Mikalai Statkevich: Refuse to meet with Belarusian regime leadership

A political prisoner appealed to the Prime Minister of Lithuania.

The reason for the appeal was the meeting of the Lithuanian PM with Mikhail Miasnikovich, statements about a possible visit of Algirdas Butkevicius to Belarus and a wide discussion of a possibility of inviting our country's high-ranking officials to the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. Mikalai Statkevich wrote a letter from Mahilou prison No. 4 to the Lithuanian PM:

The website statkevich.org offers the full text of the letter:

“Dear comrade,

When Lithuania was fighting to secede from the Soviet Empire, many people in Belarus showed solidarity with your struggle. For example, I, a then lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Army, left the Communist Party in winter 1991 protesting against using force by the Soviet troops near the Vilnius TV Tower. In spring 1991, I met with the minister of defence of Lithuania to express my support to the struggle of your people. In June 1991, I addressed Belarusian soldiers on Kaunas television and called on them not to use force against the people of Lithuania. As you understand, I risked not only my military career.

Now the people of Belarus need solidarity in their struggle for freedom, independence and preserving national identity. Influential international organisations say about gross violations of human rights in our country, total election frauds, involvement of the authorities in kidnappings and murders of opposition leaders. Belarusian political prisoners meet pressure and even torture to make them apply to the illegitimate 'president' for a pardon.

Those fighting for freedom of our country regard any direct contacts of leaders of democratic countries with strongmen of the Belarusian regime as a betrayal of democratic ideals and an attempt to legitimate the dictatorship.

I appeal to you as the leader of the fraternal party and a partner of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada) in the Socialist International urging to refuse to meet with leaders of the Belarusian regime until all political prisoners are released in our country.”

Mikalai Statkevich was a candidate in the 2010 presidential elections. He was arrested after a rally against election frauds. More than 700 protesters, including presidential candidates Andrei Sannikov, Uladzimir Niakliaeu, Ales Mikhalevich and members of their teams, were arrested after the rally.

On May 26, 2011, Minsk's Partyzanski district court sentenced the politician to 6 years in a medium security penal colony.

On January 12, 2012, confinement conditions for him were straightened and he was transferred from penal colony No. 17 in Shklou to prison No. 4 in Mahilou.

Statkevich is often thrown into a punishment cell. He has restrictions relating to parcels and visits of relatives. He often faces provocations on the order of the authorities.