German diplomat: Minsk should distance itself from Russia’s war not only in words

September 27, Pozirk. Minsk should distance itself from Russia’s war against Ukraine not only in words, but unfortunately this has not been done yet, former German Ambassador to Belarus Manfred Huterer has told Pozirk.

“It is obvious that [Alaksandar] Łukašenka does not want to send the army there,” said the diplomat, who served in Minsk in 2019-2023.

“Belarusian society is a peaceful society. It does not want to go to war with its neighbors. The majority of Belarusians are against this war. But those small symbolic steps the authorities are trying to demonstrate are not what we expect from Belarus.”

According to Huterer, Germany sees Belarus as Russia’s accomplice in the war: it “provided territory and strategic logistics” without which Russia would not have been able to attack Ukraine from the north.

“If you follow Łukašenka’s constant statements in the official media, he defends Russia and justifies this war,” he noted.

On the other hand, the Belarusian leadership sees that the war is not going according to Russia’s plan and is trying to somehow distance itself from it, he continued. Interested in European indulgences, Minsk presents itself as a peacemaker and defends itself by pointing to the army that stays at home.

The remarks were made yesterday in Berlin. Huterer spoke at the discussion “Three Years of Emergency State: Belarusian Civil Society in the Fall of 2023.” The event was organized by Razam, the association of Belarusians in Germany.

As a witness of the events following the presidential election in 2020, Huterer told BPN that the real number of people arrested for political reasons in Belarus since the vote “far exceeds the announced figure of 1,500 political prisoners.”

The diplomat stressed that Belarusian civil society is in a difficult situation. It has long been impossible to express an independent opinion, and many people have been forced to leave the country or have been imprisoned in the last three years.

The German visa center in Minsk is busy processing about 4,000 applications per month, and 40,000-50,000 people are waiting in line to get their visas, he said.

He added that the world and the German media have focused on Ukraine after focusing on Belarus in 2020-2021, but it is in the interest of Europe to remember and know what is going on there.

“The processes taking place in Belarus affect European interests in the field of human rights – not only the democratic values of the European Union, but also our strategic interests,” Huterer said.

In his opinion, the work of the Belarusian democratic forces and Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja is very important, because they always draw the attention of the West to the events in their country.

“We in Germany support this work so that they can continue it and give hope to the people of Belarus that an alternative development is possible,” the diplomat said.

He went on to say that in the summer of 2020, there was hope for a dialogue between the authorities and the democratic forces, but unfortunately it has not happened.

However, he expects that the time of a new Belarus will come, and “new contacts between the authorities and the opposition will become possible.” He concluded by saying that Belarus will eventually undergo democratic transformation.