Andrei Sannikov: You can’t recognize power of criminals

What will happen in Belarus on October 11 in no way can be called an election, but a special operation of the dictatorial regime to keep its power.

Such a statement has been made by the leader of European Belarus civil campaign Andrei Sannikov as he addressed the working session “Democratic Elections” at the OSCE’s Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) that is held in Warsaw, a reporter of charter97.org informs.

– What will happen in Belarus on October 11 in no way can be called an election, – he said. – It should be called a special operation of the dictatorial regime to keep its power.

As the result of a similar operation called "referendum 1996" Lukashenko destroyed the Constitution, demolished the parliament and usurped the power in Belarus. A special operation called "referendum 2004" was organized to remove all limitations from Lukashenko's holding the post of the president, which he illegally keeps till this time.

The institute of elections in Belarus is destroyed. I realized it clearly when I took part in 2010 election as a candidate. That's why I called to peaceful protests against falsifications to bring back elections in Belarus. Lukashenko completely lost the 2010 election, then ordered a violent crackdown of the protest demonstration of many thousands of Belarusian citizens and threw presidential candidates in jail.

Today Lukashenko’s dictatorship badly needs Western money to save itself, that's why it organized a show called "election" in order to gain legitimacy. However 21 years of Lukashenko’s rule have proven that any credits and loans are spent not on people's needs but on strengthening of the repressive apparatus of the regime. It is the same regime that is guilty of murders of the opposition leaders and journalists, beatings and tortures of its political opponents. Legitimacy of this regime will mean not only recognition of the power of serial criminals but also a lawfulness of Russian military presence on the territory of Belarus, which threatens international security. It's no coincidence that Kremlin leaders support Lukashenko so actively.

International observers of the ODIHR (OSCE) have high reputation in Belarus for their objective reports on previous elections. I’m sure that this time they also do understand that instead of election they are offered a very bad show that spectators will not attend. It will be enough to observe the turnout on the day of the election to understand that do not trust this election, nor its organizers, that the dictatorship in Belarus has no support.

Belarus can come out from the dead-end peacefully with the help of fair election. This is the solution that the opposition sees. Today all opposition democratic forces are united, they stated that there is no election in Belarus and clearly declared boycott to this. It is the common opinion of the opposition that should serve as the criterion not only for this election but also for future relations with Lukashenko's regime.