Zmitser Bandarenka: We must be able to defend our leaders

A former political prisoner comments on a statement by the leader of the Conservative Christian Party BPF.

“Economic sanctions, as a rule, weakened the economic power of the country hit by sanctions, but never weakened the power of dictatorships,” Zianon Pazniak said in his appeal to the party's council.

Zmitser Bandarenka believes more pressure on the regime can help to release political prisoners. Read his full article below:

There were many examples in history when sanctions against dictatorships were effective. Tough and consistent sanctions by Ronald Reagan against the USSR led to the collapse of the “evil empire”. Sanctions against the Jaruzelski regime caused the round table talks in Poland. Wide sanctions against South Africa led to the fall of apartheid. Economic sanctions against Milosevich to a large extent triggered democratic changes in Serbia. The “David Kramer sanctions” against Belneftekhim thwarted Lukashenka's attempts to earn on oil business with the US and forced to release the opposition leaders in 2008.

I agree with former presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, who urges to suspend all contacts with the Belarusian regime and impose sanctions, including economic ones, until political prisoners are freed. There are no other ways to save the jailed opposition leaders and stop the repression machine. Restrictions on buying Belarusian oil products would be painful for the regime. It's necessary to understand that cheap oil for Lukashenka is a voluntary form of Moscow's grants of 4-8 billion dollars per year. Russia supports its satrap. The sanctions on oil products would neutralise this aid.

I'd like to note that Zianon Pazniak has never been concerned about political prisoners, if they were not his party fellows. He doesn't mention a word about them in his statement.

Not all people can imagine what political prisoners face in Lukashenka's prisons and penal colonies. We can say about the real terror against the opposition leaders. I don't know any other country except Belarus that has lost so many opposition leaders in contemporary history. Political prisoners are demanded either to collaborate with the KGB or give up their political activity.

It's necessary to understand that outrageous treatment of the opposition leaders, who are pubic figures, provokes even more outrageous treatment and worse conditions for tens of thousands of “ordinary” prisoners, most of whom were sentenced unfairly. Only Belarusian and international solidarity and well thought out economic sanctions are able to sober the sadistic dictator and release our friends.