Everybody needs changes in Belarus

Activist of the oppositionists in the run-up to the “elections” and the today’s situation in Belarus have become topics of the conference held on November 21-22 in Vilnius.

Organisers of the event were democratic forces of Belarus, the Council of Europe, a parliamentary group of the Latvian Saeima «For Democratic Belarus”, the Foundation of citizens’ protection, and the Belarusian Association of Journalists and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee.

Representatives of almost all Belarusian oppositional parties, organisations and youth initiatives have taken part in the conference in Vilnius. More than 100 participants –politicians, experts, journalists, human rights activists, NGO and international structures’ representatives – have taken part in the conference. The Charter’97 press-centre has already quoted opinions of some participants of the conference. Today we ask the coordinator of the Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, the press-secretary of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Alyaksandr Atroshchankau and the coordinator of the campaign “jeans for Freedom!” Yauhen Afnagel, to sum up the results of the event.

Zmitser Bandarenka, coordinator of the Charter’97:

- One of the main topics of the conference in Vilnius was re-evaluation of the results of the autumn election campaign. Leaders of the Party of Belarusian Communists and of the United Civil Party assessed their participation in the elections as “generally successful”, and called the boycott campaign “erroneous”. By no means all analysts and NGO representatives who observed the elections agreed to that. For instance, the leader of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Aleh Hulak stated that according to observers in the capital, there was no needed turnout to polling stations even considering the early vote. Some representatives of local NGOs and party branches said that election was not valid.

A representative of the Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS) made us laugh by his statement that 66% of Belarusians have taken part in the elections. It really pleased leaders of parties and organisations who had been taking part in the campaign “till the end”. But when it was said later that 4% of voters supported oppositional candidates, and 1.5% in Minsk, while even the regime said about 15% of support to democrats, party members started to express their disapproval actively. According the so-called “independent sociologists”, most Belarusians supported the Labour and Justice Party, which simply does not exist.

However, I view the fact of holding such a conference very favourably. About 100 participants from Belarus have taken part in it: representatives of parties, public associations, civil campaigns, analysts, journalists, regional leaders. The direct exchange of ideas and sharp debate are always useful.

Three strategies were realized during the last election campaign, the boycott strategy as a refusal to cooperate with the regime, the strategy of participation in the elections till the end and the strategy of “Lukashenka-Bell-Berezovsky”. The last one was aimed at demonstration of “power” of the Belarusian regime and “weakness” of the opposition. Unfortunately, leaders of the parties believed promises of the regime and of some Western diplomats that a few democrats would be allowed to became members of the “chamber of representatives”. But there have been a wonderful possibility to demonstrate the power by withdrawing the pro-democracy candidates and make the fake “election” in fact non-alternative elections.

Today all the efforts of the regime are dedicated not to make it known as the last dictatorship in Europe. Meanwhile, there are no real steps for democratization taking place.

The conference has at the same time demonstrated that the democratic forces of Belarus are able to find understanding and to work out a common winning strategy, because everybody needs changes in Belarus.

Alyaksandr Atroshchankau, press-secretary of the civil campaign “European Belarus”:

- I am glad that I have taken part in this conference which allowed exchange opinions and visions of the situation in our country. I think that we have laid a good foundation for working out a really common and constructive approach.

At the same time, some aspects have upset and explicitly stroke a warning note. During the press-conference it has become obvious that some representatives of parties are not ready for an open discussion and prefer lobby decisions, then presenting them as the position of all supporters of democratic changes. For instance, in the common discussion and then I the working group the UCP members many times spoke about an incomprehensible idea of Belarus’, in fact Belarusian dictatorship’s, joining the Council of Europe, and giving the place in the PACE to the illegitimate “chamber of representatives” which allegedly should bring freedom and prosperity to the Belarusian nation.

This idea was completely inexplicable for me. Membership of Belarus in the Council of Europe would not cause democratic changes, but recognition of the dictatorship. No wonder that the approaches for legitimization of the Belarusian regime have caused sharp criticism of the participants of the discussion.

Besides, leaders of the parties find it hard to admit their mistakes. Many said: “There was no boycott. People just were not taking part in the elections…”

That is why to my mind the main plus of such a conference is that it allows creating really common strategy, and not approaches of separate groups.

Yauhen Afnagel, “Jeans for Freedom!” campaign coordinator:

- At the conference I was speaking primarily about political prisoners in our country. Despite of the assurances of the Belarusian regime this problem hasn’t been solved yet. Moreover, right after the campaign for “parliament elections” finished, repressions against oppositionists were stepped up. An activist of the “European Belarus” Alyaksandr Barazenka was thrown behind the bars. Verdict to persons involved in the Process of Fourteen haven’t been reversed, street rallies are disbanded brutally. It was a new information for some foreign participants of the conference. It is important for all changes supporters to understand: no liberalization is taking place in Belarus, and in such conditions no agreement for with the regime should be searched.

From left to right: Cyrill Ritche, the Coucnil of Europe’s representative, Lithuanian Sejmas deputy Sauliunas Peceliunas, deputy chairman of the UCP Leu Marholin

Journalist Raman Yakauleuski, Charter’97 coordinator Zmitser Bandarenka, former minister of foreign economic ties, one of the leaders of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Mikhail Marynich

PCB chairman Syarhei Kalyakin and the editor-in-chief of “Belarusy I Rynok” Vyachaslau Khadasouski

Leaders of the Belarusian Association of Journalists Andrei Bastunets and Zhana Litvina, political analyst Alyaksandr Klaskouski

Coordinator of the European Belarus Zmitser Barodka, leaders of the campaign “Jeans for Freedom!” Paval Yukhnevich and Yauhen Afnagel

Press-secretary of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Alyaksandr Atroshchankau

Representatives of the Belarusian Embassy in Lithuania