The leader of the Belarusian political opposition in exile, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, declared, on Saturday 11 November in Málaga, at the congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES), that the European project will never be complete until Ukraine, Moldova and her country join the European family. The day before the International Day of Solidarity with Belarus, she tells EUROPE what the European Union can do to give more support to Belarusian democratic forces. In Málaga, the two Social Democratic parties in exile Hramada and Narodnaya Hramada - to which Ms Tikhanovskaya does not belong - have become members of the PES. (Interview by Mathieu Bion)
Agence Europe - There will be parliamentary elections next year in Belarus. What can the European Union do to support democratic forces in your country?
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya - What is happening in Belarus can’t be described as a parliamentary election. It’s a farce, it’s fake, because the Belarusian political landscape is empty. Political prisoners and people are detained. All political parties except Lukashenko’s parties are ruined. It’s like a political desert.
What I want from our European allies is to not recognise an imitation of parliamentary elections in our country. Lukashenko’s Parliament is not elected by the people. It raises hands when it’s told to raise hands.
Do you still expect people will go out and vote?
There is no interest in Belarus for this event. We, as democratic forces, we represent the people. After the 2020 elections, Lukashenko lost legitimacy. We’re building democratic institutions in exile. And we want to use this opportunity to organise elections within our coordination Council.
Are EU sanctions against Lukashenko’s regime effective? What more can be done?
Sanctions are not a silver bullet. But it’s an effective tool to deprive the regime of resources and to put pressure on the regime.
But the sanctions that exist now from the EU do not work effectively because of many loopholes. Lukashenko’s regime uses other countries, like Russia, to circumvent the sanctions. A mechanism of sanctions enforcement is lacking.
Everyone in the EU can see that imports to Belarus increased many, many times. It means they buy more to deliver to Russia. Russia exports goods to Belarus because sanctions on Russia focus mostly on imports and in Belarus mostly on exports. So they easily use themselves to circumvent the sanctions.
And we need more sanctions because there are still uncovered fields like the banking system and forestry.
The European Commission has just proposed to open the way, subject to conditions, for Ukraine and Moldova to start negotiations on EU accession (see EUROPE 13228/1). Do you support this step towards EU enlargement?
I believe that without Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, and also Georgia, the European project will not be over. This is why I am in favour of enlargement of the EU and, for sure, Belarus is part of this family.
We have launched a campaign for a ‘European Belarus’. Actually, people don’t know that Belarus historically belongs to Europe. It's only in the last 200 years that we’ve come under the influence of Russia. There is a perception that we’ve always been in this situation. No.
The sovereignty and the independence of Belarus can only be possible when we will not be under the influence of Russia.
We understand that applying for candidacy to the EU takes time. But we need to plant the seeds in people’s minds. If you think we are also part of the EU, help us with your expertise about reforms, standards we need to achieve in the future! So, for the process to be smooth and fast, we have to start the process now.
What would you say to those who think EU enlargement is going too fast?
The EU is a family. The most powerful families are the biggest ones. People should not think of countries that are not members that they don't deserve it , that they may be too far away.
The criteria should be: if you respect the values - like human rights and the Rule of law - if you do the reforms, you should be part of the family. Why not?
We’re hard working people who just want to be prosperous. We’re looking to Europe as an example. So you have to be proud that you are giving such standards to countries who want to be like you.
Are you afraid that the war between Israel and Hamas is diverting the attention and help of the European countries away from the Russian aggression?
Of course, I’m aware that Belarus is not on the highest level of attention.
There is still a duty to raise awareness. I also try to explain to people, politicians that all these crisis are part of one puzzle. Belarus, Ukraine and now Israel. We see how dictators are united against democracy. Their interest is to create new conflicts.
The war in Ukraine will not be over until Belarus is free.
At the European Parliament in September, you mentioned the possibility of issuing Belarusian passports abroad to people in exile. Can you elaborate on this?
At the beginning of next year, we will be producing the first specimen of our Belarusian passports. We will send them to governments and ask them to recognise them.
Already now we’re explaining to governments why it is important and why it should not be scary even if it’s unprecedented. This will take a burden off the shoulders of different countries where Belarusian people are located. We have a system of verification, we cooperate with governments and institutions that produce passports, we’re in contact with the European Commission (DG Near) so that this document corresponds to all security standards. So it’s not something we produce ourselves.
Actually, this project was very well received as a possible resolution for political actors who leave the country and ask for asylum.