Miklai Statkevich: I Am Ready To Participate In Dialogue And Not In Its Imitation

The opposition leader is ready to have a real dialogue with the authorities.

On February 13, during a meeting with Aliaksandr Lukashenka, Iosif Siaredzich, the editor in chief of the newspaper Narodnaia Volia, made a proposal to hold a national round table.

One of the opposition leaders and the former presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich thinks that a dialogue is a better choice than a conflict, especially in the situation when "the independence of Belarus is under threat".

"However, there are different types of dialogue. A real dialogue - if it involves opponents, such as for example the famous Polish national roundtable organized by Jaruzelski in Poland during the times of Solidarity. And an imitation of a dialogue, such as the recent "Great talk with Lukashenka," – the politician said to Radio Svaboda.

Mikalai Statkevich thinks, that the idea of a nationwide dialogue has appeared long before the meeting of Lukashenka and Siaredzich:

"I know that the diplomats of the Belarusian regime have already been "selling" the idea of the nationwide dialogue. No wonder Western diplomats have already asked me if I would participate in such an event. The idea has already been long up in the air and yesterday it was announced publicly. As for me, I do not mind a real dialogue. So I would participate only in a dialog, where opponents are debating, rather than those who imitate opposition activities."