Volha Nikalaichyk: Time To Put Lukashenka In His Place

When we fight, the power retreats.

Civil activist, movie director Volha Nikalaichyk has told this to the website Charter97.org, summing up the results of the outgoing year.

- The most important event in the year 2018 is the statement on closer “integration” with the dangerous Eastern neighbour. This has become the main challenge for our country and its independence.

- In your opinion, how the events will develop in 2019, and how to cope with this challenge?

- Unfortunately, there are no patriots of Belarus at power now. Therefore, it won’t be easy to influence this process.

We can defend independence only with joined forces.

First, we need to join forces with the European community and Ukraine. We need to see these state as role models, learn from them, support them – in the independent media, when setting priorities, when choosing places to go on vacation in the end of it all.

Secondly, we need to come out to the streets of our towns and cities. Demonstratively, on the days connected with the glorious dates of our history and independence.

We have to come out with peaceful actions on the Freedom Day on March 25, and on the Day of the Belarusian Military Glory on September 8. And it should not be 10, 20 or 200 people, but dozens of thousands, so that the whole world could see that we are fighting for our independence, that our statehood has a long history.

Our entire history shows that we could successfully confront enemies from all sides. So let's show that we are worthy of our ancestors and go under our white-red-white flags and the “Pahonia” coat-of-armsd to the streets of our cities.

Lukashenka is now doing everything to make our national spirit as less visible as possible for the “senior”, from his point of view, eastern neighbor. Most of all, the authorities are afraid that on March 25, on the 101st anniversary of the Belarusian People’s Republic, one hundred thousand people could take to the streets of Minsk to defend independence.

They are trying to neutralize the leaders of popular protests - Mikalai Statkevich, Yauhen Afnahel, Uladzimir Niakliaeu, Maksim Viniarski - so that we don’t take hundreds of thousands of people to the streets and don’t show that there are a lot of people who can defend the independence of Belarus.

- Kalinouski said, “Only then, people, will you live happily when there is no Moscow above you.” And in your opinion, when will Belarusians be able to live with dignity?

- Then, when people will fight for their rights. When we begin to fight for our rights - the power retreats. And next year, we will unite with those who are fighting for their rights, because it is time to put this power headed by Lukashenka into place.

And most importantly, after the victory, we have to choose a new, popular power that will serve the people, not the feedbox and the gang.