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And from now on it will be different. Dori Belarusians won’t even want to remember that they had been forgiving or forgiving that person’s work for so many years.
By the way, “A” determines “B”. That was “yesterday” and it was actually yesterday, not last year. The breakthrough happened suddenly, in a few dozen hours. A self-respecting person is afraid to recognize himself yesterday: trustworthy, deceived. Rather, you will face beatings and harassment with dignity. Never get stupid again. On Saturday, “batka” could still look like a “boring old man.” Now he is a monster who has organized a “pretext” for the nation. How else, if not in the “jargon” of the area, can the horrible actions of the power structures be called out against innocent and peaceful people?
I think their big mistake was the belief that modern media could be stifled and that power structures would function in a ‘dark bag’. Social networks were blocked and Internet connections were interrupted. However, a wave of protests relentlessly spread from Minsk across the country. Another characteristic of self-confidence is that it will isolate the opposition. And the term “opposition” itself proved ineffective. The opposition now belongs to everyone, to the entire nation. The nation had to declare war … It is no longer enough to isolate dozens or dozens of the most active members of the opposition: thousands are being crushed in prisons and temporary detention centers.
On the night of January 13 we were crushed by tanks, but these were clearly FOREIGN tanks.
So Belarus has changed. We must and we change the tone. The Lithuanian people have much to compare with the events of recent days in Belarus. The Kalanta events of 1972 in Kaunas “attacked” my generation. The Anas mode worked exactly the same way. It started with people carrying flowers and the militia throwing them away. It started last Sunday when Belarusians tended to check how they were voting, to see the specific number of secret votes (they were told that the vote was secret and the votes were counted fairly). In both cases, the onset was completely spontaneous. In both cases, it turned into a bloody repression.
On the night of January 13 we were crushed by tanks, but these were clearly FOREIGN tanks.
Yes, in all these cases, that brutal force remains the same. And yet those historical examples are only partially adequate to describe the current situation. The determination of the people of Belarus has no analogies. We act against a brutal but alien force. And what should be the horror and rage when those who yesterday you thought are protecting and protecting you are working against you? We have not experienced it.
He addresses me as a Member of the European Parliament: do something! I can guarantee it: the absolute majority of the Members of the European Parliament are on the side of the people of Belarus. Why wasn’t it clear that this wasn’t a choice, but just a sham?
What actions to suggest?
The institution of “national reconciliation” – a good idea, that yesterday’s “batka” could serve as a lifeline – while still in Belarus there are those who think it should be negotiated. Do you still hope that after a day others won’t call you “gone” …
What I would refrain from “teaching” the Belarusian people is that I still need to “mature” my society. Approve the “vote count”? And what was there to tell? And advising on something else is not really easy. How to help that natural and powerful resistance of the nation gain structure? Belarusian society itself must be able to do this. Of course, civic organizations in Belarus must be supported in every possible way. They are the long-term support that will give continuity to the processes.
Today, August 14, a remote meeting of the Council of Ministers of the European Union takes place. It should declare the elections illegitimate and offer the dictator Lukashenko the opportunity to hold new elections under international observation. This would help break the information blockage, the global falsification of results. Yesterday’s “batka” should understand that this is the most acceptable solution for him.
The European Commission and the other institutions will undoubtedly reconsider how best to deal with the current situation. Need to offer accurate and timely solutions. For example, the decision on a visa-free regime was timely and appropriate. Demands for an end to the violence and the release of detained protesters should be a precondition for negotiations, not a “currency in exchange for the lifting of sanctions” as before. It is necessary to help break the information blockage and toughen penalties.
Both Lithuania and the whole of Europe will need a lot of knowledge and patience, precise actions in the dramatically changing geopolitical situation in our region.
Liudas Mažylis is a member of the European Parliament.
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