Ivonka Survilla to Dalia Grybauskaitė: “That’s Lukashenka - the main threat to sovereignty”
- 19.11.2010, 13:35
The head of the Rada of the BNR Ivonka Survilla sent an open letter to the president of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė about her statement on the priorities of the European Union at the elections in Belarus.
As it is known, Reuters has recently dispersed the information on the meeting between the President of Lithuania and Western diplomats accredited in this country. According to the agency, Dalia Grybauskaitė stated that Alyaksandr Lukashenka was the guarantor of political and economic stability in Belarus, as well as its independence. Therefore, in the opinion of the Lithuanian president, the victory of the present head of Belarus at the upcoming elections on December, 19, would be the best option for the EU.
On this occasion, the head of the Rada of the BNR Ivonka Survilla sent an open letter to Dalia Grybauskaitė.
“The Belarusian society anxiously apprehended your unconditional support for Alyaksandr Lukashenka as a presidential candidate who, despite the good will of the EU, does not fulfill the conditions of Europe on the political system and human rights in Belarus, but also stubbornly continues to destroy national values of the Belarusian people.
Madam President, you motivate your position by the desire of stability. Let me remind you about the episodes from recent history, which showed that the solidarity with supporters of democracy may have far more positive result than the desire to maintain stability. It was Vilnius where the Belarusian Popular Front held its first congress in 1989 thanks to the invitation of the then government of Lithuania, which put forward the idea of restoring the Belarusian independence. In January 1991, when Gorbachev decided to introduce “a state of emergency” in Lithuania to destroy the independence of Lithuania, Moscow’s army attacked the television center in Vilnius, killing innocent civilians. The Kremlin explained these actions by the need to “maintain stability” in the Soviet empire. In those days, the group of deputies of the Belarusian parliament visited Vilnius, and a deputy of the faction of the Popular Front Siarhei Naumchyk made a speech in the Lithuanian parliament with the words of solidarity and called on members of foreign parliamentary delegations not to leave the building until there was a threat of assault. In those days, the Belarusian national forces supported Lithuania at a critical time, despite the wishes of the Kremlin. Let me also remind you that while many in the West tended to justify the actions of Gorbachev, who they thought was a guarantor of stability.
History, however, made other arrangements – it was the solidarity with the national movements that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet empire.
President Lukashenka insulted the national symbols of Belarus, eradicated the national culture, closed Belarusian schools, conducted a total Russification - this gives grounds to believe that Lukashenka has not changed his attitude towards the Belarusian Independence. And Lukashenka was and remains a major threat to Belarusian sovereignty”- Ivonka Survilla said.