by Sarah Hurst
The three women who have energised opposition to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko this summer have made a video on the eve of tomorrow’s election calling on police and troops not to use violence against protesters but to join them to end the dictator’s 26-year reign. Conscripts chased down cyclists on the streets of Minsk last night and police made arrests again this evening, but people plan to protest in large numbers if the election result is falsified as expected. This is the transcript of the video address.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya: Belarusians, we love you. We love you all without exception. We don’t divide Belarusians into the people and the officials, or people in civilian clothes and black uniforms, or voters and members of electoral commissions. We’re all Belarusians. We’re all a family. If one of us falls behind we’ll hold out a hand. If someone has behaved dishonestly we’ll help them to correct it. If someone has behaved correctly we’ll be proud of you. We’ll never threaten you, scare you or blackmail you. Above all, we’ll never take the country for ourselves. Because Belarus doesn’t belong to politicians, presidents, parties or groups. Belarus belongs only to itself and to its people.
When someone says that he won’t give the country to another government we don’t understand those words. To whom will he not give it? How will he not give it? Did someone really give it to him so he could give it away? Has someone really privatised us to give us away? Are we really someone’s property? This government is against the privatisation of companies but has privatised the whole country. Belarusians aren’t property, and the country shouldn’t belong to one person.
Recently there have been a lot of conversations about a strong leader. Who is a strong leader? It’s all very simple. It’s a person who doesn’t need to keep millions of people in fear to remain president. It’s a person who doesn’t need to organise schemes to inflate the turnout, replace ballot papers and fake votes to remain president. It’s a person who doesn’t need to use physical force or moral pressure to remain president. It’s a person who doesn’t need to throw candidates, their children and associates into prison to remain president. It’s a person who doesn’t need false testimony and dishonest verdicts to remain president. It’s a person who won’t destroy everything in his path to remain president. This list could go on for a long time, but we won’t take an hour and a half of your time.
A strong state isn’t built on violence
Veronika Tsepkalo: Belarusians, we are proud. What you’ve done in this country is fantastic. We’ve never seen anything like it. Belarus has woken up and won’t fall asleep again. We just need to gently wake those who are still snoozing. Our civic position impresses and inspires the whole world. All the cameras, microphones and eyes are on us now. And those are inspired looks. These events will go down in world history, they’ll stay in our textbooks, our hearts, our statues and our films. You’ll tell your children and grandchildren about this summer.
Belarusians, you have beautiful faces. Sincere, bright, brave. This government says that it’s our reflection, the face of the people. But the face of Belarusians isn’t distorted with rage when talking about the people. There’s no hate on the face of Belarusians when talking about opponents. There’s no anger on the face of Belarusians when talking about possibly losing a seat. We have open smiles on our faces and love and bravery in our eyes.
Belarus is a country of strong people. The government says that a strong state is the trend today. But a strong state isn’t built on violence. It comes when the government respects the people and their will, follows the law, doesn’t lie and isn’t pushy, doesn’t insult citizens, cares about their health, well-being and safety, and doesn’t give criminal orders or force others to carry them out. Now ask yourself, do we have a strong or a brutal state? Belarusians are smart and talented people. All these years we ourselves have created incredible things, not because of it but in spite of it, we’ve built businesses, made discoveries, revived our culture, come up with projects, manufactured world-famous products, built homes, brightened the world around us, raised children and taught them to do the right thing. Just imagine how much we could have done, to what heights we could have risen if obstacles hadn’t been put in front of us, orders hadn’t been given, restrictions not been placed on us.
This government tells us who we are and tells us what we should do. But we don’t want to be told about ourselves. We know who we are and we know our value. We don’t want to be ordered around. The president should listen to the people, not tell them what to do.
Belarusians can’t be deceived
Maria Kolesnikova: Belarusians have a broad worldview and logical way of thinking. We easily find reasons and consequences, it’s hard to deceive us. We have eyes and ears, we’re curious and you can’t mislead us. You don’t have to tell us that the whole world is in dirt and chaos, Europe’s on fire, and we should be happy that there’s no war. True, due to the pandemic Belarusians haven’t been abroad for a long time, but not for so long as to believe that.
Belarusians are people of honour. Troops, law-enforcers, people in uniform – these are examples of courage and defenders of our country. Defenders of the people and their will, not the government of a specific person. It’s they who are the guarantee of our independence and the stability of our homeland. Law-enforcers don’t need handouts or promises of flats. They should have all this by default. People should want to join the army, they should be proud of serving in the army. These people will always be valuable to us, we need them, they stay with us no matter who is in government. We will be proud of them and their courage.
Recently in one of the towns two policemen came up to me. They smiled and thanked me. One of the guys said that his wife wouldn’t believe him when he said he’d met Kolesnikova. I offered to take a photo with him. Unfortunately he refused. He said, I can’t for now. I hope that we’ll soon be able to meet in a country where taking a photo isn’t a crime. We aren’t afraid of law-enforcement, we’re proud of them and trust them. It’s not just that the police are with the people – the people are with the police.
Events will go down in history
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya: Belarusians are diplomatic and peaceful. We’re against violence in the streets and squares. We’re against clashes. We’re for honest, transparent elections. It’s important for us to preserve the life and freedom of our citizens. Our intentions are honest and sincere. We act with legal methods and believe in good and justice.
Veronika Tsepkalo: Belarusians, what do you dream about in your bed at night or on the grass at noon in the summer or in a seat in the Palace of the Republic during an address to the nation? You dream of a happy, rich life, about a safe and free country. The life that you deserve.
Maria Kolesnikova: We believe that the courage of the Belarusian people who refused to obey criminal orders will remain forever in the history textbooks, in articles on the internet and in people’s memories. We believe in you. This achievement of the people will live on for centuries. Belarusians, you are unbelievable! Things will never be the same again. We are together, and together we will win. The government says that Belarus is beloved, and you don’t give away your beloved. We say to them, love doesn’t come by force, and if you love us, let us go.