Sieviarynets vs Hubarevich: to boycott or not to boycott?

Deputy Chairman of the movement "For Freedom" Yuras Hubarevich, who stands against the boycott strategy, and Co-Chairman of the steering committee for creating the BCD party Pavel Sieviarynets, who is all for boycott, have told Euroradio whether it is worth it to take part in the parliamentary election-2012.

Euroradio: Alyaksandr Milinkevich, the leader of the movement "For Freedom", has said that as there are no elections in the country there is nothing to boycott. Well, if there are no elections, there is nothing to participate in either?

Yuras Hubarevich: Naturally, and I think that representatives of all political forces agree with this position. There are no elections in Belarus, but there is a political campaign which gives some advantages to its participants, excluding an opportunity to get elected and to become a member of the House of Representatives. 

Euroradio: There will be 110 electoral districts at the parliamentary election in Belarus. How many candidates is the movement "For Freedom" ready to provide?

Yuras Hubarevich: The movement "For Freedom" is not a political party so it cannot nominate candidates. We always support the candidates which are close to us by their convictions. We have adopted such strategy also for the upcoming electoral campaign at the session of the movement's council. The quantity of candidates supported by us will depend on the activity of other political forces and independent candidates. We can state the number of several dozens electoral districts all over Belarus. We don't have a goal to get someone elected to the Parliament as there is no hope that anyone will be elected fairly if no changes happen in the electoral practice.

Euroradio: CEC Chairperson Lidziya Yarmoshyna is convinced that the opposition will participate in the election as its financing depends on it. What would you tell her on that?

Yuras Hubarevich: We have come across the situations when Mrs. Yarmoshyna, to put it politely, lied, many times. Especially this concerns the numbers that she announced. Such statements are aimed at making the opposition boycott the election, as the boycott is the most beneficial thing for the current authorities now. The opposition's non-participation in the election will allow the authorities to legitimize the House of Representatives.  In this case, only the pro-authoritative candidates will be presented at the electoral districts, and there are all the mechanisms available to grant the voters' turnout. As a result, the country will get 110 MPs elected in the first round and there will be no doubts about the transparency of counting votes. 

Euroradio: However, the authorities may use the opposition's participation in the election for legitimization of the Parliament, saying that the opposition did take part in the election but no one made it to the House of Representatives.

Yuras Hubarevich: A lot will depend on the opposition itself. When the authorities are ready to conduct an election in the country in full correspondence with their own legislation, when the candidates' rights are not violated, when representatives of parties are admitted to the election commissions, and observers are provided an opportunity to really watch the procedure of counting votes, then it will be the time to speak about the victory or failure of the opposition. However, we can say it even now that there will be nothing of the kind. 

Euroradio: The BPF party members are going to use the status of candidates for deputies to hold an informational campaign on the country's key issues. However, Statkevich and Sannikau, for example, do not have such an opportunity. What about the solidarity with political prisoners then?

Yuras Hubarevich: The best solidarity with political prisoners is dissemination of the information that they exist. Participation in the electoral campaign gives the opposition mechanisms to do this. Can you compare the audience of the independent web-sites with the audience of the state television, state local radio, local newspapers, and legal leaflets? I think that political forces should not inform just themselves and their adherents, but be oriented to the wider circle of the society.

Euroradio: The opposition uses elections to spread the information during each political campaign, but there are still no results. What will be the difference between the upcoming campaign and the previous ones?

Yuras Hubarevich: I wouldn't agree with such estimation. The opposition is still known in the society only because it comes out to the surface during big political campaigns. For example, if it wasn't for the TV-speeches of the candidates during the 2010 campaign, few people would imagine which personalities presented the Belarusian opposition, and what their intentions and aims were.

Euroradio: Aren't you afraid that after another defeat of the opposition the people will turn away from such politicians forever?

Yuras Hubarevich: We cannot speak for all the people here. We exist in the situation of the informational vacuum. According to independent sociologists, more than two third of voters trust the official data. Our aim today is to come to these people, who are disappointed by Lukashenka but do not see the alternative. Boycott is an unclear thing for them as it does not give any answers on who is guilty, what to do and how to solve the problems. We can get them only through the agitation campaign.

Meanwhile, Co-Chairman of the steering committee for creating the BCD party Pavel Sieviarynets thinks that the people will boycott the election themselves.

Pavel Sieviarynets: The BCD took the decision to prepare and conduct an active boycott. We give the regime time to think till March 25. Our terms are release of political prisoners, bringing the electoral legislation into correspondence with democratic norms, and registration of those parties and movements, which the regime stubbornly refused to register for several years, including the BCD. If these terms are not fulfilled, we start the campaign of the active boycott all over the country since the Freedom Day. As for those who want to play these games with the regime, I would like to remind them that nothing depends on them in any case. It is obvious that Belarusian people will boycott the election, no one will go there. After the three times devaluation of the Belarusian rouble, the economic disaster, after non-appearance of the people at the previous parliamentary election - who can speak of participation?

Euroradio: The opposition is again divided into two parts - those who participate in the election and those who boycott it. Will they find any compromise?

Pavel Sieviarynets: I think that the opposition should be with the people. When the people boycott the election, the main question for the opposition should be how to conduct this boycott most effectively. When someone invents different schemes of permanent participation/withdrawal of candidates on the last day, either because of fear or opportunity to get some money - this is all nonsense.

Euroradio: Juras Hubarevich has said that boycott will not release political prisoners. What do you think about this?

Pavel Sieviarynets: I saw this many times back in Maloye Sitna: when there is a question of elections, the whole brigade says they will not go there, and a special commission arrives from Polatsk on the spot and solves social problems, which made the workers angry. The only threat which makes the authorities fear now and made them fear then is boycott. The only role the opposition can play now is to organize this boycott. I consider any reasons for participation in the election immoral.

Photo: piratemedia.ru