Could the European Union become a joint Reagan?
- 5.08.2013, 3:40
West’s principled and tough position is capable of changing the situation in Belarus.
On 4 August, on the international day of solidarity with Belarusian civil society, a discussion took place at the Belarusian house in Warsaw on the situation with political prisoners. The situation around the chairman of the human rights center Viasna Ales Bialatski was the center of attention, because exactly on this day two years ago he was arrested. Subsequently Bialatski was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison on charges of tax evasion, although the funds on the human rights activist’s accounts were used for helping the politically repressed.
A MEP Marek Migalski, the director of the Institute for East European Studies of Warsaw University and Kastus Kalinouski scholarship program Jan Malicki and former Belarusian political prisoners – a coordinator of the European Belarus civic campaign Dzmitry Bandarenka and the charter97.org’s editor-in-chief Natalia Radzina spoke during the discussion.
The situation with political prisoners has worsened
The discussion’s moderator Marek Migalski first asked Natalia Radzina to tell about the conditions, in which Belarus’ most famous human rights activist is serving his prison term. The journalist reminded that this year Ales Bialatski was deprived of a short- and long-term meetings with relatives, as well as foodstuff parcels, he was being isolated from other prisoners. The administration of the colony in Babrujsk forbad prisoners to contact the human rights activist, and he is now in isolation.
According to Radzina, not only the treatment of Ales Bialatski has gone worse, but of all the political prisoners. This was the consequence of the lack of a principled and tough position of the West towards the Lukashenka regime. Instead of pursuing with the pressure on the regime, the European Union is today trying again to bargain with the Belarusian authorities, lifting sanctions against the people, responsible for political repressions.
West’s strong position is needed
Dzmitry Bandarenka, who spent one and a half years in prison, agreed that the situation only worsened around political prisoners, if the EU made concessions to the Belarusian regime.
“If the West and some leaders of Belarusian opposition had had a tougher position towards the Lukashenka regime, then we would have not had political prisoners. For example, the crucial moment could be the departure of Western ambassadors from Minsk. They should not have returned, while political prisoners stayed in prisons. Leaders of parties and organizations behaved incoherently as they violated their own obligation not to participate in any elections, while there were political prisoners.
Today the West needs a joint Reagan, because it was due to his coherent position the USSR was weakened and Gorbachev had to start the Perestroyka. The EU should have a tough position on Belarus, concrete steps should be taken for all the prisoners of conscience to be released and exonerated”.
The director of the Institute for East European Studies of Warsaw University and Kastus Kalinouski scholarship program Jan Malicki, who was a Solidarity trade union activist at the Communist Poland times and served a prison term too, agreed that the West needs a strong strategy towards dictatorships.
“The weaker the position is – the worse. The tougher – the better. This is how it was at the times of the martial law in Poland. But the European Union is such a formation, which for which such a policy is not typical. There must be countries in the European Union that would support Poland and Sweden’s efforts as tot the democracy in Belarus. There is no United Europe as such. When it is a matter of politics, then everyone cares for their own. I would ask my Belarusian colleagues to excuse me, but Belarus is of little interest for the European Union. But if Poland, Sweden and Germany seriously think together about how to change the situation in Belarus, they may lead other EU countries”.
Lukashenka gave an order regarding political prisoners
Jan Malicki also shared his own prison experience. In his opinion, the hardest time is the first week of conviction.
“Everyone, who was convicted, knows that two most important things exist: to eat vitamins, onion and garlic, and be sure that you are remembered of. The hardest is the first week. At that time a person is the weakest and lost, then they become stronger. They say, “one year is not a sentence”. It is important that Bialatski is constantly spoken of, constantly remembered. I deeply feel for Bialatski. I was in captivity myself. It is important to feel that you are not alone. For me, a simple Solidarity soldier, the most important was the assuredness that while I was in prison, the whole world was taking care of my fate”.
In response to that Dzmitry Bandarenka noted that the situation in Belarusian prisons was today even worse than in the prisons of the Communist Poland:
“Lukashenka gave an order regarding political prisoners – to use all the methods available. This means what prisoners call lawlessness. When we were all arrested on 19 December 2010, the regime was toughened at the KGB prison, real hell began. Another thing, the scariest, there is always a threat of political prisoners being raped. This information came from the latest letter of Mikalaj Statkievich. International control over the situation around political prisoners is much needed today”.
Release and exoneration
Natalia Radzina warned journalist colleagues against attempts of predicting the exact time of the release of political prisoners and highlighted the necessity to insist on the exoneration of the prisoners of conscience.
“As a journalist, who herself was in prison, I am calling not to arrange a betting game. Sometimes I want for journalists, who do that, to try themselves, how difficult it is to read in a newspaper in prison that you may be released within a certain period. This gives false hopes, and it is very painful, if they do not come true.
