Bandarenka: While ones were in prisons, others asked for money for Lukashenka

What is more efficient in the relations of the European Union with Belarus – sticks or carrots?

This question was discussed in an episode of the Hot Commentary on Belsat TV channel with a coordinator of the European Belarus civic campaign Dzmitry Bandarenka.

Aliaksandr Milinkievich, Aliaksej Janukievich and Uladzimir Niakliaeu called for “more Europe for Belarus”. This is supposed to bring about positive changes, which would first of all concern common Belarusian citizens: visa facilitation, introduction of a limited area visa-free zones with Poland and Lithuania, benefits for small and medium Belarusian businesses in the EU and the expansion of educational programmes. However, is it a direct recognition of the regime? Yes, Europe gives cards to the dictator’s hands, the leader of the European Belarus civic campaign Andrej Sannikau believes. According to the former presidential candidate and political prisoner, such measures will only worsen the conditions for those, who remain in prisons. But it looks like they decided in Brussels to undertake another attempt of a dialogue with official Minsk.

Dzmitry Bandarenka highlighted that the political scene almost always has been divided, since some Belarusian oppositional politicians struggled and were in prisons and others in the meanwhile went to Europe and asked for money for Lukashenka, calling him a guarantor of Belarus’ independence.

Milinkievich, Janukievich and Niakliaeu, according to the politician, mask the real goal of their statement, which is actually a request for Western countries to recognize the dictatorship of Lukashenka.

The attitude towards Asian countries is much different from the one to European countries in international politics, Bandarenka noted. A certain circle of people in the West wants to trade with Lukashenka and not react on human rights violations in our country, like the West does not notice political prisoners, murders and violence in China, Chechnya and Syria. There are no such victims in Belarus, the Belsat’s guest highlighted, however the struggle is going for every single political prisoner: “Lukashenka knows: if he crosses a certain line, there will be sanctions of the tough reaction of the West. In this sense it is a big merit of the Belarusian opposition that we have acquired the respect to the life of a Belarusian human being. These positions have not been acquired easily, one must fight for them and not give away just like that”.

Dzmitry Bandarenka assumes that the release of the Belarusian political prisoners will happen before autumn; however weighted steps on the part of the West are needed for that.

Details in the video.