Anatol Lyabedzka: «OSCE does not have sufficiently profound knowledge of Belarusian reality”

The head of the OSCE office in Minsk Hans Jochen Schmidt told in an interview to “Interfax” that the opposition should participate in the “elections” more actively.

He has also noted that candidates of opposition underestimate direct contacts with voters and are not ready to fight for voters. These words of Mr. Schmidt have been commented by Anatol Lyabedzka for Radio Svaboda:

“I think that the OSCE office does not have sufficiently profound knowledge of Belarusian reality, as to speak about poor communications with voters means not to know the practice of realization of the Belarusian electoral legislation. Yuras Istomik could tell a lot about that. He is to stand trial in Navahradak today just for handing out newspapers “Narodnaya Volya” with his interview. Or ask Ivan Kruk, against whom prosecutor’s office of Ashmyany has drawn up a report for handing out leaflets with the text of his address. That’s the Belarusian reality.

I think that his reference to German MPs, who work with voters actively, and a parallel with the Belarusian situation is at least inappropriate. If German MPs would be taken to the ground of the Belarusian reality, most of them would stop their political activity at that”.