Cichanoŭskaja adviser: authorities do not see sanctions as strong enough to make concessions

December 23, BPN. The authorities in Minsk do not yet feel that the threat of sanctions is strong enough to make concessions, said Franak Viačorka, a senior advisor to Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja.

In his Telegram channel, he said that in “recent decades, political prisoners have been released mostly under pressure.”

“When [Deputy Assistant Secretary of State] David Kramer came to Minsk [in 2007] and threatened powerful US sanctions, political prisoners were released within months,” the advisor to the opposition leader said.

Speaking about the current situation with political prisoners, Viačorka said that since August 2020, “all available mechanisms” have been used and “many attempts have been made to get them released or have any kind of dialogue on the issue.” In particular, “certain attempts” were made by Special Envoy Kent Harstedt during the Swedish OSCE presidency, but nothing came of it. In addition, UN officials handed over humanitarian release lists.

“Several European ambassadors who continue to work in Minsk personally met with [the now deceased Foreign Minister Uładzimir] Makiej on the subject. A PACE representative continues to communicate with the foreign ministry in order to get them released or at least start this process,” Viačorka said.

He said the Swiss Center for Humanitarian Dialogue has been trying to hold “consultations on the release of political prisoners” in Minsk for two years, to no avail.