Andrzej Poczobut: Belarusians Will Bring Lukashenka to Justice for Coronavirus

The story of the pandemic could be his last one.

Belarus has become a leader among European countries in terms of coronavirus pandemic scale. Both the World Health Organization and European officials have already stated this. However, Lukashenka continues to persist. A large-scale parade and a concert in Minsk are preparing after the May holidays, which were held without any restrictions.

The situation is very difficult in the regions, too. Every day, regional and district cities provide with grim coronavirus statistics of the deceased.

What is the real scale of the pandemic in the country? How do western countries fight against COVID-19? What price will Lukashenka pay for his inaction during the disaster? Charter97.org addressed these and other questions to a well-known journalist, member of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andrzej Poczobut.

- The situation with the coronavirus in Belarus is getting worse. COVID-19 is taking many lives not only in Minsk but also in the regions. What is happening in Hrodna?

- It's hard enough to assess the situation in Hrodna. The official figures we receive are increasingly doubtful. True information we glean indicates an increase in morbidity in Hrodna region. Hospitals in the city are not yet as full as in the eastern part of Belarus, but there is a constant increase.

I try to limit all contacts. When Poland had already introduced quarantine, we still had many children on the playgrounds. There are none. Despite the May holidays, people sit at home.

A large part of the population is trying to isolate themselves. At the beginning of the pandemic, no one took it seriously, someone even liked Lukashenka's words that "there is no virus". Now there is an understanding of the seriousness of the coronavirus and the fact that people are dying from it.

- Your city borders with Poland. Do people compare the actions of the Polish and Belarusian authorities during the pandemic?

- There are different systems of power in Poland and Belarus. A politician in a democratic country, where the power depends on public opinion, cannot afford statements in the style of Lukashenka.

Accordingly, in any democratic country, a politician will fight for people's lives. Otherwise, he will simply not be a politician, nobody will elect him.

The situation in Belarus is different. The authorities have completely different values. They define what is good and what is bad. People cannot influence decision-making because of the lack of democracy in the country.

Therefore, Lukashenka declared that the economy came first. But the experience of previous epidemics shows that countries win when they introduce quarantine earlier.

Such countries have overcome the disease earlier and their economy has suffered less. If quarantine is delayed, people will die in much larger numbers and the economic impact will be more severe.

A factory in Lida has stopped because it quarantined employees. There are dozens of such examples. Enterprises halt operation although there is no quarantine. The management is forced to take such measures.

If you compare the two countries, Poland made the right decisions. They immediately introduced rather strict restrictive measures and managed to control the growth of the disease. In Belarus, the number of infected has sharply increased and continues to grow.

Again, I have no confidence in the figures. I'm not sure that they reflect the situation.

- You have recently written on Facebook: "Coronavirus is slowly but steadily kneeling Aliaksandr Lukashenka". What kind of problems will the dictator face?

- I meant how Lukashenka's and authorities' tone and actions changed. The situation is quite serious. I think he is aware of it. However, so much has been said that it is hard for him to save the situation. Lukashenka has lost his image. Even at a stage when I was not on a strict self-isolation, I talked to people and saw them shocked by his statements about the coronavirus. These people theoretically were among the possible electorate of Lukashenka. But he failed.

In Poland, the authorities are fighting to prevent people from dying; they are trying to limit the spread of the disease. They take tough measures, unpopular, but it has certain goals. Politicians explain to society why it is necessary to pay such a price.

Lukashenka is seeking excuses in almost all his speeches, holding discussions with Telegram channels, the Internet, the West, or someone else. He feels that the situation is bad.

- The ruler of Tajikistan - who denied the coronavirus - surrendered and introduced quarantine... How long will Lukashenka persist?

- I cannot answer this question. To give a prediction, one had to communicate with Lukashenka.

The height of morbidity in Belarus is expected in late May. I do not see any actions that would smooth this. To do so, one should make unpopular decisions, impose restrictions. We need to make sure that people limit all personal contacts. The virus does not walk on its own, people do this. If they limit contacts, they will limit the spread of the virus. I do not see such measures in our country.

Some people continue to live their ordinary lives. Cafes are still open, sports training continue. I see no reason for optimism.

Dissatisfaction and disappointment with the government were observed even before the pandemic. The coronavirus will only intensify these emotions. Then there will be a blow to the economy.

Given how many people have died and how many will die, the story of coronavirus will forever remain with Lukashenka. People who buried their loved ones understand that if restrictive measures were introduced immediately, they might still live. Their fate could have been different.

He will have to pay for his actions. He is already responsible for politicians who have disappeared. Now the situation with the coronavirus will be added.

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