"50-80% Of Law Enforcement Agents Are Against Lukashenka"

A former diplomat has talked about what's going on inside the system of power.

Former diplomat Valeryj Kavaleuski, who used to work at the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, told Radio Svaboda about his work with security officials and the sentiments among them.

- According to our information, the opposition in the law enforcement agencies of Belarus amounts to 50% to 80%. A lot of law enforcement officers are against Lukashenka. No doubt they cannot be satisfied with the state of affairs which has developed after August 9. The prestige of the profession has fallen dramatically, many of them have had to respond to public criticism which has resulted from the actions of riot police, Almaz, other special units which have used violence.

What happened in Akrestsina, in Zhodzina, has been done not by everyone, but by a small part of the Interior Ministry employees, yet almost everyone has to answer for it. Everyone receives this negative feedback from the Belarusian society. Certainly, it affects the morale, the way people see their future in the law enforcement system. And we try to show the law enforcement officers that they are not superfluous people in Belarus and won't be the ones.

When the changes and the new Belarus come, there will be a place for all of them in the law enforcement agencies or wherever they want to belong. If these people have not committed grave offenses or crimes, and have not broken the law, there will definitely be a place for them. The people who have committed grave and especially grave crimes will get a fair trial. I emphasize: a fair trial, not the Lynch Law. Everyone else will retain their social packages. They won't have to pay their contracts or pay back their tuition. We want them to be sure that when Lukashenka leaves, when he leaves office, the new Belarus will not be something uncertain, risky for them, and will not threaten their interests and the interests of their families...

A great many people who have tried to quit, to get out of the system, publicly or non-publicly, have faced serious problems. They can't get a job and are met with negative feedback from the community. It's difficult for them. We can't ignore the practical problems in the lives of enforcers who choose to leave. Those who stay in the system keep track of those who have left, their fate, their place in society at this point. And we want, as much as possible, to help them solve these problems, so that the transition is not that painful.