Natallia Radzina: The system is working against itself

Svobodnye Novosti Plus published an interview with the editor of www.charter97.org.

The editor of the website Charter97 lives and works in Vilnius. What does it feel like, to become a political emigrant? How do beliefs change when you have to escape from your own country? Svobodnye Novosti Plus asked Natallia these questions.

- The powers are happy that the “fifth column” is moving westward, as it’s been announced on the television many times. You were one of the first to be “sent” there. Did it hurt?

- What do you mean, I was “sent”? I fled the country myself, via Russia, without my passport that was left at the KGB. It was very difficult. I had to hide in Moscow with no connection to the outer world for four long months. Luckily, I managed to arrange all necessary papers and leave to Europe. Even the administration of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev helped me.

As for the regime… It would be happy to see us leaving abroad and forgetting Belarus. But the current situation is undergoing some drastic changes. In Poland and Lithuania, that border on Belarus, powerful emigration centers are being formed. We do our utmost to get back to free Belarus as soon as possible.

- Solidarity with political prisoners is a popular topic in Belarus. Did you feel this solidarity when you were behind the bars?

- It was hard to feel anything there, because I was completely isolated. I didn’t get letters from my family, couldn’t read oppositional press, there was no TV. Everything was prohibited. During endless interrogations they tried to persuade us that we are criminals, and that everyone forgot about us. But I had been there before and knew perfectly that the opposition never leaves its people behind. I knew that behind the prison walls, solidarity rallies are carried out, human rights activists are helping our families, independent journalists are writing about us, western politicians are trying to influence the powers.

- Do you feel it now then?

- I still feel it. First of all, because I know that the website is very popular. It means that Belarus needs our work. I receive lots of letters of gratitude from Belarusians. Those who come to Vilnius from Belarus recognize me in the streets, come and thank me. It is a great support and it helps me to keep on working.

- What solidarity is important? Who should show it? Belarusians? Europe?

- We all should rescue the people from jail. Certainly, it is the responsibility of the Belarusians to rescue our leaders. We cannot just stay there and watch how the country’s best people are being destroyed. As a matter of fact, they suffer for all of us. However, both external and internal pressure on the powers are crucial. That’s why we say at all international levels: the pressure should continue until all political prisoners are released. The dictator knows only the language of force. Persuasions, declarations, resolutions don’t matter to him.

- A well-known politician said in an interview to Svobodnye Novosti Plus, that today’s opposition is not only a ghetto but a segregated ghetto that separates political prisoners in “ours” and “theirs”. For example, both the opposition and the Speak the Truth! movement members came to the railway station to meet Sannikov after he was released. What do you think of this separation?

- I don’t see any separation of the political prisoners. We work for release of all of them equally hard. And trust me, until the last prisoner of consciousness is free, we won’t stop. On the whole, the unity of opposition is a myth. The opposition is never monolithic and centered around one common vision. The opposition consists of different parties and organization with their own political views. But we are united by a common goal, the democratization of Belarus. And there, we stay united and act together.

- The issue of political prisoners is essential. But why is so little said about those who have actually been repressed, those who cannot return to Belarus? For you, it is dangerous. And how many more are there in Warsaw, Vilnius, Prague? What about them?

- After 19 December 2010 many people had to leave Belarus because of political persecutions. Their lives have taken different courses. But I know for sure that there is nothing good about emigration. Take me, for example. No motherland, no family, friends, co-workers, no home, favorite books and things. In the first minutes it feels as if the earth is floating and you’ll fall if you stand. But then you just pull yourself together and start working. The work is a savior. And you work only to get home sooner.

- When will you be able to get back? When will it be safe in Belarus?

- It will be safe in Belarus when the regime is gone. There should be no illusions that suddenly it will get kind and allow the opposition to work freely in the country. It will never happen. So in order to get back, we should have one simple goal: to prevail. And it can become a reality. The interior politics are restrained, any opposition is destroyed. The powers refuse to free the political prisoners and aggravate their relationships with the West. The country is going through an economic crisis. Even Russia with its purely pragmatic concerns will not rush to help as eagerly as before, so the situation becomes desperate. The system is working against itself. And we are ready to help our friends.