{"id":11524,"date":"2023-01-30T11:03:10","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T08:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/lukasenka-wants-to-enjoy-victory-seeing-opponents-on-their-knees\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"lukasenka-wants-to-enjoy-victory-seeing-opponents-on-their-knees","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11524\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka wants to enjoy victory, seeing opponents on their knees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka on January 24 invited political opponents, who fled Belarus for fear of persecution, to return at the mercy of Prosecutor General Andrej \u0160vied, who is to decide whether returnees should be sent to prison or integrated back into society on condition that they ask the Belarusian ruler for forgiveness and pledge to be loyal to him in the future. The move comes as his regime continues its ruthless campaign of terror against its critics.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n

Is \u0141uka\u0161enka concerned about exodus?<\/h2>\n

\n\t The announcement came as a surprise because officials appeared to be happy until recently to see opponents flee the country in large numbers.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In August 2021, the Belarusian leader said that youths who studied abroad should not come back because they were already foreign \u201cagents.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t His government has recently enacted a law that allows authorities to annul citizenship of Belarusians who fled from criminal prosecution.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t However, on January 24 \u0141uka\u0161enka said that the return program was in response to demand \u201cfrom a section of our society.\u201d \u201cWe don\u2019t need create additional points of tension,\u201d he added.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The Belarusian leader might be concerned about the economic impact of the emigration.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t For instance, the Eurasian Development Bank reported in December that the Belarusian IT sector\u2019s decline accelerated to 10 percent year on year from January to November.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Meanwhile, countries that give emigrants shelter stand to benefit from the inflow of skilled labor.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Lithuania, for instance, has collected more income taxes, Elijus \u010civilis of Invest Lithuania told the LRT radio station last month.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The average salary of newly arrived IT workers is 2.7 times higher (reaching up to \u20ac4.900) than the official average salary of Lithuanians (about \u20ac1.799), he noted.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t A record number of Belarusian IT companies relocated their staffs to Lithuania in 2022. EPAM Systems expanded its local office from 320 to 1,500 employees; and Wargaming, from 400 to 1,000.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t This year’s relocation involved mainly companies that wanted to leave Belarus for good and cut all their ties to the country, Delfi<\/span><\/a> <\/span>reported quoting \u010civilis.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Belarus\u2019 health sector has also been affected by the exodus. Health Minister D\u017amitry Pinievi\u010d said in late January that severe healthcare staff shortages persisted across the country.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Incidentally, Belarusian officials have a few brilliant ideas how to use the returnees to improve government finances. The prosecutor general made it clear that those who come back might get away with doing something wrong by paying hefty fines.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The approach in nothing new. Dev.by<\/span> reported earlier this month that law enforcers had allegedly identified IT professionals who made donations to BySol, a foundation that helps victims of persecution, from their Facebook accounts. Law enforcers allegedly demand that the identified IT workers make donations to government-controlled charities or face criminal prosecution for alleged extremism financing.\n<\/p>\n

Attempt to humiliate critics<\/h2>\n

\n\t The conditions set out by officials are unlikely to lure many professionals back to Belarus. The program is more imitation rather than a real solution.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s primary purpose seems to be to humiliate and vanquish his political opponents. He said he was ready to pardon only those who \u201cstumbled\u201d and reformed.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cThose who are willing to live in peace, to create for the good of their country, should not be rejected by society . . . We should make a step to meet them halfway, those who stumbled but have changed their mind, not to shut our door on them,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He pointed out that \u201cthose who come back from prisons or abroad\u201d should be even \u201cbigger \u2018jaba\u0107kas\u2019 [a derogatory word for \u0141uka\u0161enka stalwarts] than those surrounding us today.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cFor those who have come to regret and repented, a public statement is a must. And then we \u2013 together with people, the public, journalists and bloggers who were on the frontline \u2013 will decide what to do with them,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Clearly, he is not satisfied and wants to get more revenge after suppressing protests against his rule. He does not see the enemy defeated. He wants to see a big white flag raised on the other side of the barricades. Confession videos of his opponents filmed under duress are not enough to make him happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka on January 24 invited political opponents, who fled Belarus for fear of persecution, to return at the mercy of Prosecutor General Andrej \u0160vied, who is to decide whether returnees should be sent to prison or integrated back into society on condition that they ask the Belarusian ruler for forgiveness and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11524","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u0141uka\u0161enka wants to enjoy victory, seeing opponents on their knees | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka on January 24 invited political opponents, who fled Belarus for fear of persecution, to return at the mercy of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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