Former presidential candidate and diplomat Andrei Sannikov: "There is no justice in Belarus, but Belarus is Europe"

Brussels Forum, March 15-17. Free to speak. Sanctions, not barter, Sweden! Shame on you, Sweden (and EU)! Human trafficking (dirty games). EU has no strategy towards Belarus. Dictators cooperate.

"There is no justice in Belarus, but we share the same values as in the rest of Europe. Belarus is Europe."

Listen to former presidential candidate and diplomat Andrei Sannikov. He thanks for support, because two years ago he was in KGB-prison in Minsk, notorious since the time of Stalin's purges, still serving its purposes in dictatorial Belarus. He got support from Craig Kennedy, that expressed his hope "that I will soon be able to join you in Brussels Forum. It was extremely important to me and gave me a lot of strength", Sannikov says. --- I know what I'm saying, because by the time I went through four prison and three penal colonies.There is no justice in Belarus. ---


The names of the political prisoners: Dzmitry Dashkevich, Mikola Statkevich, Mikalai Autukhovich, Ales Bialiatski, Igor Olinevich, Alexander Frantskevich, Nicholas Dzyadok, Eduard Lobau, Eugene Vaskovich, Artem Prokopenko, Aleksandr Molchanov, Andrew Gaidukov and Pavel Sevyarynets. These people are fighting for our common values. I think the world is not doing enough to release them. ---

Dictators are very effective in cooperating with each other. Put pressure on Lukashenko, who helps the regime of Bashar al-Assad and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. ---

Try to help the Belarusian democratic movement, try to help the civil society, try to help the independent media, try to help the families of the repressed. We need this. ---

I said that the situation in Belarus is difficult, but I am an optimist. And you know why? In prison, and after release, I felt an unprecedented solidarity with us... (my shortage of Sannikov's words from the video)



Listen to the whole speech and read the text in Russian:
Video in english: http://www.charter97.org/ru/news/2013/3/17/66715/
Charter 97


In english + great video (11 min.)
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/3/17/66715/
"Today we need determined actions to release the political prisoners in Belarus. Instead, we are offered some measures to once again establish a contact between the dictator and the Europeans. This is a mistake because political prisoners are being killed in jails. I was released when sanctions were imposed. --- You cannot be diplomatic with a criminal."

- Andrei Sannikov looks great and he is strong.






Brussels Forum, Speaker biographies:
http://brussels.gmfus.org/agenda-details/speaker-biographies-2013/#Sannikov




Lukashenka supplies weapons to Assad:
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/3/18/66726/


http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/3/19/66798/
Marina Adamovich: (imprisoned presidential candidate Mikola Statkevich's wife) "Any visits of European officials, including official EU representatives, to Minsk only make sense in case they meet political prisoners." 


Barter (Belarus - Sweden) : http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/3/19/66794/
- What do European politicians say about Belarusian foreign minister Uladzimir Makiei, barred from entering the EU?
- " I was concerned with the fact that the removal of visa restrictions from the black-listed officials is linked not to the release of political prisoners, but to other issues, like for example the return of the Swedish Embassy to Minsk. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance – due to technical or maybe some other problems - to talk to Sweden’s foreign minister Carl Bildt who was also there. But linking the visa restrictions to this issue will simply reveal Europe’s weakness and give the dictatorship additional opportunities for blackmailing. First deport the ambassador, and then get him back in exchange for the “black list” (Andrei Olegovich Sannikov)."



http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/3/12/66452/
Makei is a criminal:.
"It should be reminded that Uladzimir Makei is among 200 Belarusian officials and oligarchs subject to the EU sanctions for the crackdown on the Belarusian opposition and civil society."

Belarus Freedom News comment: "EU diplomats should know this: On 19 December 2010, Vladimir Makei was the head of Lukashenko's administration. The violent assault on oppositional presidential candidate Uladzimir Niakliaeu was executed by special forces directly subordinated to Vladimir Makei.

This brutal and bloody assault is just one reason why Vladimir Makei was banned entry to EU countries, before he was promoted by Lukashenko to become "personal foreign minister of Europe's last dictator".


 Paleckis plays dirty games:
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/3/20/66868/
“I was surprised to hear, and this news filled me with disgust, that the authorities even boast they are torturing political prisoners  and like to tell their foreign partners about it. The recent attempts of human trafficking with the dictatorship made by European politicians lie beyond morality. The matter is human lives. Without a principled position, their lives are under constant threat,” the politician said."


Minsk again trades in political prisoners:
http://charter97.org/en/news/2013/3/20/66864/


http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/3/21/66908/
Marina Adamovich (wife of former presidential candidate Mikola Statkevich)
"political prisoners are hostages and a subject of a bargain. And what concerns the European Union, then it does not have a global strategy towards Belarus, that is why European politicians are trying again to make a deal with the authorities in some way. They still believe that it is possible”,  



Paleckis makes excuses:
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/3/21/66894/ 


Aliaksandr Atroschankau explaining ("some vague promises")
http://www.charter97.org/ru/news/2013/3/21/66911/




Foto: KL