Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya looks with horror at the images of migrants living in dire conditions at Belarus’ border with Poland. However, she calls on not to lose sight of other problems in the country. “See the thousands who are in Belarus prison? They are starving, out in the cold and humiliated and beaten.”
Tikhanovskaya hopes that if the migrant crisis soon diminishes, the EU and the US will not lose sight of the problems in Belarus. “If democratic countries now withdraw. If they allow the blackmail again that we have seen for ten/fifteen years, then that means that dictatorship wins over democracy.”
she calls in news hour western countries not to focus solely on the migrant crisis and to impose more sanctions. “I know everyone is talking about the crisis at the border with Poland now. But we have to keep in mind where the real problem is: what is at the heart of it? The regime.”
The Belarusian opposition leader is forced to live in Lithuania after she fled her country after the elections last year. The opposition believes that Tikhanovskaya won the elections, Alexander Lukashenko declared himself the winner. Protests followed, but they were brutally crushed. Many opposition members fled the country, others were arrested. At least 1,000 political prisoners are still incarcerated, according to human rights groups.
‘Belarus waits and hopes’
One of those prisoners is Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s partner. She still has a hard time with that every day: “I never get used to the children asking: when will daddy be back?” Despite the great sacrifices, she continues with her political work. Against will and thanks. Because sometimes she also wants to hide herself under the covers, she wants to go back: “Because Belarus waits and hopes.”
In order to return, Lukashenko’s regime must come to an end. She needs the help of others for that. Both the EU and the US have sided with the Belarusian opposition and imposed sanctions against Lukashenko’s government. The EU must maintain that hard line, Tikhanovskaya believes: “The EU is made up of 27 democracies. Can’t Europe and the US defeat the largest democracies in one dictatorship? Is one dictatorship stronger than all norms and values? I think it is time for strong language. Because a democracy must be able to make a fist.” Earlier EU sanctions were also partly lifted in hopes that Lukashenko would change his policy.
‘He is a dictator’
Yet Lukashenko does not seem to intend to change his working method. He gave an interview to BBC and CNN. In it, he acknowledged beatings in prisons, but emphasized that riot police were also beaten. But those images would not show Western media. He bit off fiercely. Tikhanovskaya finds it unacceptable that he is called ‘president’ in those interviews. Moreover, she believes that Lukashenko should not be given a podium. “All he wants is recognition. He’s not a president, he’s a dictator.”
In addition to the major democracies, she also hopes for humanitarian aid. She missed it during the protests against election fraud. “Where were those humanitarian organizations then? Who now say: Poland doesn’t let migrants in and treats them badly. Where were you when the Belarusians were humiliated and beaten? Why were you silent then? There’s something cynical about that.”
Nieuwsuur previously made a report about the tension on the Belarusian border, on which all eyes of the international community are focused:
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