Minister of Foreign Affairs Uladzimir Makey has told journalists that if Belarus and the EU return to the situation observed immediately after the 2010 events, “there will be no third thaw,” TUT.by reports.
The journalists asked Makey if he is afraid that the rapid growth of the number of political prisoners in Belarus will lead to deterioration of relations with the EU. The Minister, in his turn, urged to be “more careful” with the term “political prisoners”. He notes that the very fact that the human rights center Viasna is dealing with this issue indicates “that there is an opportunity for activities of various organizations in our society, including opponents of the authorities”. “This proves that we are calmly moving towards democracy, towards human rights,” he added.
Makey noted that the EU representative, of course, “express their fear,” but the Belarusian side asks “that they, analyzing the situation in Belarus, make their conclusions based on an objective analysis of the situation (official and unofficial) and make appropriate proposals in their capitals on the basis of this analysis.
“I think that the mistake of many now – no matter external or internal forces – is that everyone thinks that the regime is weak. I say this both as the head of the Foreign Ministry and as a person. Everyone remembers 2010, when they also thought that the regime was weak, and now even more. I assure you that the regime is strong, calm and we are confident that the situation will be under control.
I understand that after that there will be a lot of criticism against me personally. I assure you that the regime is strong, calm and we are confident that the situation will be under control. We need to think that it’s better to commit some provocative actions (I’m not saying now that someone has already done that, but in theory), to cause actions, revolutionary actions, or to go through these elections,” said Makey.
“I am convinced that if there are undesirable events that will throw us back to 2010 or that will end up with results like 2010, there will be no third thaw. It will take much longer to restore normal relations with other countries than it did after 2010. As far as I am concerned, it is not profitable for society or the state,” he stressed.
