Human Rights Activity Is No Place For Self-PR

There is no end of work to be done in this area.

The Charter97.org editor-in-chief Natallia Radzina published a post on Facebook dedicated to the problems of human rights activities in Belarus:

“I was invited to Belsat to discuss the problems of Belarusian political prisoners and the non-recognition of Mikalai Autukhovich, who is dying in prison, as a prisoner of conscience. Everything would have been fine if, at the end of the show, a commercial of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had not been shown on the air, which told how much she and her people are doing to help the repressed. There was also a call to donate funds to the BySol Foundation and other structures of the office. After the video, I got the impression that in the field of human rights activities in Belarus, everything is developing in the most wonderful way.

To put it mildly, I did not like this manipulation very much. I'll explain why.

As the editor-in-chief of the website Charter97.org, I am constantly approached by people who talk about the real problems faced by politically repressed people and their families. The main issues that concern Belarusians are:

— Hundreds of the repressed and their relatives are practically forgotten and do not receive any help at all.

— In recent months, assistance in hiring lawyers and paying for their services has ceased.

— Many repressed people are not recognized as political prisoners.

— People leaving prisons also say that they face great difficulties, and do not receive support.

— Belarusian refugees complain about very limited assistance, and if they get help, then not from the structures related to Tsikhanouskaya's office. And their appeals to the office are often ignored.

This commercial by Tsikhanouskaya reminded me of Belarusian television stories about “successes” in the Belarusian economy and Lukashenka’s “paternal care” for ordinary Belarusians.

As a former political prisoner, I can say that human rights work is a very sensitive area, and not a place for self-PR. Moreover, there is no end of work to be done in the field of assistance to Belarusians affected by the regime.