Siuchyk: It was easier for me in comparison with Syarhei
Vyachaslau Siuchyk, one of the first political prisoners and the first person to have gone on hunger-strike in jail, compares his imprisonment
to Syarhei Kavalenka’s situation.
Euroradio: You were detained after Chernobyl Way in 1996. You are a political emigrant in Ukraine now. What advice could you give to Syarhei Kavalenka in his situation?
Siuchyk: Firstly, I would like to express solidarity with Syarhei and his family. We are proud of such heroic Belarusians struggling for our national values. We feel anxious about Syarhei. He should stop the hunger-strike as his situation is merciless. My colleagues and I do everything to inform Ukrainians about Syarhei Kavalenka’s situation. A lot of information about Belarusian political prisoners is available.
Euroradio: Do you organize information campaigns? Or distribute leaflets in mass media?..
Siuchyk: We do it too. We take part in various events dedicated to Belarusian political prisoners organized by our Ukrainian colleagues. Syarhei Kavalenka is the first person we mention now. Ukrainians understand very well what a national flag is. They know what is going on in Belarus, so, Ukrainians express solidarity with Belarusians even if they do not support the Ukrainian opposition.
Euroradio: Many sympathetic people are asking Kavalenka to stop the hunger-strike in their letters. Judging by your experience, why did you go on hunger-strike? How do you think, why is Syarhei Kavalenka on hunger-strike and will he stop it?
Siuchyk: It was easier for me in comparison with Syarhei. Belarus had a parliament back then. I went on hunger-strike so that other people would not be jailed. I would not have stopped it if I had not been released. But I received a lot of appeals. People cared about me a lot, just like we all care about Syarhei Kavalenka.
Euroradio: Did you plan to continue the hunger-strike until death?
Siuchyk: I would not have stopped the hunger-strike. When the head of the detention centre summoned me, I told him that they could try to force me, but I would not eat anyway. They would have had to force me to eat as long as they could. The thing is, it was the beginning of the Lukashenka regime. The anti-constitutional overturn had not occurred so far. I had to prevent mass imprisonment.
Euroradio: How did your cellmates react to your hunger-strike?
Siuchyk: My cellmates were told that it would be bad for everyone if I did not stop the hunger-strike. I had to fight in the prison cell. I fought off.
Euroradio: What does it mean?..
Siuchyk: Who wants to be batoned? I had to explain that it would affect their future.
Let us remind you that CCP-BPF activist Syarhei Kavalenka was sentenced to 25 months in a colony for violating the “home penal labour regime” (he was sentenced to it for having hoisted a white-red-white flag on the main New Year’s Tree in Vitsebsk). Kavalenka has been on hunger-strike with little breaks since December.
