"Ales Bialiatski, a Belarusian political activist known for his work with Viasna Human Rights Centre, of which he is currently the head. He is also the Vice President of FIDH, the Worldwide Movement for Human Rights. Until recently, Ales Bialiatski was imprisoned by the Belarusian authorities on fabricated charges."
but in Belarus it’s simpler. "They just close them down. In 2003-2004, they closed next to 400 NGOs, including our centre", (Ales Bialiatski).
"The Minsk diplomatic process" has helped Lukashenko: "and now what takes precedence is the practical approach. I could call it a cynical approach, but it would be better to call it practical.
After the political prisoners were released in August 2015, which was a condition of the EU, nothing changed in the country. But thank God the EU didn’t soften its approach before that. They were patient enough.
When I say nothing changed it’s the position of all human rights organisations. We monitor the situation, we observe the situation in a range of parameters, and no improvements took place. Nevertheless, we will see a full lifting of the sanctions." ---
- Is the lifting of the sanctions a good or a bad thing?
"I think it’s dangerous. In the three months which elapsed since the sanctions were suspended, nothing in Belarus happened. Nevertheless, the EU takes another step toward the Belarus regime, not having received anything in exchange. This is dangerous, because it creates a feeling of permissiveness, ahead of the parliamentary elections in September. Will they be democratic? Would they be transparent? I can already tell you they will not."
---
The economic situation in Belarus is less disastrous that in Ukraine, don’t you think?
"They have war. In Belarus we don’t, but the economy is going down, and the crisis continues. The social tensions are growing, and certain categories, like small businesses, are protesting, although for the time being, in a very quiet manner. --- Lukashenko is trying to sell the brand “peaceful Belarus”, but the conditions are worsening. And he said he doesn’t intend to change the economic structure of the country, as it was built 20 years ago. 80% of the economy is run by the state. Many enterprises are ineffective, they are fed by the state budget and have no intention to adapt. Lukashenko intends to keep this Soviet-type system, with minor modernisation, in Belarus. Up to now he was successful thanks to the low price of gas, of petrol, and cheap credit from Russia. But Russia can no longer provide this. That’s why Lukashenko is very interested in developing relations with the EU."
--- "Lukashenko remains an important partner of Russia in the military sphere. This is about the Russian military bases in Belarus, the common military exercises which usually take place next to the borders of Lithuania and Poland; about the military equipment they receive from Russia, which is 100% of the country’s armament. And there is political cooperation. Just have a look how Russian and Belarus diplomats advocate the same position at all international fora." --- the Communist regime in Romania, the dictatorship, was worse compared to any country of the Soviet empire. Lukashenko plays the same game. He tries to use the confrontation between the West and Russia for his objectives."
Bialiatski about the opposition i Belarus: "All elections are falsified, the electoral commission as controlled by the executive. Being a member of those parties can only result in trouble. You can end up in jail, you can lose your job, your family members will be persecuted."
Euractiv: "Belarus opposition activist: Lukashenko is fooling the West, like Ceausescu" (read the full text)
http://www.euractiv.com/section/europe-s-east/interview/belarus-opposition-activist-lukashenko-is-fooling-the-west-like-ceausescu/
Foto: KL
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