Belarusian Opposition Extends Hand to Lukashenka :: Charter'97 :: News

Alyaksandr Lukashenka has relieved a proposal for cooperation from opposition for the first time. Lukashenka’s political opponents have asked Lukashenka not only about holding a mass rally on March 25 in the center of Minsk, but to take part in it personally. It is offered to time the rally to the 89th anniversary of the Belarusian People’s republic proclamation. The opposition is convinced that “in the eyes of the world community such rally would promote an impression about Belarus as a really independent and sovereign state,” “Novye Izvestia” informs.

Oppositionists have sent a letter to the presidential Administration stating that “March 25 is a special holiday this year”, because of an energy row with Russia Belarus’ independence is at stake.

“There are no anti-Russian politicians among my colleagues, but Moscow must respect our right to live in a sovereign state,” told the leader of the Belarusian opposition Alyaksandr Milinkevich. He and his associates want to be given an intelligible answer to the question whether Lukashenka has overstepped the mark in his confrontation with Moscow, and whether he has passed the point of no-return.

The time of the address has been chosen intentionally. By increasing oil transit tariff, Lukashenka seems to demonstrate once again that there wouldn’t be a return to the “union state”. In its turn, Moscow has taken a strategic decision to construct a costly pipeline bypassing Belarus, and in fact has demonstrated absence of plans for Lukashenka’s overthrow and substitution by some “pro-Russian” person. On the contrary, Russia seems to be ready to freeze relations with Lukashenka’s Belarus.

Having lost support of the Kremlin, the Belarusian ruler has to be show towardness and share power. That’s what the opposition expects. And besides, a country which would lose energy donations forever is inevitably to start reconstruction of it economic, and consequently a political model, “Novyae Izvestia” writes.