Leanid Sudalenka: Belarusian People Can Rightfully Be Judge For Authorities

Belarus today is a different country.

Well-known Homel human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka commented on the Charter97.org website upon the CEC refusal to register Lukashenka’s popular rivals, and told what consequences this decision might have.

- Our national legislation is structured in such a way that candidates who are objectionable to the authorities are cut off from participation at any stage: counting signatures, income declaration, campaigning. The CEC headed by Yarmoshyna has "refined its skills" to such an extent that it does not hesitate to remove one of the most serious rivals off the electoral race basing solely on assumptions. I emphasize that guilt can only be established by a court; for this, there is a presumption of innocence prescribed in the Constitution! Take the same rejected hundreds of thousands of voter signatures submitted by Viktar Babaryka and Valer Tsapkala, because they were simply thrown into the basket, and no reasons were given. If the Electoral Code, as they try to show us, allows us to do the same with the will of Belarusians, such a law should be changed, instead of examining the color of the ink used to put a signature under the magnifying glass. The same situation is with the election campaign. One candidate is allowed everything, even public insults and humiliation of his rivals, while the rest are waiting for the inevitable withdrawal from the elections. There are no trials in such cases in our country, of course. As practice shows, such cases are not subordinate to the Belarusian Themis.

- You constantly have to protect the rights of people who are dissatisfied with the system. What set Belarusians up against the government the most and brought down Lukashenka’s rating?

- I think that a series of recent mistakes by the authorities have played their role here. For all these years, they have not offered us anything new, and are not trying to. They offered "five hundred bucks" each and for ten years they cannot fulfill the promise. No one discussed the increase of the retirement age with the people. Removing and cutting back on numerous social benefits is again the same picture. Let us recall the "parasitic" actions of 2017, when the protest wave swept almost all over the country! In addition, the world problem - the coronavirus - unexpectedly crept up, and we all witnessed how the authorities acted in an emergency. In other words, we saw how at a critical moment the government is not able to protect its people, while hiding the truth. They stopped hearing people and this is the main, in my opinion, reason for the sharp collapse of Lukashenka’s rating.

- In many cities, including Homel, people took to the streets against the decision of the CEC on non-registration of alternative candidates. Is a peaceful mass protest a legitimate right of the people in such a situation?

- There is a well-known expression: when the state turns into a criminal, the right to be a judge belongs to every person! When the state ceases to reckon with the people, people have the right to peaceful protest. The right to peaceful assembly of citizens is constitutional, and its implementation does not require any permission from the authorities. By denying registration to the main rivals in the elections, throwing them in jail, the authorities deprive each of us of the right to choose, the right to determine our fate, and plans to build our future. What prevented all candidates from being on the ballot? What prevented people from being given freedom to independently and without state involvement determine how and with whom to live further? Let me remind you that the same words are written in the passport of each of us - a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, each of us has the right to his own opinion. Today Belarus is a different country and people will protest on the streets, otherwise they will never hear us.

- More and more often the subject of sanctions against the Lukashenka regime is mentioned by the Western politicians. What do you think the sanctions should be at this stage?

- I am not an expert on sanctions, but I am sure that officials should pay for the destruction of democracy and human rights in the country. My opinion is such: sanctions must be effective, otherwise it is not worth starting. Here you can recall and be skeptical of the restrictive measures of 2010, when one of the main person in the list already in 2015 was peacefully walking along the streets of Paris.

I believe that ordinary Belarusians should not suffer from sanctions, and the result will be achieved when our officials cease to engage in falsification, discrimination and harassment of the civil society.

- You noted that cases related to the falsification of elections are not subordinate to the Belarusian Themis. Is there a statute of limitations on these cases, and will anyone be brought to liability under these cases after the change of power?

- There is a statute of limitations in civil matters, but the new government will be able to reopen political cases by restoring these terms. So it was when considering Stalin's cases, so it should be in the future. Everyone should get what they deserve!

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