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Yury Hubarevich: Belarus Needs Changes

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Yury Hubarevich: Belarus Needs Changes
Yury Hubarevich
Photo by svaboda.org

We need people who are willing to take responsibility.

Chairman of For Freedom movement Yury Hubarevich stated that to Charter97.org while commenting on upcoming presidential elections in Belarus.

- Why have you decided to run for the presidency?

- Now the For Freedom movement has nominated me as a participant in the primaries. First we want to decide who will be a single candidate for the elections from our center-right coalition.

It is possible that the role of a single candidate will be weightier than that of the centre-right coalition, if other political structures or leaders join the primaries.

I decide to participate in the elections because of the need of changes in Belarus. There should be people ready to take responsibility for implementation of changes in our country. And I am ready for it.

- What is your role in the primaries?

- We plan to start primaries in the first half of this year. We are also preparing for the fact that parliamentary elections may be held in Belarus at the end of this year: officials have already announced these two political campaigns (parliamentary and presidential elections - editor's note).

Therefore, before the first campaign starts we would like to have a single candidate who is able to hold meetings all over Belarus, using the opportunities offered by the parliamentary elections. I mean to appoint representatives, to use TV airtime, to participate in TV debates, and so on. I think it will strengthen the position of the candidate elected during the primaries.

As for me, I believe that Belarus has long strived for systemic reforms which should affect all spheres of the economy, politics and social life.

First of all, we must liberate business and carry out privatization. Today, the backbone of Lukashenka's regime is a huge share of the public sector in the economy, which allows to keep people under control and force them to follow criminal orders to forge elections or persecute people labeled as "parasites" by the authorities. If private business prevails in the country, it will be much harder to do something like this.

One of our priorities is to change our foreign policy strategies. I strongly believe that the course of cooperation with Russia, which Lukashenka follows, is wrong. It only jeopardises the loss of independence. The European Union and economic and political cooperation with Europe is our priority. Those agreements with Russia, signed by Lukashenka in political, economic and military spheres, should be amended.

Another important issue is to restore people's right to choose. It means introduction of legislative mechanisms that protect every vote in election campaigns at every level. In addition to the right to effective participation in the running the country, people should be respected by officials. This means an independent judiciary that should protect both a citizen and business.

Medicine and education issues should also be taken into account. The For Freedom movement has all these topics developed within the framework of our program, which we dealt with in the second half of 2018.

- How do you assess people's sentiments on the eve of the political campaign for presidential elections?

- One can say that Belarus needs changes. People who once believed in Lukashenka's promises of building a "developed economy" now can see that he has neither abilities nor political will to do this.

The model, which has existed all these years, is decaying, because Russia is issuing political bills for financial support of the current regime.

Everyone has personally faced it. There are no promised salaries, and the authorities are also putting their hand in people's purse - especially in those who can't find a job for various reasons in Belarus.

It causes resentment among people and can lead to a social upheaval. No one cherishes hopes for better living standards under the current regime.

And here comes a different kind of threat: a significant part of society starts looking at Russia and President Putin as an "effective leader". And it's not the fault of our people, but of the current regime, which lets the Russian propaganda in. By the way, one more important issue under discussion is to reduce the Russian informational influence in our country.

- What do you intend to do if you win the primaries?

- I believe that a single candidate can strengthen the position of the democratic camp in Belarus. It will be a decisive step to attract attention of the Belarusian society and to count on a greater level of support.

The tactics of previous election campaigns shows that it's hard to collect 100 thousand signatures for registration as a presidential candidate. I think that today no political structure is able to do it on its own. Such candidates will have to either admit their fiasco, as it was at "elections"-2015, or to make a deal with the administration of Lukashenka, which includes fake signatures. But such "candidates" will simply work on a plan of the authorities.

Another important point why the center-right coalition decided to nominate a candidate for elections: there should be a clear alternative to Lukashenka. Previous campaigns show that the authorities are able to nominate puppet "candidates": some of them are of clear pro-Russian views; some of them perform as "opposition", but at the same time their campaigns are aimed at serving interests of the "candidate" from the authorities.

We rely on people who believe that there should be an alternative to Lukashenka, supported by Belarusians and the international community.

- How do you intend to fight for votes of electors?

- It will depend on the situation and events. Every option is open. But the major factor is active position of people. It is important for people to overcome their fears and to take to the streets and openly disagree with frauds.

It's early to guess variants of defense of one's choice. Everything may happen. Of course, we focus on peaceful nature of protests. Experience of other countries, including former Soviet republics, stands for peaceful protests. They have already led to changes there.

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