{"id":11521,"date":"2023-01-18T10:31:15","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T07:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/release-of-some-political-prisoners-would-give-a-boost-to-pro-democracy-forces\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"release-of-some-political-prisoners-would-give-a-boost-to-pro-democracy-forces","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11521\/","title":{"rendered":"Release of some political prisoners would give a boost to pro-democracy forces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n Family members of people imprisoned on politically-motivated charges in Belarus earlier this month urged world leaders to do more for the release of political prisoners, calling for negotiations as well as for public and non-public diplomacy. But critics warned the West against appeasing the dictator.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n

Response from opposition camp<\/h2>\n

\n\t Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja responded to the appeal, stressing her camp\u2019s readiness to engage with the regime on the matter.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka, however, looks down on his chief rival in the 2020 presidential race because he considers himself the victor.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In spring 2021, the Cichano\u016dskaja team announced that it was open for broad and comprehensive talks with the authorities and even collected hundreds of thousands approvals for the proposal in an online poll conducted by the Holas think tank. The Belarusian ruler ignored her overtures.\n<\/p>\n

No prisoners for exchange<\/h2>\n

\n\t \u201cEven in war time, prisoners have a chance of coming home,\u201d the relatives of political prisoners said, citing prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The opposition camp does not have any prisoners for exchange.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Cichano\u016dskaja and her associates have been working in the last couple of years to persuade the West to tighten sanctions against the Belarusian regime. The West, however, has been guided by its own interests as far as restrictive measures are concerned. Moreover, sanctions have not forced the regime to compromise.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka has always cast himself as a strongman who never caves in to pressure. He released political prisoners before as part of a strategy to ease tension with the West. He does not have any strategy now to strengthen ties with the West, but he might be interested in his international recognition.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t A number of democratic countries would not recognize him as president after the 2020 election marred by allegations of massive fraud.\n<\/p>\n

Crackdown continues unabated<\/h2>\n

\n\t Before 2020 Western countries imposed sanctions on the \u0141uka\u0161enka regime over alleged human rights abuses. After the annexation of Crimea by Russia, Minsk appeased the West by distancing itself from the Kremlin\u2019s aggressive policy.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The most recent Western sanctions came in response to the regime\u2019s role in engineering a migrant crisis at the Belarusian-EU border, the forced landing of a Ryanair passenger plane that provided air carriage services between two European capitals, as well as for its complicity in Russia\u2019s assault on Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The West bears more grudges against the Belarusian ruler, while he is much more dependent on the Kremlin than before 2020. \u0141uka\u0161enka can keep Belarusian troops from direct involvement in Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, but he cannot demand that Russia withdraw its troops from Belarus.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Moreover, \u0141uka\u0161enka is afraid to scale down his crackdown on dissent in Belarus for fear of a new public uprising.\n<\/p>\n

Some deals still possible<\/h2>\n

\n\t These circumstances make negotiations between the regime and the West highly unlikely, including bargaining on political prisoners.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Still, the regime has made some compromises recently. In the last two years, it freed US citizen Vital \u0160klaro\u016d, Swiss citizen Natalla Hersche, Aleh Hruzdzi\u0142ovi\u010d, a journalist with the US-funded Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, and Polish minority activists. Their release was achieved through diplomacy.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The relatives appealed to politicians to do more regardless of political prisoners\u2019 connections with Western countries.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Public and non-public diplomacy could help free some prisoners. Critics say that negotiations make no sense because the regime will take ten new prisoners for one prisoner released.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The relatives argue that \u201cevery political prisoner freed is a small victory that takes us a step closer to the main goal. If there is an opportunity today to save at least one person, we should do it. Tomorrow we will free others who could not be freed today.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In any case, it makes sense for the West to explore any opportunities for negotiations on political prisoners at least from the humanitarian viewpoint.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The opposition camp might need to review its statements and strategy to see whether the tough approach (more pressure on the regime, all or nothing) is still relevant.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Actually, the release of several dozen inmates could inspire opponents and save victims who simply rot in prisons.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Obviously, a massive progress on political prisoners can hardly be expected because \u0141uka\u0161enka would not make concessions unless the West compromises on its principles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN Family members of people imprisoned on politically-motivated charges in Belarus earlier this month urged world leaders to do more for the release of political prisoners, calling for negotiations as well as for public and non-public diplomacy. But critics warned the West against appeasing the dictator. Response from opposition camp Belarusian opposition leader […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11521","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRelease of some political prisoners would give a boost to pro-democracy forces | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN Family members of people imprisoned on politically-motivated charges in Belarus earlier this month urged world leaders\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11521\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Release of some political prisoners would give a boost to pro-democracy forces | 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