Andrei Sannikov: IMF loan were spent on joint military exercises with Russia

The situation in Belarus was discussed in Vienna.

In the framework of the OSCE consultations on human dimensions in Vienna a briefing on Belarus was held. The organisers of the event were the Civil Solidarity platform and the Committee of International Control over the Situation with Human Rights in Belarus.

Andrei Sannikov, the leader of European Belarus civil campaign, and the head of Viasna human rights centre Ales Bialiatski, delivered speeches at the briefing.

The leader of European Belarus criticized the recent visits of high-ranking European officials to Minsk in the context of deteriorating situation with political prisoners in Belarus and blocking independent websites.

“They say, a thaw in the relations between Brussels and official Minsk has started today. We have already experienced very similar “liberalization.” Lukashenka has achieved his aim: he started to receive credits of the IMF, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, private banks,” Andrei Sannikov is quoted by a charter97.org reporter. “I would like to remind how these funds were spent. The loans have been spent, among other things, on the largest drills since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which were held on the territory of Belarus and which set a goal to train a nuclear strike against Warsaw and a tank breakthrough to Kaliningrad through the territory of the European Union.

Today, when the situation has dramatically changed in connection with the war of Russia in Ukraine, it is simply impossible to stay so complacent to support of dictatorial regimes. The situation in Belarus continues to worsen. It is not something new for us. As soon as a thaw in the relations with the West is observed, the pressure not only on the opposition, civil society, human rights activists, but on the entire society, is increased.

This is precisely why the new laws – on social parasitism, and in fact on labour duty, on blocking of independent websites, – have been adopted. The test blocking has started already. Besides, it is forbidden to use anonymizers in Belarus. It is amazing, why there is no reaction to that, while anonymizers are owned by Western companies, and in fact this ban is preventing Western companies from performing business on the territory of Belarus.

In order to continue controlling the society, Lukashenka said that new concentration camps under a disguise of tougher stance towards drug addicts and alcoholics. He said publicly that such conditions are to be created for them in new colonies that “they would not like to live any more”. And from the history of the Soviet Union, and from our own history we know who is to be announced “drug addicts”, “alcoholics”, “social parasites.” They would be oppositional politicians, human rights activists, civil society activists.

It its actions the Belarusian regime is guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – they carefully study it and take it as guidelines for action. Every right, every human freedom stated there, are violated. New laws are adopted, everything is done in order to limit these rights, to stamp out any dissent, to deprive the Belarusian nation of rights and freedoms completely.

Today there are attempts to present Lukashenka as some kind of a “peacemaker”, however it is forgotten that Putin has created his model in the image and likeness of Lukashenka’s model. It is impossible to call any of them the lesser evil or the greater evil. Dictatorial regimes should be done away with,” Andrei Sannikov said.

The organizer of the meeting, a representative of the Committee of International Control over the Situation with Human Rights in Belarus Olga Zakharova, noted:

“The event was organized in order to demonstrate what is going on in Belarus today and to remind what had been happening during the previous “thaws” in the relations with the EU. We are greatly concerned by the processes taking place in some parts of European institutions, and unfortunately, our fears are panning out.

We would like to give recommendations about what to do next, and also to remind the OSCE that once they had initiated Moscow mechanism against Belarusian authorities.

Andrei Sannikov told to participants of the today’s briefing about his experience of life under the so-called “thaw”, and how it ended. Ales Bialiatski told about the current situation in Belarus – it was almost the same he said in the European Parliament yesterday, and probably even harsher. And we with Yury Dzhibladze presented our new report, which was released just a few days ago. We have offered concrete recommendations, what and how the world community should do towards Belarus.

It is extremely important for any contacts with Lukashenka’s regime to be accompanied with very serious conditions. Political prisoners should be released and reinstated in their rights, repressive laws should be changed and system-level changes held. These are the only things for a discussion and a dialogue, and not any kind of normalization of relations.”