Opposition leader: integration with Russia undermines Belarus’ sovereignty

April 2, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka isolates Belarus and clings to Moscow as his last lifeline by selling off Belarus’ sovereignty, Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has said as Minsk celebrates what it calls the day of unity of Belarus and Russia.
The date is “perhaps the most cynical so-called holiday,” she said, referring to April 2, which marks 30 years since the signing of the treaty between Belarus and Russia that launched the integration process leading to the establishment of their Union State in 2000.
The proclaimed “unity” masks the gradual erosion of Belarusian identity and independence, the politician said on her Telegram channel. “In the Kremlin, they keep repeating the same line: ‘We are one people.’ But apparently, they mean specifically ‘Russian,’” Cichanoŭskaja said. “To them, the Belarusian language is just a dialect of Russian, and our unique culture. . . is reduced to a minor footnote in their rewritten, universal narrative of a ‘great and Russian’ world.”
Russia’s widespread presence in Belarus reflects the price Alaksandar Łukašenka has paid from Belarusian resources over three decades to stay in power, rather than a gesture of friendship, she said.
“Belarusians choose a different path,” Cichanoŭskaja stressed in a post on X. “Our unity is with Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine and all who stand for freedom. We will not stop fighting for our future.”
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