Rzeczpospolita: Tribunal for Lukashenka Needs to Be Prepared Now

Poland could be the site for such a court.

There are not many examples of the prosecution of dictatorships, criminal systems, torturers, and fanatics. But when it comes to court, everything happens mostly symbolically. When a dictatorship is overthrown, the prevailing conviction is that it is necessary to make up for the wasted time, to devote all efforts to building a new system. And the experience is mainly from those who were on the side of the old. All the rest fought, lived in poverty, did not have a chance to develop, or were imprisoned, writes the Polish edition Rzeczpospolita.

Decommunization never took place. And the denazification concerned only a small group of Nazis. The era of Saddam Hussein in Iraq ended with bloody war and terrorism in the Middle East and beyond. Dictators, as well as generals, directors, secretaries, propagandists, prosecutors, judges, thieves, and executioners who serve them - they all know that retribution, as a rule, does not come. They know history, they know the world, and they know life. They understand that the hands of justice are unlikely to ever reach them. And you shouldn't think about it. Therefore, they cross the red lines again, committing new crimes.

They are probably more afraid of defeat in the spirit of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, who was killed by angry rebels, than the fate of Slobodan Milosevic. The latter appeared before the International Tribunal, where he had a lawyer. In addition, the dictator had a lot of time in his cell to consider his actions.

In the case of people who serve the regime with nuclear weapons, the chances of justice being achieved are close to zero. But still, they are scanty, but they are. If not today, then at least until the end of the life of the criminal. Therefore, you need to patiently collect evidence, listen to the testimony of the victims, and prepare documents. It is necessary to prepare processes and form special tribunals.

“Such preparations should also concern the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, his employees, and supporters. Both the EU and the US already have shortlists of such figures. They will be expanded because the regime is committing new crimes and frankly believes that nothing will stop it and that it is capable of anything,” the article says.

The idea of creating a special international tribunal for Belarus is correct. But the devil is in the details. One of them is geography. Poland, on the one hand, could become the site for such a tribunal. Because it is more sensitive to events in Belarus than any other country. But on the other hand, its judiciary now does not have a good image in the world. Therefore, the International Tribunal for Belarus could face attacks because of this. And Moscow will not regret any support for this.

Warsaw also needs to remember about the Polish minority in Belarus. Lukashenka must not be given excuses for further persecution of Belarusian Poles. And he is already persecuting them. Therefore, the place where the tribunal will be created for the Lukashenka regime is a matter for international discussion.