Uladzimir Matskevich:Elena Tonkacheva’s presence in Belarus won’t influence the results of elections

Deportation of Elena Tonkacheva is a message to the society: thaw in Belarus-EU relations, some signs of liberalization, though only for Europe and only for rampant supporters of the regime.

On November 5 the head of the Department of Internal Affairs of Pershamaiski district in Minsk made a decision to deport the human rights defender Elena Tonkacheva. She is to leave Belarus within a month and is deprived of the right of entry for three years.

The head of the Legal Transformation Center “Lawtrend” received the notice of cancellation of the residence permit and consideration of her expulsion from Belarus on October 30. The reason for this decision of the authorities lied in administrative offences in the form of minor speedings while driving registered by cameras.

A Russian citizen Elena Tonkacheva has been living in Belarus since 1985, she finished school and graduated from university here; she has property, family, and permanent job here. With all the above-mentioned circumstances deportation of the human rights defendant for speeding seems to be a revenge of the authorities.

What are they revenging for? His opinion on the issue with “EuroBelarus” Information Service shared Uladzimir Matskevich, the head of the Board of the International Consortium “EuroBelarus”.

- Why Belarusan authorities are deporting the human rights defendant? Even the blind can see that speeding is only an excuse, not the reason.

- It is a formal reason that creative people from the Administration of the President have been looking for so that to get rid of the person unwanted for the regime.

Elena Tonkacheva is a notable figure is Belarus’ public life. And it is her actions and wide popularity that serve as reasons for her deportation.

After December 2010 Tonkacheva organized international commission that was investigating all facts of violations, repressions, tortures in regard to the participants of the peaceful protest action on December 19; after that Tonkacheva organized monitoring in courts, revealed numerous violations during hearings over the “Decembrists”. On the whole, she has never stopped active human rights activity though she has never interfered in the politics.

- Does it mean that the authorities are revenging for her work in 2010 and are trying to secure themselves on the threshold of the president campaign of 2015?

- It doesn’t look like a chief and principal reason. Perhaps the authorities are afraid of the professional monitoring organized by Elena Tonkacheva after December 2010 and are trying to get rid of the person who organizes qualified professional campaigns on the eve of the so-called elections.

- Tonkacheva’s deportation is a signal to us all, to the whole society. What is the essence of this signal?

- I might not be able to word this kernel of the problem. Thaw in Belarus-EU relations, certain signs of liberalization – it’s not for you, guys! Not for activists, not for the civil society, not for opposition. All that is only for Europe and only for rampant supporters of the regime. This is the message to the Belarusan society I saw in Elena Tonkacheva’s deportation.

- Belarusan National Platform has done a lot to prevent Tonkacheva’s deportation, but all in vain. Should we just accept it?

- Let us start from the fact that the National Platform is very weak and poorly consolidated. These were rather organizations in the structure of “EuroBelarus” Consortium than those in the National Platform that put efforts to Elena Tonkacheva’s defence.

We will support Elena Tonkacheva further on, we will try to take part in her future fate, even though we have no levers to influence the decision made by the authorities. No one has these levers – neither Europe that is ready to shut its eyes on minor offences and events, such as Tonkacheva’s deportation compared with geopolitical processes. And on the whole, Europe shouldn’t be interested in the deportation of a Russian citizen.

Russia itself needs no human rights defenders who underwent sever school in some other country – Russia doesn’t know what to do with their own human rights defenders.

We can’t possibly influence the decision of the authorities. But we want to take part in Tonkacheva’s future fate; we hope that her talent, professionalism will be demanded by Belarus, wherever she will be living.

 And of course, we will do everything possible to contest the decision about deportation.

Moreover, Elena has a daughter who is a Belarusan citizen and should be taken care of.

- Do you think that Elena Tonkacheva’s deportation is related to the forthcoming presidential campaign?

- Being a Russian citizen, Elena Tonkacheva wouldn’t be able to vote neither for Lukashenka nor against him. She has always been involved in human rights activity and wasn’t involved in politics. She has always been worrying only about human rights violations regardless of the ideology established in the country. It is stupid to think that Elena Tonkacheva’s presence will somehow affect the results of the political campaign called “elections”. That is why I flatly refuse to connect Elena’s deportation with political campaigns.