Viktar Ivashkevich: “Lukashenka gets increasingly impudent in relations with Europe”

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU External Relations Commissioner, is going to visit Belarus in spring.

Her visit to Belarus has been scheduled for the early March, a month before the deadline set by the European Union when the issue to be finally decided: whether the permission to visit the EU would be extended for Lukashenka and Belarusian officials.

Euramost.org has asked the deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front party Viktar Ivashkevich what is behind the visit of the EU official to Minsk, and how the democratic forced evaluate possible complete lifting of the ban to visit the EU for Belarusian officials headed by Lukashenka.

- Don’t you think that these visits and often meetings of high-raking European officials with representatives of the Belarusian regime demonstrate that sanctions against Lukashenka and his entourage would be finally cancelled in April?

- In the grand scheme of things, these visa sanctions are not the main point. However, we believe that as the conditions offered by the European Union to the Belarusian authorities are not fulfilled, sanctions should be renewed. But I suspect that instead of principled evaluation of fulfillment of democratization requirements, European bureaucrats would be satisfied with imitation of movement towards these democratic changes. Creation of boards by the Presidential Administration, by the Foreign Ministry, by the Information Ministry (and in reality, by the editor of “Sovetskaya Belorussiya”, the newspaper of the presidential administration) and joining it by such significant figures as Milinkevich, would contribute to Europeans saying: “Not everything is good here, but not so bad after all”. I think they would not lift sanctions totally, but will prolong their suspension for half a year more. Just in case of Lukashenka’s suddenly doing some thing wild.

- As said by Spokesperson of the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Christiane Hohmann, the European Commission is set to develop a direct political dialogue with the Belarusian authorities. What is the direct political dialogue mentioned by European Commissioners so often?

- I do not understand what is meant under these words either. They already have direct dialogue with the Belarusian authorities, without any participation of Belarusian democratic forces in it. Why are they “planning” it, when they are already doing that, and are engaged in such a dialogue!

- You are not really pleased by this dialogue’s being carried out without representatives of the democratic forces, are you?

- Surely. I believe that European politicians should have been demanding Lukashenka to conduct a dialogue with the Belarusian society, if they respected their own words about democracy and human rights. And the outcome of this dialogue should be carrying out free election.

A few days ago there was an anniversary of the round table discussion held by “Solidarity” with the bloody regime of Wojciech Jaruzelski. There was no other point for discussion at that round table except elections. It was the demand of granting loans by the West, without which Poland would be unable to go through the economic crisis. And assistance of the Soviet Union couldn’t be expected then any more. The West promised to give loans if the regime would hold talks with the democratic community of the country, which outcome would be carrying out of free democratic elections.

We need the same thing. Talks about Western loans and guarantees for loans should be directly conditioned by the dialogue of the Belarusian regime with the Belarusian society, and by an agreement between them on holding free elections. All other talks are diverting from this key issue.

- Much is said about whether Lukashenka would visit Prague or not…

- In the interview to Euronews channel Lukashenka said that he is not eager to go there, even if invited. And he may send somebody instead of him there. By this answer he has given appraisal to all European democrats. He sees that they are ready to dance attendance on him, and he is getting more and more impudent. Something like: they will talk to me and help me anyway! What is the most important thing for Lukashenka? Credits and guarantees for credits. He needs money. And he sees no necessity to mess around with European bureaucrats for no particular reason.