Still under the spotlight

Three days after the elections of Sunday 19 March, which reconfirmed (with 82.6% of the votes) Aleksander Lukashenko as President of Belarus (the country he has led since 1994), the public protests of opponents of the regime continue. They accuse the leadership of electoral fraud and have called a mass national protest demonstration for next Saturday, 25 March, to press for a re-run of the elections. In the meantime the USA has reacted by speaking of elections held in an atmosphere of intimidation. The European Union is thinking of stiffer sanctions. Serious irregularities in the poll were also denounced by the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), by the Council of Europe, by the European Parliament and by NATO. Lukashenko, who has received the support only of Moscow, has for his part retaliated by warning Europe against any attempt to isolate Belarus, recalling that a large part of Europe’s gas supplies cross through Belorussian territory. It is a complex and uncertain situation. We discussed it with Father CLAUDE ROBINET of Vatican Radio . The protests of opponents of the re-elected President continue… “As Condoleeza Rice has declared, Lukashenko is the last dictator of Europe. He fiddled the elections: to obtain over 80% of the vote, he forced simple people in rural areas and the military to vote for him already in the previous week (14-19 March), before the introduction of international controls. The President also refused to issue visas to foreign observers, only allowing the Russians to enter the country. In spite of the climate of fear, the opposition led by his bitterest rival Aleksander Milinkevic (who obtained only 6% of the vote), is succeeding in bringing together hundreds of protesters every evening in Oktiabrskaia (October) Square in the capital Minsk. Tonight over 600 opponents of the regime are spending the night camped out in the square in sub-zero temperatures, and a mass protest rally is planned in Minsk at midday on Saturday 25 March, the day that once marked “Liberty Day”, a long-standing national holiday abolished by the current President. The demonstration is being called to ‘celebrate’ together the freedom to be regained”. Is a “reawakening” that might lead to something similar to the “coloured revolution” in Georgia and Ukraine conceivable? “Lukashenko says he is certain that won’t happen. The people of Belarus, moreover, have no self-awareness; Stalinism deprived them of their identity. But the protests of recent days demonstrate that there’s not only apathy in the country, and that the influence of what happened in Georgia and Ukraine is beginning to make itself felt, albeit timidly. Various citizens of Georgia and Ukraine, immediately after the electoral results, declared their intention to come to Belarus, but were denied entry. There is, however, a positive signal in the events of these days: despite the arrest of some demonstrators, the protests have not been suppressed”. What’s the real situation of the country? What’s the role of the Church? It’s a situation of great poverty. Pensions and wages are low: they rarely exceed 100 euros per month. But the most serious thing is the widespread climate of fear that also assails the Catholic Church, which therefore refrains from intervening and has reached a kind of modus vivendi with this President. The head of the Catholic Church in Belarus, Cardinal Swiatek, is subjected to constant pressure, but since he is 91 years old, many of them spent in Soviet gulags, it’s understandable he has no wish to return to them… Recently a Polish priest was expelled, accused of contacts with the opposition, but people are afraid to speak of the affair”. Is it possible to make any forecasts for the future? “It’s really difficult for the time being. We’re only at the beginning. On Sunday evening, during the demonstration in which some 5,000 people participated, there were fears of bloody repression. Thank God that didn’t happen. Let’s see what happens this Saturday: the opposition forces are asking for a re-run of the elections and asking for ‘justice and liberty’, the slogan adopted for the protests. As in recent days, the former red and white Belorussian flag, banned by Lukashenko and replaced by that of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus, will be brought into the square”. In your view, how is the West reacting? “The European Union is threatening economic sanctions to be added to the diplomatic sanctions already in force (e.g. refusal of visas to senior exponents of the Belorussian government). Unfortunately these new sanctions will only make the living conditions of ordinary people more difficult. I regard as very positive, on the other hand, the visibility that the West is giving to the situation through the media and my hope is that the spotlight will continue to be fixed on the country in the days to come and that news bulletins will continue to report on the situation there”. Fact File Belarus, a country covering an area of 207,600 sq km, has a population of some 10 million people. The overall GDP amounts to 18,697 million dollars, the per caput GDP is 2,170. The poor represent 27.1% of the population. There are some 1,200,000 Catholics in the country, distributed in 4 ecclesiastical provinces and 402 parishes. There are 6 bishops, 218 diocesan priests, 175 men religious, 354 women religious and 197 seminarians.