Mikalai Statkevich: Why Does Lukashenka Protect Colonial Symbolism?

The dictator is ready to give up on the sovereignty of Belarus at any time.

Mikalai Statkevich, the leader of Belarusian opposition and a candidate for president at the elections in 2010, wrote about it on Facebook.

"At night on the New Year's Eve the authorities detained several patriots because they wanted to welcome the New Year on Kastrychnitskaya Square under white-red-white flags, and kept them in the detention center almost until morning.

Why does the regime still hate the national flag so much?

The fact that the 700-years-old coat of arms "Pahonia" and the flag of the same colors, which had been the state symbols from 1991, were changed in 1995 can be explained.

Then the newly elected governor announced his intention to join our country to Russia "on any conditions". To do that he was ready even "to crawl to Moscow on his own knees."

It was somehow awkward to trade the sovereignty of Belarus under the symbols of its independence. That is why they have restored the symbols of one of the provinces of the Russian communist empire, which BSSR really was. They have only removed the sickle with the hammer from those symbols, as the Russian Empire ceased to be communist.

Then Belarusians have bravely defended their independence on numerous street actions.

Now the regime as well declares its readiness to defend the sovereignty. But it preserves the colonial symbols and pursues the independent ones.

Maybe it's because the regime is ready to get back to trading the country's independence as soon as it becomes too hot? I see no other logical explanations."