Viktar Ivashkevich: «The same was when Soviet Union was breaking up»

Viktar Ivashkevich, deputy head of the BPF Party was released from the special prison facility on Akrestin Street on the Day of Christ’s Birth, 25 December. The politician was arrested on the day when the meeting of entrepreneurs was held, and was sentenced to 15 days of arrest on false accusation. After his release Viktar Ivashekevich said in the interview to the Charter’97 press center that his arrest wouldn’t influence the intent of the opposition to have dialog with the authorities.

“It should be noted that on the congress of the BPF Party I was appointed deputy head of the party on work with target groups. I have been working with two target groups for 15 days – with entrepreneurs and light offenders. I was transferred from one cell to another for probably as much people as possible could hear my propaganda,” Viktar Ivashkevich is joking as usual.

The politician is sure: he was arrested to prevent his participation in the action “For independent Belarus!” “Because I was an initiator of holding of this picket or a press conference in the open. It was the so called preventing detention, though from the other hand I indeed was on the meeting of entrepreneurs. In the jail I established closer contacts with the entrepreneurs’ leaders, as I had to be in the same cell with them,” Ivashkevich said.

“When in the police department I saw they were drawing a report against me not for my participation in the meeting, but for using coarse language, I resented and refused to go downstairs form the second floor. Then the policemen decided to take me down on their arms. They took away my glasses. 5 people were too little for that task, so they called all policemen from the department, and pulled me down by force. In general, it was a special operation. They were angry with me because of that. As a result it was banned for me to receive any parcels form outside in the court and in the jail. Riot policemen perjured on the trial. Everybody knows that they lie, but it has become the usual thing for our legal system,” the deputy head of the BPF tells.

The politician thought a lot in the jail about Russian president arrival in Minsk, about why Putin had given a loan of USD 1.5 billion for Belarus.

“When I was on the trial, I thought: if Lukashenka find money, we’ll go to jail, if not – we will be released. The disperse of the action on 12 December was the demonstration of Lukashenka’s words that he “will fight for Russia.” So he was fighting for Russia on the territory of Belarus. By the way, I want to tell my idea on why Putin has become so kind towards Lukashenka. I think, holding of the European March and all those equivoques, steps to Europe taken by the close to Lukashenka officials, the whole pro-European campaign that showed Belarus could make another geopolitical choice influenced the Kremlin’s decision to help Lukashenka. Our campaign was organised not against Lukashenka, but for geopolitical choice of Belarus, and the Kremlin became worried at the way things are going, Belarusians may soon turn to Europe. That’s why these billions are purposed not for support of Lukashenka, but for support of Russian influence, for resist of the European influence,” Ivashkevich thinks.

Nevertheless, according to the politician, it’s necessary to follow the strategy of dialog with the authorities. “Perestroika, but if remind Perestroika, it was not only release of Sakharov, but crackdown of the action on 30 October, 1988, Dzyady (national holiday – day of commemoration dead ancestors), pioneer spades in Tbilisi, tanks in Vilnius. Perestroika is a destruction of the regime as the result of its financial collapse. But the process of perestroika is inconsistent. Some people say reforms are necessary, other say pressure is needed. One time I came to October Square with flags and the reaction was normal, another time other people came there, and they were beaten, like Hvedaruk. It is a transition period. It was the same, when the Soviet Union was breaking up. In this regard I think the message to the people in power is still actual: think, use calculators to count what is profitable. The common sense is typical for officials in power. Moreover, we have the truth,” Viktar Ivashkevich is sure.