Viktar Ivashkevich: Authorities imitating «perestroika»

Charter’97 press center has talked with Viktar Ivashkevich, deputy head of the Belarusian Popular Front, about actual events of the political life of Belarus.

The debates between the candidates for a post of the BPF’s head are to take place today in the BPF office. You together with Vintsuk Vyachorka and Ales Mikhalevich have already taken part in the debates in regions and on the Internet. What impressions do you have of the process?

– The majority of those, who asked questions during the on-line debates on “Nasha Niva” site, weren’t the BPF members. The great part of them was members of Conservative Christian Party of the BPF and non-party critics of activity of political parties. In any case, the questions were useful, because one needs to answer them, even if there is negative attitude in a question towards a person who is supposed to answer. However, it was very useful for politicians as a some kind of training for making formulations and positions more clear.

I think, the BPF members can notice the difference between words that everything should be all right and real opportunities of the concrete people to put their objectives into practice. It’s necessary to write smooth texts with paradigmatic approaches, but we need to fulfil them as well. In the first place, every candidate should be appraised from that point of view, in what degree he himself is able to organise work, he considers necessary.

– There are rumours, that not all candidates agreed that journalists will be present at the debates.

– My position is: debates should be maximally open and organised not for the candidates, but for people, who are not the BPF members. Only in this manner we can find a way out of isolation and the party may become a real Popular Front. But maximally open and honest dialog with the whole society is needed for that purpose. Popular Front mustn’t have private problems.

Some my colleagues have different opinions. They think one shouldn’t wash one’s dirty linen in public. But we are a political organisation. If some political activists think, the political and public activity must have backstage character, it is wrong, in my view.

– Conference in Vilnius took place last week, where the opposition leaders participated. Was a common stand on running in parliamentary election taken?

– There is a grouping in the authorities, which would like to receive money and stands ready to bargain with Europe. Bargain like at Bukhara bazaar. Trying to underestimate their readiness for changes and overestimate the own price. Such position of the authorities “accept us as we are, with our dictatory political system and give us 40 billions euro” can’t be regarded as admissable. There must be other starting conditions. Fulfil 12 UE’s proposals and get investments to economy, their sum can be even more than the sum of loans you want.

And then the authorities take these steps: we are ready to have dialog with rock musicians, ready not to beat demonstrants at head, we permit the Society of Protection of Monuments to go to the crosses, installed in honour of participants of Slutsk Rebellion. They show they are ready to bargain. But if we declare we are ready to participate in election on any conditions, it will be capitulation, taking into consideration the behaviour of the authorities. I think the BPF’s position must be tough – the authorities must release all political prisoners, guarantee freedom of speech and association, organise free election, allow presence of opposition representatives in district electoral commissions and registration of democrats as candidates for deputy.

A dialog can be carried out to discuss these problems. I think we should enter the suggestion of Alyaksandr Radzkou, leader of the new created organisation “Belaya Rus” and offer discussing these issues in order the “deputies”, who are members of “Belaya Rus”, raise these questions at the session of the ”house of representatives”, if they want to establish good relation with Europe. Thanks God, this year the European politicians declared unambiguously, especially after the European March, that release of absolutely all political prisoners is a necessary condition for negotiations.

– What do you think about the meeting between Aleg Pralyaskouski, deputy head of the presidential administration and Belarusian rock musicians?

– I don’t see a problem in the fact of conversation itself. The other case, one should have his position. It’s normal to come to Pralyaskouski and say – using of “black lists” is absurdity. The other case, how efficient it can be. If it is true that the musicians agreed not to perform at protest actions, it’s wrong of them. They move themselves to a lower level. One should understand that the authorities need to demonstrate that they are taking some democratic steps. For these considerations, one should control feelings and maintain the positions. It is the authorities, who must stop segregation, not musicians reject relation with white-red-white flag.

– Don’t you think that the meeting with Belarusian musicians was a propaganda preparation for the Minsk Forum?

– Sure! The case is that participants of the European and Social Marches weren’t beaten, Radzkou’s statements on readiness to have a dialog, meeting with musicians constitute links in one and the same chain. They are ready to imitate “perestroika” and receive money for it. But the very fact that the authorities have chosen to imitate means they have weak positions. They thought last year – we can beat people at head with clubs, put Kazulin into prison and we give two hoots about reaction. Now they can’t behave like that, because their pockets are empty. We should understand it and demand real democratisation.