Seredich Offers Lukashenka to Hold a Round Table of the Government and the Opposition

Editor-in-Chief of Narodnaya Volya newspaper met with the Belarusian ruler.

Joseph Seredich wrote about results of the meeting in his newspaper column:

"I had a meeting with Aliaksandr Lukashenka. Tete-a-tete.

It's been thirty years since we first met. Our relations were different. Our ways crossed (used to work in the Supreme Council, 12th convocation) and parted.

There was one reason I asked A.R. Lukashenka to meet with me - the situation in the country was as that Belarus might be at risk. Its fate, the fate of the nation depend not only on Aliaksandr Ryhoravich. It depends on each of us.

Speaking frankly, I don't want us to loose things our ancestors strove after for centuries sacrificing their lives. Now Belarus is independent and sovereign country.

Unfortunately, we may hit the skid (or have already hit?) due to many circumstances. Both objective and subjective. It is needed to make conclusions, but it's not time to wear sackcloth and ashes and foment hatred. Like never before, the national reconciliation and dialogue are required.

More and more often Lukashenka in his speeches say that his presidency is coming to its end.

Together we need to find the way out of this complex situation that has developed in recent months. And here our talk drove to some specific variants of a possible nationwide dialogue. I'm not going into the details, I sketched a diagram about how, in my opinion, one could organize work of the National round table. An example of many countries, including neighbouring Poland, proves that when a state faces extremely rough challenges, it should primarily tackle with the fateful issue - to solidarize society. By the way, two heads are better than one is the best option. And I offered Aliaksandr Ryhoravich to promote the round table of the most intelligent people of Belarus - let there be a hundred or two hundred of them - to think over the acute problem for the people in Belarus: how to fend off challenges hanging over the country before it's too late.

As is well known, earlier editor-in-chief of Charter97.org website Natallia Radzina addressed to Lukashenka offering to come a round table with the opposition.

"It is great that Joseph Paulavich adheres to this approach, but I will recall that the round table of 1989 in Poland aimed at free democratic elections and peaceul shift of power in the country.

A number of experts say that some liberalism of Lukashenka relates to the fact that he has failed to get necessary funds from Russia and the International Monetary Fund and it can have some results.

In Belarus the round table -the way it was in Poland - is possible only with the true opposition and should also aim at peaceful shift of power through free elections," Natallia Radzina commented on.