Zmitser Bandarenka: Statkevich's team will be able to persuade Liabedzka to withdraw from elections

Democratic forces of Belarus have never been so close to the implementation of the common strategy.

The statement was made by Zmitser Bandarenka, the coordinator of European Belarus civil campaign. The politician spoke with charter97.org about the aim of boycotting the “elections” and how Belarusians could resist Russia's aggression.

– You were among the initiators of the boycott of the “elections”. What are the main aims of his campaign?

– The main aim is to show the whole world that Lukashenka usurped power in Belarus and doesn't have support among people. We know that according to information from polling stations with honest commission members, Andrei Sannikov proceeded to a second round in 2010 even in accordance with official reports. He won at many polling stations in Minsk.

When I was in the KGB jail, they removed all TV sets from cells, but later brought them five times and made all inmates watch the inauguration of the dictator. The prison chief asked: “Do you like it?” I said: “It's cool! Look, the motorcade is driving through the absolutely empty city. There's nobody in Kastrychnitskaya Square, only Lukashenka and Kolia are walking the red carpet. There are no people, no shouts of joy.” They didn't show us this “film” any more.

Lukashenka managed to preserve his power through repression, but he doesn't have support among people. Our boycott must show the whole world that the dictator is naked.

– In 2010, you were among the leaders of the initiative group of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov. What is the difference between the situation today and 5 years ago?

– Five years ago, the regime was flirting with the West, having obtained an IMF loan, which it needed to pay. It was a game of liberalisation, a kind of liberalisation. Andrei Sannikov and his team had a clear aim of carrying out protests. It was announced at the very beginning of the campaign. Protests were supposed to demonstrate aspirations of the people of Belarus to freedom and their desire to join the European Union. Protests were held, because Sannikov and other candidates called on Belarusians on live air to take to streets and protest against electoral frauds.

As we know nobody has such an aim today. It is not even discussed.

The boycott and empty polling stations on the voting day will disrupt the regime's attempts to obtain international recognition.

– European Belarus called on the opposition six months ago to nominate political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich as a single presidential candidate.

– European Belarus said initially that the main aim was a boycott. Our strategy has not changed. We remain consistent. We think our call to nominate Mikalai Statkevich as a single democratic candidate is being implemented now. All should join the boycott if he is not registered as a presidential candidate.

We have never been so close to the implementation of the common strategy, to the implementation of our plans to make Mikalai Statkevich the single democratic candidate. Anatol Liabedzka is the only person with a democratic background among those who announced their decision to run in the “elections”. The rest are attempts of the authorities to blow soap bubbles using controllable pseudo journalists. Aliaksandr Milinkevich demonstrated wisdom by deciding not to run in the elections. The position of Uladzimir Niakliaeu, who called on all candidates to withdraw from the “elections” deserves respect.

I know that more than 1,500 people, among them many influential and respectable persons, have joined the initiative group of Mikalai Statkevich. I think they will be able to persuade Anatol Liabedzka to withdraw from the “elections”. He said several times that it is wrong to run in the elections along with the dictator and even held the campaign “For elections without Lukashenka”.

– What would you advise the ordinary Belarusians who support the boycott strategy? How can they support the campaign?

– The country is in a classic economic crisis now, with mass unemployment, price growth and declining living standards. In these conditions, most Belarusians will not participate in the “elections”, because they don't believe the authorities and don't think the government can improve their life. They won't go to polling stations. We saw it in 2012 during the so called parliamentary elections and later at the local elections.

Those who want to respect themselves and not to sit on a coach can do something to boycott both the elections and the authorities. About a million of Belarusians have access to a printer or a copier. Make two most simple leaflets: “Freedom for Statkevich” and “Boycott”, print 20 copies and put them into mailboxes at least in your block of flats. You can express your position on social networking websites. Most Belarusians have accounts in social network and can say “I don't go to vote” or reblog an article from an independent website. We live in the 21st century. There are enough opportunities to demonstrate your stance.

The main thing is not to yield to pressure from the authorities. They cannot make five or seven million people vote. They don't have such instruments.

Vasil Bykau once said the Belarusians are good at defence. The boycott of the dictatorship is an opportunity to show the best quality of the Belarusians – to be stubborn, persistent in your defence, resist pressure and attempts to fool them.

– Is there a danger that the “elections” will be recognised by the West and the dictatorship will be legitimated?

- If we see empty polling stations, if it will be recorded, Lukashenka won't see legitimisation. He won't be recognised.

Protests and a boycott have always been the best instruments against the legitimisation of the dictatorship. The “house of representatives” is not recognised because we had several successful boycotts of the so called parliamentary elections. Protests have always been a tool against the recognition of the legitimacy of “presidential elections”. Today's tools are the boycott and empty polling stations on the voting day.

– What strategy will the opposition have after the “elections?”

– The Belarusian resistance have had two main tasks during the last 20 years – struggling for freedom in the country and struggling for preserving Belarus's independence. We cannot say that one thing is more important than the other. We struggled both for freedom and independence. The threat to Belarus's independence is real today as never before. Russia's aggression in Ukraine shows that Putin and his regime are ready for everything to destroy the independence of their neighbours. We must be prepared for it. We must know how to defend ourselves. If it is necessary, we must be ready to defend the independence of our country by all means, including military ones, as it is required by the oath of allegiance taken by every adult man – to defend freedom and independence of the country with arms.

Boycotting the elections is the minimum exercise to get prepared for what we can expect further. You cannot stay aside. Putin's plans have been announced. They include “gathering of lands”, the restoration of the empire. Books of Russian geopoliticians say clearly that Belarus must become a part of Russia. We must resist it. Boycotting the elections today is an attempt of peaceful nonviolent resistance.

It is important for us to have allies who will support us in our struggle. We shouldn't forget that 2/3 of Belarus's borders are borders with EU countries and Ukraine, which wants to join the EU. However much Putin may invest in supporting the Lukashenka regime, most people voted for Sannikov and other pro-European democratic candidates at the 2010 elections. We must understand that we are not a minority. We are the majority.