Andrei Sannikov: “What Lukashenka is doing to Russia is a disgrace and insult for people”

A presidential aspirant in Belarus, Andrei Sannikov, has given a exclusive interview to “Gazeta.ru”.

- Why do you believe you can win?

- It is obvious changes are needed, they are already overdue. The nation has started to state openly: no more of these authorities, we cannot tolerate this regime any more. Not only opposition, but all Belarusians restore the health of the situation in Belarus. It is confirmed at the meetings with people during my trips.

- By what electoral groups are you supported? In which way your voters differ from Lukashenka’s voters?

- I lean on people of all sorts. My program is modernization of the country, and it is to be attractive for all.

- What do you think about your competitors from the opposition?

- I do not have competitors beside Lukashenka. I certainly welcome the fact that people belonging to the opposition have made a public appearance and are speaking about the change of power, and that we do not have other levers of struggle except for the street rallies. Everyone agrees to that, as we do not have access to state-run mass-media, primarily to television and radio. Closer to the end of signatures collection we should probably have a meaningful talk about who is going to simply make a statement, and who is going to participate in the struggle.

- You are often called “a third force”, “a new force” and so on by mass media. Do you agree to such an evaluation?

- I do not see myself as a third force, as I have been in the opposition, in the democratic movement for rather a long time. As for a new force, probably it’s true. I do not belong to any party, but all the time I have been doing my best to unite everyone. One can recall many our initiatives, starting from Charter’97, protest rallies, “Freedom March”, “European Belarus” campaign, in which members of almost all parties were taking part.

- Could there be a single oppositional candidate at the next stage?

- He might be, and it is possible there will be no such candidate. The events come thick and fast, so let us wait for the next stage before that would be defined. It is possible it would be more helpful to have a single candidate. Or maybe it would be better to have two or three oppositional candidates.

- Are radical scenarios of the election process possible in the future?

- Radical scenarios are possible on the part of the regime, and they have always existed. Resort to force against peaceful demonstrators is a rule in Belarus. It’s Lukashenka’s modus vivendi – that’s the way he lives, he believes only in such a way he would be able to maintain the power.

But peaceful demonstrations are not considered radical actions, and that’s how we are going to act. Personally I have never considered any variants except non-violent resistance.

Peaceful demonstrations are our right according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Even in Lukashenka’s Constitution there are words about primacy of international law over internal legislation.

- What is your opinion about current Belarusian-Russian relations?

- What Lukashenka is doing in relations with Russia is a disgrace and insult for people. No one here needs that. There is no acrimony in that, but I cannot but mention that Lukashenka is a creation of Russia. For a long time Moscow turned a blind eye to all his actions, tolerated all his unpredictability and failure to observe agreements.

Now a certain moment should have come, when a figure which is doing nothing for real relations between the nations of Russia and Belarus, should not be sponsored.

Now Lukashenka is trying to derive benefit from his sudden aggressive attitude towards Russia – he is trying to sell that to the West.

- Will he succeed?

- I hope that he won’t. But I saw lobbyists from the circle of businessmen, or businessmen on politics, who were coming here and were ready to invest money in dirty schemes. It is an attempt to reanimate some Russophobes in the West, in order to earn their support, above all a financial one: “Save me, I am the enemy of Russia!”

- If you come to power, how would you build up the relationship with Moscow?

- An instant improvement of relations will take place, as the situation could not be worse. First of all, agreements which are not known to me, as for the rest of the Belarusian nation, should be revised. Agreements on gas, oil, transit – they all are locked behind seven seals.

- Is Belarus able to square accounts with Russia after Lukashenka’s removal from office?

- After the change of power the trust to the country is to grow many times, and democratic process of separation of powers and ensuring operation of laws will take place, and it will allow us to speak about normal loans, about beneficial privatization and so on. The main thing, it will make to possible to attract investments.

- With whom do you maintain contacts in Moscow?

- Just yesterday I received a letter from my old boys from the Diplomatic Academy: “Old chap, hold on! We stand by you!” I graduated from the Diplomatic Academy, studied in Moscow, worked in the system of the Foreign Affairs Ministry… I have very many contacts. Besides, I often go to different international events, and top-level events are they, like the Brussels Forum, the Halifax Forum. True political elite is present there, including the Russian elite as well. And certainly I am talking about the situation in Belarus. There all the time.

- Dmitry Medvedev in his recent speech stated that he would maintain contacts with all forces of the Belarusian political spectrum. Have you already noticed that somehow?

- No, as I have been on a stump to the regions, we have come back just this night.

- If you get into power, what would you do with officials who worked with Lukashenka?

- Lukashenka has created such a system in which everything closes on one person, on himself. It’s true, law-enforcing agencies engaged in political repressions exist. But I am not a supporter of some lustration laws, as it creates an additional conflict, and we do not need that in the transition period.

At the same time, officials should think for themselves for one moment. Those who will openly say that today this regime has become a complete bankrupt and it is not bringing anything but trouble to Belarus, those people will have more chances to be in-demand for the new government.

The interview by Denis Lavnikevich, Gazeta.ru