Uladzimir Matskevich: “By establishing relations with Europe, the regime solves its own problems”
- 23.02.2009, 13:49
Europeans should understand that the number political prisoners in Belarus is much bigger than the number of prisoners of conscience, known for Europe.
Uladzimir Matskevich, head of the Agency of Humanitarian Technologies of the Centre of Social Research, told it in an interview to Deutsche Welle commenting on a situation in Belarus during the visits of EU’s official representatives.
According to the Belarusian politologist, the future of the country depends on strong civil society, not on reforms from above.
– Some European politicians have recently regarded Belarus as “regime” and “the last dictatorship of Europe”. What do the visits of high ranking EU officials to Minsk mean, when Belarus failed to fulfil even 5 out of 12 proposals of the European Union?
– Europe is now ready to accept both real moves towards the democracy and semblance of such steps, suggesting the Belarusian regime to move in a direction of liberalization. It a hope and waiting for liberalization that has lead Europe to a special policy.
Belarus has a special position even in the frames of the Eastern Partnership Initiative, covering six former Soviet countries. Some loyalty of Europe to the Belarusian regime can be noticed, but this loyalty has its limit.
– Does Europe realize that the regime hasn’t changed in spite of statements for closer relations with Europe? Political prisoners remain in Belarus, and their number is growing, state ideologists divide citizens into “ours” and “the rest”.
– The European Union still has little information and, which the most important, they do not have an understanding of the situation in Belarus. Europeans should understand that the number of political prisoners in Belarus is much bigger than the number of prisoners of conscience, known for Europe.
Many people, convicted in criminal cases, were arrested on political motives. There are political prisoners in Belarus, even when Alyaksandr Kazulin, Andrei Kim, and Syarhei Parsyukevich are released.
The same situation is with independent media: two newspapers, allowed to be spread via state net, don’t have much influence and can’t change the situation in the country, because state-controlled media cover 99 per cent of the population of Belarus. Their information is biased and one-sided, but it forms the public opinion and presents the process of the Belarusian-European relations in an ideologic way.
– What does statement of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who called on the European Union to have a dialogue without any mediators, mean?
– Such statements reveal authoritarian position of Lukashenka on civil society – the authorities need normalization of relations with Europe not for the sake of the Belarusian people.
By establishing relations with Europe, the regime solves its own problems. If the European Union doesn’t involve the civil society and opposition politicians into a process of normalization, it will speak in favour of a recent statement of Czech President Vaclav Klaus in the European Parliament about bureaucratic character of the EU, reminding the Soviet Union. But I hope for the best, because Secretary General of the EU Council Javier Solana met opposition and civil society representatives before his meeting with the Belarusian president.
– Can statements of certain EU representatives about possible unconditional cooperation with the Belarusian regime encourage the authoritarian system?
– The fact that Europe is ready to close eyes to an imitative nature of democratization gives the regime some opportunities for manipulations. But we should welcome any progress in freedom in Belarus, because it will develop civil society in some way.
In what degree is the Belarusian society ready to use this loosening, isn’t it suppressed? I think there are active human resources in Belarus. But one shouldn’t be naive, we should understand that the last devastating 15 years have weakened the potential of the society.