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Monday, September 28, 2020
In her homeland of Belarus, Svetlana Alexievich opposes the head of state Lukashenko. But because the Nobel Prize in Literature fears for her safety due to the disturbing situation, she decides to leave the country. Now the 72-year-old is in Berlin.
The politically committed Nobel Prize winner Swetlana Alexijewitsch has left her homeland, Belarus, according to information from the dpa. Therefore, the 72-year-old woman was concerned for her safety. Alexievich flew to Germany aboard a plane operated by the Belarusian airline Belavia and landed in Berlin-Schönefeld.
The author is one of the sharpest critics of the ruler Alexander Lukashenko. She repeatedly asked for his resignation. As a member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council of the opposition in Belarus, Alexievich had to fear that, like his colleagues, he would be arrested or taken out of the country against his will. Now he decided to leave the country voluntarily. Western diplomats had previously campaigned for her protection, also setting up a security service after the writer felt threatened by Belarusian authorities at her apartment in Minsk. Alexievich had received many offers from abroad to get to safety.
Peace Prize winners from around the world also sympathized with the author and recognized her bravery. “She has done nothing but what she was awarded with the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade Association in 2013: speak the truth and lend a voice to all those who rebel against humiliation,” the statement said. “We stand in solidarity with Svetlana Alexievich and her colleagues in the Coordination Council and call for an end to intimidation and terrorist measures against them, as well as against the Belarusian people’s movement, which has been so peaceful until now.”
“We did not want a division in our country”
Alexievich, like most of the other members of the Civil Society Coordination Council, had recently been summoned for questioning. He recently complained publicly that his colleague at the Presidium, Maxim Snak, was arrested. Opposition activist Maria Kolesnikowa and others had previously been arrested. Two members of the Mesa had left the country under pressure from the authorities.
“First they stole our land, now they are taking the best of us,” Alexievich said recently. But hundreds more would come in their place. The country rises up against the apparatus of power. But it is not a coup, as Lukashenko claims. “We did not want a split in our country. We wanted a dialogue to begin in society.” People with young children also took to the streets because they were firmly convinced of victory.
At the same time, the Nobel laureate appealed to Russian intellectuals to support the “popular will” in Belarus. “Why are you silent? We only hear rare voices of support (…) Why are you silent when you see a proud small town kicked? After all, we are your brothers.”
