Yauhen Afnahel: Lukashenka’s Accomplices Will Have Nowhere To Escape

The law-enforcers keep this option in mind.

Yesterday Lukashenka appointed a new deputy commander of internal troops. Colonel Khazalbek Atabekov became the deputy commander of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Atabekov participated in the dispersal of Square-2010 - then the soldiers of the internal troops behaved with the protesters most severely.

In March 2012, Khazalbek Atabekov was added to the EU sanctions list, but in 2015 the European sanctions were first suspended and then lifted altogether. Why does Lukashenka surround himself with the people of dubious reputation?

Сharter97.org applied to coordinator of the European Belarus civil campaign Yauhen Afnahel for a comment :

- This is not the first time that Lukashenka appoints people to senior positions who are not just personally devoted, but are complicit in his crimes. People who carry out illegal orders, beat demonstrators, use unjustified force against protesters. The dictator understands that such individuals will defend him to the very end.

There are not so many such people, even among the law-enforcers. Most follow the order, but do not cross the line, because they understand that they will have to answer for the crimes.

- Hard dispersals of peaceful protest actions and detention of opposition activists did not stop, even on the contrary. How should the international community react to such actions?

- Literally today, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Affairs Frederica Mogherini said that the falsification of elections in Venezuela is a sufficient argument for the introduction of EU sanctions.

Europe knows perfectly well that the "elections" in Belarus are taking place with violations of all generally accepted norms. European politicians are well aware of how the Belarusian authorities violate freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly. The EU is aware of kidnappings of opposition leaders and preventive arrests before protests. All of the above violations of the law are sufficient for the imposition of EU sanctions.

If we follow morality and European principles, then sanctions against Lukashenka's regime had to be introduced yesterday.

- After the Revolution of dignity in Ukraine, "Berkut", who executed Yanukovych's criminal orders, had to flee abroad. Someone fled to Russia, someone to Belarus. Do you think that the Belarusian law-enforcers keep such an option in their minds, that the situation in the country will change, and they will have to answer for their crimes?

- I think that they are all well aware and keep this in mind, especially those who have already been under EU sanctions. If the Ukrainian "Berkut" could escape to Russia and Belarus, the Belarusian law-enforcers should think about their future.

They are banned from entering Ukraine, and Russia has enough of its problems. Lukashenka's accomplices will have nowhere to escape. Human rights organizations and the media systematically record violations of human rights. In free Belarus, this will be the basis for the lustration of the law enforcement agencies.