I would also like to highlight the importance of not only the release, but also the exoneration of political prisoners. They are today saying that it is impossible, because there is no law on exoneration in Belarus. The political will of the authorities is needed for the exoneration. I know why it is not there: because they need the total control over the oppositionists, released from prison, In the end, even in the totalitarian USSR the victims of Stalin’s repressions were exonerated.
Each prisoner of conscience, who was released after being arrested in 2010, is today deprived of a possibility to be actively engaged in politics. Of course, this does not refer to those, who imitate political activities today, but those, who are trying to really act, immediately end up behind bars. Thus, there is a threat of already third (!) prison term for Vasil Parfiankou, the repeated arrest of Uladzimir Jaromienak is possible. That is why it is necessary to demand exoneration, since after prison people remain no free, and the “previously convicted” stamp deprives them of the possibility of a normal life”.
Belarus should be supported in the way the Polish Solidarity was
During the discussion Polish journalists wondered, what Belarusian opposition wanted from the West.
“We want an adequate assessment and a respective reasonable strategy. Back in 2000 two Americans of Polish descent came to Belarus. Those were Jen Brzezinski and Mark Thyssen. They were assistants to the senator Jessie Helms, who was then the head of the US Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee. In the aftermath of the visit they wrote an article titled “Belarus should be supported the way the Polish Solidarity was”. It is true that legal political activities are impossible in Belarus today. But people are fighting, fighting underground. And it tells that there is the struggle spirit in Belarusians that dozens thousands people come out in the streets, despite the KGB chairman’s saying that they would shot for that.
It seems to me, that the situation in Belarus is incorrectly estimated today. The situation in the country is similar to the times of the martial law in Poland, but they are trying to deal with Belarus as a normal European country. Of course, there are drawback in developing the strategy of the Belarusian opposition, but these things are often interconnected”, - Dzmitry Bandarenka is sure.
Natalia Radzina noted that specific sanctions are needed against the Lukashenka regime. So far even the visa restrictions are not duly observed, and the trade is flourishing between the West and the Lukashenka regime, since businessmen’s economic interests influence political decision of European officials. At the same time she reminded that in 2011 the heads of the MFAs of Poland, Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden published an article titled “Lukashenka the Loser”, in which they admitted that he lost the presidential elections. However, contacts with the illegitimate Lukashenka regime continue.
Sober assessment of the situation
A MEP Mareki Migalski noted that the West’s position surprised him:
“The invitation of the head of Belarus’ MFA Makej to Brussels was for me a bargain without a bargain. I heard that Makej would be invited to Brussels only after the release of Statkievich, Dashkievich and Bialatski. Their release would be a clear signal for the EU. But suddenly the EU made a step towards Lukashenka with no concessions on his part.
The main problem is that the European Union changes its policy towards Belarus every half-a-year. Today it is softer, tomorrow it is tougher, the days after tomorrow it is softer again. The EU’s policy towards Belarus reminds of a drunkard, dancing from wall to wall.
Lukashenka knows that the EU’s policy changes every half-a-year and is already expecting that. Bit the only way out is to have a coherent policy. The policy should not be changed under the influence of some analysts of lobbyists. The recipe is very simple: a tough policy towards the dictatorship is needed, and an open one towards the Belarusian people”.
Jan Malicki agreed that it was necessary to put constant pressure on the Lukashenka regime.
“We must pay more attention to Belarus. Yes, there are problems in Azerbaijan or Burma, but Belarus is in our vicinity.
I agree with Dzmitry Bandarenka that the situation in Belarus reminds of the martial law in Poland. But it is harder for Belarusians, than it was for us. In Poland the Poles were aroused by Solidarity and the Pope, and there is no anything like that in Belarus. It is not true that all people are fighter. People are afraid. They will not through themselves under tanks because of some Lukashenka. A simple Belarusian knows that he/she will be immediately destroyed.
When do people start fighting? When the last drop of patience falls, when every individual is personally hurt, or when they get filled with indignation because of great injustice towards others. Sociology shows that this happens, when the situation in the country worsens abruptly or, however strange it may seem, improves.
A revolutionary situation should emerge. If you have 10 thousand people in the square, they will use water cannons, if 20 thousand – they will beat, if 50 thousand – they will start thinking, and if there are 150 thousand – police will change the side in the favor of the people. It is all simple. But one should realize that Lukashenka himself is a very peculiar being. We criticize the EU for its inability to resolve the situation, but Lukashenka is an exception from the rule. There is such a type of vines, called endemic. Everyone, who drinks vine, knows 5-10 kinds. These endemic vines are little known and can be encountered somewhere in the mountains of Portugal, the Caucasus. Lukashenka is such an endemic kind, which does not fit into the textbook definitions. This is why Europeans still have not been able to deal with him“.
In the response to that Natalia Radzina noted that once Jan Malicki compared Lukashenka to endemic vines, and Marek Migalski compared the European Union’s policy to a “drunkard, dancing from wall to wall”, then she would wish the EU to sooner take a sober look at the situation in Belarus.