Zmitser Dashkevich: No signals of any changes in the country

The Belarusian authorities will not give up the scheme “we release one political prisoners and imprison others.”

Release of political prisoners before Riga summit of the Eastern Partnership in May this year could become the first move on the path to visa-free regime with the EU countries for Belarus, Radio Racyja informs.

It has been said recently by EUobserver portal with a reference to the leadership of the Foreign Ministry of Latvia, which is presiding in the Council of the EU this year.

What is that: a new informational leak or a real chance that political prisoners would be released? The information is commented by a former political prisoner, Zmitser Lyashkevich.

- Every time we try to guess whether political prisoners would be able to be released, but I do not know whether this guessing could change something… People are staying behind the bars, and it seems to me that there are no signals at all that something is changing in the country. And moreover, one should understand that political prisoners in the country are a part of a clockwork process. Some are released, others are replacing them in prison.

- However, the dialogue between the Belarusian authorities and Europe has been intensified recently. Could it be a reason for release of political prisoners?

- The game of “dialogues” is carried out for many years, not for the first year or the first time. But I believe that the Belarusian regime would not give up the scheme of “releasing ones – imprisoning others.”

- According some information received, the release of the political prisoners could become the first step for Belarus on the path towards the visa-free regime with the EU countries.

- You know, if the Belarusian nation could have released political prisoners for the sake of the visa-free regime, it would have been done today. However, I do not think that the Belarusian authorities are interested in the visa-free regime with the EU. And particularly, it would not influence the release of political prisoners in any way.