HARDtalk with Andrei Sannikov on BBC (video)

An interview with the future presidential candidate in Belarus Andrei Sannikov was broadcasted worldwide.

Andrei Sannikov has taken part in the most popular Britain’s talk-show HARDtalk. He was the first Belarusian politician who was invited to HARDtalk programme with Stephen Sackur.

The talk-show was on air of BBC World News three times, and three times on BBC News Channel, and was broadcasted worldwide.

Andrei Sannikov told how the interview took place, and which topics were touched on.

“I know HARDtalk programme very well, I always watch it when I have a chance. An invitation to become a guest of this programme was an unexpected pleasure for me. It is a very popular programme, which offers a floor to politicians, public leaders, culture personalities, scientists. The fact that I had been offered to take part in it means that an interest to Belarus, to the events in our country not just exist, but is growing. It was clear from the questions of the presenter that he was very well briefed, though he played “a devil's advocate” to a certain extent. Sometimes he said things close to the text of the official propaganda, but as a result, he gave me a possibility to set out my approaches fully.

The interesting point is that unlike BBC Radio service, which “warms up” the interlocutor, first touching upon the problems on which the conversation is based, and then recording is started, HARDtalk programme was recorded without preparation. I was told the topics in a few words: the situation in Belarus in the run-up to the elections.

The questions were kept secret. It was a hard talk indeed. There were both predictable questions and unexpected questions, but that format made me be mobilized and draw up my thoughts clearly. I certainly knew the presenter from TV programmes as a professional and an inconvenient interlocutor, but during the conversation a good rapport was established between us, and he even said after the programme that he was inspired by my confidence somehow.

He was interested by the attitude of the population to the president, and whether statements that Belarus’ economic situation is not as bad as many say are true. I answered that a stability of poverty exists in Belarus so to say, and Belarus should not be compared to the former Soviet republics, but to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia, where democratic reforms had been carried out.

There were questions about political prisoners, and I underlined the fact that only thanks to the tough stance of the US political prisoners were released in 2008, but now new people were taken hostages on political reasons by Lukashenka. The issue of political abductions was touched upon in connection with the films demonstrated by Russian TV. Stephen Sackur tried to offer an idea that there are no political assassinations in Belarus today. And I answered that only our actions inside Belarus and international solidarity have stopped this tragedy, and that we would press for international investigation of disappearances. Undoubtedly, relations with Russia were discussed, the today’s relations of Moscow and Lukashenka’s regime, and the future relations. I noted that the main goal of Belarus would be the European Union, and along with that building a strategic partnership with Russia,” the politician said to charter97.org.

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