"He is a symbol of the struggle for freedom." Ales Bialiatski's portrait unveiled in front of the Belarusian embassy

A fresco painting with a portrait of Ales Bialiatski, chairman of the Viasna PC and Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2022, was unveiled in Vilnius.

Designer of the mural Lina Šlipavičiūtė, in a black scarf, Viasna human rights defenders of Siarhei Sys and Alena Masliukova, Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mantas Adomėnas, in a red scarf.

The Lithuanian authorities supported the creation of the mural. This project expresses all the values that Lithuania fights for every day, said Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mantas Adomėnas:

“For us, Ales Bialiatski is a symbol and a face of resistance and struggle for freedom, for democracy, for the European future of Belarus. He is the Nelson Mandela of our days. The Nobel Committee has recognized this with its award. In the person of Ales, we are spreading the news about all Belarusians who are in jails as political prisoners. As of today, there are 1,435 people. And we send a message to the whole world that we must not forget those people who fight for something that is an everyday reality for us. For them, it is a goal for which they go to prison, face torture, and even die.”

The mural dedicated to Ales Bialiatski is in front of the Belarusian embassy in Lithuania. The place was not chosen by chance. The poet, journalist, and representative of the Human Rights Centre Viasna Siarhei Sys mentioned it in his speech:

“We want to get through to the Belarusian authorities and say that everything they are doing today is wrong. [...] We continue our work in Lithuania. I'm grateful to these people, who give us the opportunity to continue to defend human rights in Belarus here.”

A mural with the portrait of Ales Bialiatski is actually located on the building of Vilnius Simonas Daukantas Progymnasium. Its administration agreed to provide one of the walls for the project.

Ales himself is a native of Svietlahorsk, as is his colleague, human rights activist Alena Masliukova. She mentioned this in her speech:

“When we heard that the Nobel Peace Prize had been awarded to our leader and inspirer, Ales Beliatski, the first thing I posted on Facebook was Svietlahorsk, you should be proud! And it would be right to see this mural first of all on the school where Ales studied, and on the walls of the university he graduated from. Or maybe on the walls of the city of Minsk.”

Alena Masliukova at the opening of the mural with the portrait of Ales Bialiatski.

“Freedom to Viasna! Ačiū (lt. thank you—translator’s note), Lietuva!  Long live Belarus!", that's how Alena Masliukova ended her speech.

The designer of the mural is Lina Šlipavičiūtė.

Artists from the Kiaurai sieńs laboratory and the Gyva Grafika team from Kaunas undertook the implementation of the mural at the request of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The designer of the mural, as well as the manager of the entire work, is Lina Šlipavičiūtė.