I Wouldn’t Mind a Conflict of Generations

On March 25 I was deeply impressed by a desperate determination of Belarusians.

Article of the leader of the "European Belarus" civil campaign Andrei Sannikov:

First Emotions

Honestly, I felt pain in my heart when Nyaklyayeu, Siuchyk, Vinyarski, Kulakou, and later Afnahel, Statkevich, Nikalaichyk were detained. Since heart problems were unusual for me I realized it was serious. I remembered March 2003, 15 years ago, and 85 years of Belarusian Popular Republic. Cold cells of Akrestsina prison, I was there with Lyenya Malakhau, Zmitser Bandarenka and Lenchyk Navitski. There were homeless, informers, water was ice cold near to a sewage hole.

And now it's the centenary those arrested decided to celebrate. To celebrate, not to protest. And once again this feeling of helplessness before the grey blur where silhouettes cannot be distinguished.

What about the concert? After all, people just want to separate themselves from this blur No, the concert is needed. It will be great. It would be not the real one, but let it be. Let there be flags, families. Families are important.

And then the brutal clean-up of Yakub Kolas Square happened. I deeply impressed by the determination of people. They saw people were captured at the slightest suspicion, and all the same, they approached to these grey "animals" with posters, flags and leaflets and then went to paddy wagons. One, two, three, ten, twenty - a lot of them... It was a silent and desperate determination of Belarusians. It was not pretended.

In the regions Karpauna was arrested, bloggers were detained, and Belsat journalists suffered pressure again. It was cold. You know, everything can happen as soon as people step into the territory of these "animals". And again, this aching feeling of helplessness.

The concert began. I wish I could see it. At least just as a document of the day, of the time. For a long time I could not understand how many people were there. The picture disappeared all the time. Later I could see that there were a lot of them. Great! Flags are visible!

I did not see the concert. Apperently, I switched on in the most unfortunate moments, when I wanted to switch it off. The presenters and commentators were not matching my emotions. But it’s individual.

The Time for Logic

I really want to leave 2010 behind, but it does not work. Not my 2010, but that year in the history and political development of Belarus. My year will stay with me forever. But those events were pretty significant for our further life. In prison and after the release it seemed that everyone saw everything. We were arrested, beaten, tortured, thrown in jails. It seemed that there was no place for tricksters to hide. That the informers, who gave themselves away especially in the first days of the dictator's December madness, do not have the right to be on the side of the Belarusians. And it does not matter when the turning point came, they should have fallen into oblivion.

After December 19, 2010 little time passed from the historical perspective, when this group of nondescript people has become the most noteworthy service team of Lukashenka in the opposition environment. After a while, they became newsmakers in the majority of "independent" media. It does not require any details. I think it is pretty clear who they really are.

But it doesn’t help us to break through the suffocating unfreedom.

And here it is better to look at the organization of that very concert from the point of view of logic. And not even at the split that occurred in the organizing committee, which was seen live. It was appropriate, and as far as there was a discussion, it was even interesting. But later it turned out that the part of those in the dispute were actors and were aware of the entire scenario, the others missed the picture and were nervous because they couldn’t understand what was going on. At some moment Belarus, as such, disappeared from the discussion. It was done professionally. This key topic gave the floor to the invented conflict of generations. Somehow the unknown took the floor and made the agreement with the regime clear.

The rest is paperwork. Lukashenka's team created in the opposition did their job. People on conditional discharge after 2010 rushed to whisper with regime controllers. The job was done. The quickest ones managed to visit Brussels and present the concert as the new era of democracy.

- What do you like?

- I like the concert!

- So likewise!

And then the well-coordinated team of stoogers began selling this whole crap as a conflict of generations.

I would accept this conflict of generations. If it had a place, it would be very much to the point. But there was nothing of this kind at all. It was a police operation as it is called in prisons.

The bottom line

It's great that thousands of people gathered with our flags and symbols in the center of Minsk on March 25. It's great that there were people who could arrange technical conditions for at least some kind of concert. It's great that thousands of Belarusians could shout out "Long live Belarus!" It's a great joy that some political prisoners were released by the evening.

And what was wrong?

Nothing changed or even got worse.

It was strange to observe passions about the opposition in connection with the organization of the concert. There was no split in the opposition. Unfortunately, no generational breakthrough happened. A group of young people, unclear for me, performed the function of yet another mass event organizer. The group of actors provided with a kind of political cover for this event. What is the role of opposition?

Opposition only indirectly depends on specific names. In fact, this is the concept and principles. Under dictatorship this concept and principles determine the whole content and meaning of the actions of individuals. This is not Statkevich, Afnahel, Nyaklyayeu, Mikalaichyk, Kulakou, Siuchyk, and so on and so forth who cannot live without marches and demonstrations. This is the duty of the opposition, which strives for the change for the better. All the rest is irrelevant, as Skaryna would say.

In Belarus there one more group of mass event organizers was established working by order notable for readiness to use national symbols. I wish them good luck. Compared with the "national assembly" show this is really a step forward.

All would be nice if at least some communication with the regime would become possible through these efforts. But they still serve only to retransfer orders of the authorities. For now, it's just an outflow valve.

Of course, we need concerts. With our flags, without arrests, prisoners of conscience and lawlessness of law enforcement officers, with "Long Live Belarus!" sounding like one voice of a strong free man. It will be in free Belarus. We need freedom for everyone not for some specific groups. And those who fight for it will win it for everyone.

Andrei Sannikov, specially for Charter97.org

Photo by people.onliner.by