February 07, 21

STUTTGART

Rally with march to the Theaterhaus

with contributions by Tanya Khomich, Nikola Lutz, Hans-Joachim Fuss as well as witnesses

Organization: Belarusian Community Stuttgart

On this occasion Nikola Lutz gave the following speech:

Dear Masha, Dear Tanya, Dear fellow citizens of Belarus, Dear people present,

"Nothing in the world is stronger and more persistent than the desire for freedom, against this desire no government can stand, neither can a tyrant with his army." This sentence comes, not entirely by accident, from a science fiction movie. It is set in a future in which humans have colonized space, travel it in spaceships, and, unfortunately, wage wars up there. Nevertheless, the protagonist of this story comes to the conclusion that there is nothing stronger than the desire for freedom.

The Belarusian people show an almost unbelievable determination to go and continue their way to freedom, whatever the cost, and Masha Kalesnikava embodies this determination like no one else. More than that - her incredible courage never appears hardened and her gestures are vibrant and loving. Despite her ongoing stay in prison, she is strong and still in good spirits, as I heard the day before yesterday. And yet she needs protection.

I know Masha Kalesnikava from our joint board work in the Stuttgart Collective for Contemporary Music. Once we had planned to put together a trio program and go on a tour to Belarus and Ukraine. But we didn’t get the funding, and I never got to know her homeland. I had no idea of the conditions there until I suddenly heard about her kidnapping. Angry at the inconceivable injustice that was happening to her, I spontaneously organized a demonstration. Although politicians at all levels participated in the protests that took place here and elsewhere, unfortunately it soon became clear that there would be no quick liberation. In Stuttgart, a dynamic network of artists and Belarusian activists was formed and organized regular activities. Our aim was to keep the public attention.

In the course of several demonstrations, we got to know each other and realized that there was a culture in the heart of Europe of which we knew surprisingly little. We planned to bring Belarusian culture closer to the people of Stuttgart with exhibitions and events. The second lockdown in November forced us into digital space. In our own science fiction we got a bit stuck in the bits and bytes and tried to learn appropriate strategies to make things happen there as well. In the meantime, normal work continued, and to my own surprise, I kept unexpectedly encountering the postcard we had made for Masha. I found it by chance in the classroom of a music school, and people to whom I offered it had already sent it. It had spread much further than I thought. Perhaps it had become a hidden fabric, a companion in the background that kept bringing Masha to mind as we were thrown back by lockdown and curfew.

I was happy to comply with Tanya Xomich's request to speak here today. Given the magnitude of the task at hand with respect to Belarus and the severity of its challenges, my contribution is small. Nevertheless, I would like to express my personal solidarity as well as our solidarity as SKAM e.V., as artists, as citizens of Stuttgart, as Europeans with Masha and the Belarusian freedom movement. For the well-deserved Human Rights Award of the Gerhard Baum Foundation, which will be presented immediately afterwards, I congratulate Masha Kalesnikava with all my heart and also you, dear Tanya Xomich, who made the journey to Stuttgart as the bearer. I would also like to express my personal gratitude to Christine Fischer with the Eclat Festival, as well as to the Gerhard Baum Foundation, which, despite the adverse circumstances we are currently facing worldwide, are realizing this important focus on Masha and the situation of the Belarusian people.

May the prize help to protect Masha and to strengthen the back of all Belarusians, so that in the end they come to the same conclusion as our film hero, and their indomitable desire for freedom is finally realized.

In this spirit, I close in solidarity with a heartfelt “Жыве Беларусь!”!"