Ivonka Survilla to Dalia Grybauskaitė:
”Lukashenka Is the Main Threat to Sovereignty”
The head of the Rada of the BNR, Ivonka Survilla, sent an open letter to the president of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė about her statement on the priorities of the European Union concerning the elections in Belarus.
As is known, Reuters recently distributed information on the meeting between the President of Lithuania and Western diplomats accredited in this country. According to the agency, Dalia Grybauskaitė stated that Alyaksandr Lukashenka was the guarantor of political and economic stability in Belarus, as well as its independence. Therefore, in the opinion of the Lithuanian president, victory of the present head of Belarus in the upcoming elections on December 19th, would be the best option for the EU.
On this occasion, the head of the Rada of the BNR, Ivonka Survilla, sent an open letter to Dalia Grybauskaitė.
“Belarusian society anxiously noted your unconditional support for Alyaksandr Lukashenka as a presidential candidate who, despite the good will of the EU, does not fulfill the conditions of Europe on the political system and human rights in Belarus, but also stubbornly continues to destroy the national values of the Belarusian people.
Madam President, your position is motivated by the desire for stability. Let me remind you about recent episodes, which have shown that solidarity with supporters of democracy may have far more positive results than the desire to maintain stability. It was Vilnius where the Belarusian Popular Front held its first congress in 1989, thanks to the invitation of the then government of Lithuania, which put forward the idea of restoring Belarusian independence. In January 1991, when Gorbachev decided to introduce “a state of emergency” in Lithuania to destroy the independence of Lithuania, Moscow’s army attacked the television center in Vilnius, killing innocent civilians. The Kremlin explained these actions by the need to “maintain stability” in the Soviet empire. In those days, a group of deputies of the Belarusian parliament visited Vilnius, and a deputy of the faction of the Popular Front Siarhei Naumchyk made a speech in the Lithuanian parliament with words of solidarity and called on members of foreign parliamentary delegations not to leave the building until there was a threat of assault. In those days, Belarusian national forces supported Lithuania at a critical time, despite the wishes of the Kremlin. Let me also remind you that many in the West tended to justify the actions of Gorbachev, who they thought was a guarantor of stability.
History, however, made other arrangements – it was solidarity among national movements that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet empire.
President Lukashenka has insulted the national symbols of Belarus, eradicated the national culture, closed Belarusian schools, instituted total Russification - this gives grounds to believe that Lukashenka has not changed his attitude towards Belarusian Independence. And Lukashenka was and remains a major threat to Belarusian sovereignty”- Ivonka Survilla said.
This article appeared in
Belarusian Review, Vol. 22, No. 4
---------------------------------------------
Copyright 2010 Belarusian Review
All rights reserved.
belarusianreview@hotmailcom
|
Source: Charter 97 Press Center, November 19, 2010
|
|
|
