Dzmitry Bandarenka: We Will Definitely Win This Year

The most important day in our history.

Coordinator of the civil campaign European Belarus Dzmitry Bandarenka stated this in an interview with the website Charter97.org.

- In three days Belarus will celebrate a great holiday - Freedom Day, the anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People's Republic. How important is this day for you personally and for all countries?

- When I was a child, a Soviet schoolboy, I was always surprised and asked the question: who are Belarusians, and what is Belarus? I saw on TV and in cinemas historical films about Alexander Nevsky, Alexander Suvorov and Field Marshal Kutuzov, we also showed Polish historical films, for example, "The Crusaders" or "The Flood", but I have never seen films about Belarusian history. Even when I asked my parents and acquaintances who the Belarusians were, people set out versions of Soviet history, that the Belarusians wore linen shirts and trousers and had tangled hair before the Bolsheviks, and only “grandfather Lenin brought us an electric light bulb, and the Belarusians started a good life.” This question, who I am and what Belarus is, worried me for a very long time. Already at the institute, when I met with students who came from the Caucasus or Russia, they asked why we do not speak our language and how we differ from Russians. I have not been able to answer these questions.

Later, thanks to perestroika, thanks to the emergence of the Belarusian People's Front, which opened the eyes of Belarusians, including me, to our history, I read a lot and admired the greatness of our past, I finally understood who I am. As we know, in 1918 for those people who proclaimed the independence of the Belarusian People's Republic, it was also a very difficult matter: Russification by tsarism had been going on for over 100 years, many have forgotten who they are and where they are from. And so the Belarusians found the strength and determination in very difficult historical conditions to proclaim independence together with other peoples, which also did not have independence for hundreds of years. Even unlike our Polish brothers, with whom we lived together in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the leaders of the Belarusian People's Republic declared the country's independence several months earlier.

This is a matter of colossal importance and it is clear that Lukashenka’s regime, as an occupation regime, seeks to destroy this day again, so that people will forget about it, and, therefore, forget who they really are.

- Is this the main reason that Freedom Day is still not celebrated at the official level?

- Of course. Why has Russia been sponsoring Lukashenka's regime for so many years and allocating billions of dollars to him? (or allocated; recently some kind of clarification in the heads of the Kremlin happened; I hope, they realized that this is useless). Precisely because Lukashenka took on the role of an occupier, in fact, he performs occupation functions: he destroys the Belarusian language, identity, history - what invaders usually do. He is a volunteer assistant, a polizei - together with the AMAP, he is trying to trample everything national.

But we see that Belarusians have woken up, that despite everything, the white-red-white flag has become a truly national flag, and people are fighting for it, like in a war, and the regime, frankly speaking, is living out its last months, its last days.

- How can Belarusians celebrate Freedom Day with dignity in the conditions of the occupation regime?

- For those who have already discovered the secret power of Belarusian history, there is no question whether to celebrate this day or not. Obviously, it should be celebrated with dignity. For example, I celebrated Freedom Day three times in prisons and once in a colony, but I am alive and continue to fight whenever possible. And Belarus is alive.

Of course, I call on the Belarusians, those who consider themselves not sausage lovers, but patriots, to take to the streets on March 25 across the country and celebrate this day in the forms that each person is individually ready for. But I know that my friends, the leaders of the Belarusian Resistance, who are today in dungeons, Mikalai Statkevich, Yauhen Afnahel, Pavel Seviarynets, and others would not only be on the streets on this day but would also call on the Belarusians to celebrate March 25 with dignity. 2021 is the day of the restoration of our independence, the day when the Belarusians declared themselves.

- The other day, Pavel Latushka also called on Belarusians to go to the central streets of cities. This is probably the first time you speak from a common position?

- I have been celebrating Freedom Day for many years, and I am very glad that Pavel Latushka, who knows Belarusian history well, decided to openly call on Belarusians to celebrate this day with dignity. I am very glad that people who, for various reasons, did not celebrate the national holiday earlier in public, today not only celebrate it but also call on all Belarusians to jointly, powerfully, and beautifully celebrate Freedom Day on March 25 at 17.00 in the center of Belarusian cities.

- This is encouraging. Has the political spring begun in Belarus?

- I would not say "spring," "summer," "autumn," I would not concentrate on the seasons. We will definitely win this year. There are all grounds and prerequisites for this. We are obliged to free all people who are deprived of their freedom today.

When this decisive moment comes, it also depends on us, depends on the real leaders of the protest. We must decide when we will start a general offensive and give a general battle to the regime. If it is spring, it is good, if it is summer, it is also acceptable. The main thing is that we are determined to win, to prepare for the decisive battle.

I am confident that several weeks of powerful protests combined with strikes, combined with diaspora's solidarity rallies, and the reasonable actions of our democratic partners and allies will lead to the fall of the regime and the long-awaited change of power in the Republic of Belarus.

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