Aksana Yushkevich: I Stand For Impeachment Of All Today’s Authorities

After the change of power, the young Belarusian wants to create a National Anti-Corruption Agency.

Activist of the European Belarus civil campaign Aksana Yushkevich, who plans to take part in the parliamentary campaign in the 96th electoral district in Minsk, told this to the press-center of the Belarusian National Congress.

- Aksana, please tell us about yourself - where you were born, how you got to Minsk.

- I was born in 1989 in the Lelchitsy district of the Homel region. The village where I lived belongs to the Chernobyl zone. I finished school there. In 2006 I moved to Minsk, went to college. This year I received a law degree, graduating from the Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship.

At first I worked by the first specialty - as a cook, but when I realized that my salary corresponds to the salary of a loader, I immediately filed a resignation appeal. I changed many jobs, part-time jobs. I realized that in our country, doing something you have been trained to do is unrealistic. If there is nobody to “promote” you, then you will not get anywhere. Everywhere there’s nepotism, matchmaking and the corruption fraternity of officials. Even with several higher educations and the absence of the necessary connections, there is a high risk of being in the street or joining the army of janitors and dishwashers. Or leave the country. Salary should be decent and consistent with the work that a person performs, the position that he or she occupies.

- You were born and raised in the immediate vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. How has this affected your life?

- It surely has. I know firsthand the consequences of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, I know that we have to deal with them for another hundred years. I really do not want this to happen again, so I oppose the launch of a new atomic bomb near Astravets. We should not leave an inheritance in the form of cancer diseases, from which every third of us, locals, suffers. At the very least, I would like to leave behind a country with clean air and land and water not polluted by waste, which has not become some radioactive repository. We would like our children to be grateful to us for this, and not for having to disentangle the consequences of another accident that occurred due to the fault of stupid leaders.

- This is the second time you mention leaders, representatives of the authorities. Why?

- The mechanism of government is so old, so corrupted and rusty that it just doesn’t work. We are decades behind civilized countries. The system is outdated and needs urgent adjustment. It is not necessary to invent a bicycle, you just need to keep up with the times.

I stand for the impeachment of all authorities today - from a petty official to Lukashenka. With their management, they impede the development of a country that is already at the bottom of a swamp covered with bogs. And first of all, this is because the authorities do not abide the law. The sources of law should not remain in theory, they need to be applied in practice. The presumption of innocence must be valid for all, without exception. To exclude “nepotism”, unspoken attitudes to social and sexual discrimination, formal attitude to one's duties and work.

Many of my students had problems with internships in state institutions. Today it turns out that a person studies for five years, pays a lot of money, and then just comes for a check, or makes copies. This is not a proper internship for a young specialist. This is the principle of the inefficient state system. And in order to get normal internship, to improve one's skills, an appropriate agreement must be concluded between the educational institution and the state agency. And you also have to pay for it, quite a big amount.

- You talk a lot about the law-enforcement system. Is this topic close to you?

- As a child, I had a dream of becoming an investigator on particularly important cases. Growing up, I realized that the system I was so eager for was rotten, that it would not accept me. Well, in order to reform it, it is not enough to be an investigator of the Organized Crime Control Department, this is a different scale. Still, the problem needs to be solved; further development of the country depends on this. After the change of power, I would like to create a National Anti-Corruption Agency with the corresponding functions and powers.

- The first stage of the election campaign is the creation of initiative groups for the nomination of “candidates for deputies”. How's it going with this?

- The group is gathering. There were minor problems as my friends, students were told by the administrations of educational establishments that it was illegal, that they cannot participate in the elections. They were also threatened with eviction from the hostel.

I want to warn everyone who is trying to disrupt the elections: criminal liability is provided for this. There is article 191 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. I will quote: “Obstruction of the exercise by a citizen of the Republic of Belarus of the right to freely elect and be elected <...> is punishable by community service, or a fine, or correctional labor for a term of up to two years, or restriction of liberty for a term of up to three years, or imprisonment for the same term.” I really want everyone to remember this - from deans and rectors of educational establishments to members of election commissions.

- So still, why are you going to the elections?

- I want Belarus to become a civilized country where the law is respected. I want us to be alive and well, and not to breathe radioactive ashes. I want Belarusians to finally feel confident in the future, to be respected and appreciated by the work we are doing. I want our children to be proud of us.

The European Belarus announced that it was forming initiative groups to participate in the election campaign and urged citizens of the country to join them. Contact phone / Telegram / viber: +375 29 5494923. Join now!