price
and
find
themselves
discriminated
against
by
the
civilized
world
as
well.
We
propose
and
ask
you
to
support
our
initiative
to
increase
pressure
on
the
dictatorial
Lukashenko
regime
by
canceling
existing
visas
entitling
them
to
enter
the
USA,
UK,
Canada,
and
Schengen
Agreement
countries
and
denying
visas
for
new
requests
for
athletes
and
managers
who
openly
support
the
Lukashenko
regime,
or
who
cannot
provide
evidence
and
guarantees
that
they
oppose
the
policy
of
Lukashenko
assisting
Putin
in
military
aggression
against
the
free
Ukrainian
nation
and
independent
Ukraine.
From
the
very
beginning
of
its
activity,
the
BSSF
has
been
keeping
a
record
of
athletes
and
sports
functionaries
who
actively
and
publicly
oppose
the
Lukashenko
regime.
We
possess
evidence
and
are
ready
to
provide
it
to
verify
athletes
fighting
for
civil
liberties
and
an
end
to
military
aggression.
The
BSSF
calls
for
cooperation
and
offers
an
effective
mechanism
of
interaction
to
avoid
cases
of
"double
payback"
for
the
fight
against
the
dictatorship.
We
are
ready
to
take
responsibility
for
both
the
extension
of
sanctions
and
the
rehabilitation
of
free
athletes.
Our
goal
is
to
build
effective
cooperation
both
with
governmental
agencies
and
international
sports
organizations.
Even
today,
human
rights
organizations
and
diasporas
register
cases
of
entry
to
EU
countries
on
humanitarian
grounds
of
citizens
of
Belarus,
who
assisted
the
regime
in
suppressing
peaceful
protests
and
repressing
the
population
in
2020.
Belarus
is
now
a
country
of
double
occupation.
First,
after
the
2020
presidential
election,
the
country
was
seized
by
Lukashenko's
junta.
Now
in
2022,
its
territories
are
also
occupied
by
Russian
troops.
There
are
1,091
political
prisoners
in
the
country.
On
top
of
that,
some
800
Belarusians
were
arrested
in
one
day
while
calling
for
an
end
to
the
war
in
Ukraine.
We
are
convinced
that
it
was
after
the
events
of
2020
that
New
Belarus
began
to
emerge.
It
is
a
challenge
for
free
athletes,
coaches,
and
specialists,
many
of
whom
have
already
accepted
it.
It
is
the
free
Belarusians,
not
Lukashenko's
officials,
who
are
Belarus.
As
a
result,
we
ask
you
to
support
the
BFSS
in
its
fight
against
dictatorship
and
to
strive
by
all
means
to
help
the
Ukrainian
people
in
the
war
against
Putin
and
Lukashenko.
We
believe
that
the
experience
of
the
BSSF
Team
in
defending
the
rights
of
free
athletes
and
3
representing
their
interests
will
enable
us
to
act
as
an
institution
that
can
build
a
new
level
and
mechanism
of
cooperation
with
national
and
international
organizations,
creating
a
precedent
of
modern
sports
diplomacy
and
demonstrating
to
the
world
the
additional
potential
of
cooperation.
The
BSSF
encourages
cooperation
and
is
willing
to
meet
and
interact
at
any
level
and
in
any
format.
Currently,
we
are
in
great
need
of
a
strong
partner
with
an
impeccable
reputation
for
fighting
for
human
values.
History
has
recorded
instances
where
the
decision
of
just
a
few
individuals
became
a
bastion
of
citizen
rights,
humanism,
and
respect
for
democratic
principles,
setting
an
example
for
many
governments
and
millions
of
people
by
showing
that
human
lives
are
of
the
highest
value!
Each
time,
history
was
made
by
a
particular
individual
who
defied
inhumanity.
Yours
sincerely,
Aliaksandra
Herasimenia
OLY
Chairwoman
4