Sheiman as “liberalisation” symbol
- Yan Bujan, “Salidarnasts”
- 28.01.2009, 10:40
This week it has turned out all of a sudden that Viktar Sheiman, dismissed from the position of former state secretary of the Security Council after the incident in July, quietly works as president’s Ambassador-at-large.
And it has happened long ago. This episode is very typical for the today’s regime and allows making certain conclusions as for prospects of the declared liberalisation.
Last year dismissals of Sheiman and Paulichenka seemed a goo sign got many: persons whose names are associated with reprisals over oppositional leaders Yury Zakharanka and Viktar Hanchar, are leaving government institutions. A conclusion was made in this connection that Alyaksandr Lukashenka is getting rid of people whose presence could interfere rapprochement with the West.
As it turned out later, though Paulichenka was SOBR commander no more, he hadn’t been forcibly resigned, but was given a new position (formally a promotion). And now clear light was shed upon the situation with Sheiman.
Appointment of the former state secretary of the Security Council as a president’s aide could be easily explained by purely practical considerations. Sheiman is a key figure in large numbers of plans with Venezuela plus in a number of sensitive special projects with countries of the third world. It is much harder to hand them over to another person, than to hand over the chair of the head of the Security Council. So a high status position has been found for Sheiman. It allows him to work with friend Hugo and “a group of comrades” in the future.
Nevertheless, Sheiman’s presence in government agencies is emblematic. Events of the last months, patching up relations with the West, loosening of the state’s controlling functions in the economy, new impetus of the dialogue with the civil society structures allegedly indicated that the regime has realized that it’s impossible to go on like this, and is evolving.
However, such ideas turned out to be too optimistic. Indeed, under the pressure of circumstances Alyaksandr Lukashenka had to renovate the façade of his “unique model of the system of state”. But its essence remains unchanged, and its “ironclad train is standing on the siding track”.
In fact, Sheiman is a symbol of this liberalization, its limited nature in terms of time and profoundness. The regime hasn’t changed its basic attitudes; it has just altered its tactics. And that means that the present thaw in the future is bound to give way to new “frosts”. Give the wolf the best food – like loans, but he would hanker for the wood.