Exploding three myths

I am confident that the EU officials we have been dealing with know better. Nonetheless, many people in Western Europe cannot help but be influenced by a public discourse that applies negative and fundamentally wrong-headed stereotypes to Belarus.

There are three great myths that attach themselves to nearly all Western media coverage and commentary on Belarus. In no particular order, they are:

- That in liberalizing our economic and political systems, Belarussians are responding to Western pressure.

- That Belarus faces a choice of friendship between Russia and the West.

- That Belarus exists in some kind of time warp, as a miniature Soviet Union perpetuating Soviet ideals and objectives.

Let me try to dispose of these misconceptions one at a time.

Belarus truly is on a path to liberalization. But, while we are attentive to Western advice, the key drivers behind our evolution are domestic.

To understand this, it is necessary to comprehend something of the path Belarus chose following the breakup of the Soviet Union. We chose stability and social cohesion. Overwhelmingly, the citizens of Belarus wanted to avoid the chaos and gangsterism, the private greed at the expense of the well-being of society, the mass unemployment and poverty they could see plainly elsewhere in the former Soviet Union.

We developed our own model. Our efforts gave rise to an efficient system of state governance and social care, ensuring an appropriate level of well-being for citizens. We made our way, taking pains to learn from foreign experiences. By 2000, Belarus had become the first post-Soviet country to surpass - substantially so - the pre-collapse economic level.

Now, after a decade of robust economic growth, we have laid the foundations for the next stage of development. We have embarked on a program of liberalization that is intended to transform our economy and society.

Our goal is a modern, flexible and business-friendly economy based on innovation and open to inward investment. We have launched a series of initiatives to drastically reduce restrictions and bureaucracy. There has been fundamental reform of the tax system with, starting this year, a single unified income tax. Privatization is moving ahead. Business licensing and certification are being relaxed, along with other administrative and technical procedures.

We will do more, but already we are seeing positive results. In the World Bank's annual "Ease of Doing Business" table, Belarus has moved up 30 places over the past year. Our goal is to reach the top 30.

We understand the need for economic liberalization to go hand in hand with political reform and the opening up of public life. Again, much as we responded in the 90's to the aspirations of the society, we are responding now to the needs of the time and are introducing a consistent program of change to create a more democratic society. This means growing pluralism in the media. Major opposition newspapers have received access to state distribution, which makes them available to a majority of Belarussian readers. People here can easily watch foreign TV channels. Even basic packages of cable networks operating in virtually every city in Belarus offer a wide choice, including such popular news channels as Euronews, BBC and CNN.

The Internet is becoming a major source of information and a forum for exchanging views. According to the recent UN report "Internet Development and Governance in 2008," Belarus is among the leading Internet users in the region, with 34.8 percent of the population using the Web.

Liberalization means new, simplified procedures for registering political parties and other public associations.

Parliamentary elections in September saw many improvements, but we are aware that there is more to be done. Of course we hear what Brussels and Washington are urging on us. But even without their urgings, we would be following this course because we believe that this is in the best interests of our people.

Regarding the second myth: Our choice of friends. Some Western observers see diplomacy in black and white terms, a zero-sum exchange of one set of relationships for another. That is not merely primitive thinking. It is also unrealistic.

We want to develop a constructive and mutually beneficial partnership with the European Union, and are ready to discuss any problems in our relations consistently, in a step-by-step manner. Similarly, we seek a new and improved relationship with the United States and look forward to engaging with the Obama administration.

But Belarus is not going to develop relations with the U.S. or the EU to the detriment of our cooperation with other important partners, first of all, Russia. Those who push us in that direction simply do not understand our historical heritage. Belarussians would regard as disastrous a situation where their nation became a platform for confrontation between the East and the West. We want to be a bridge - and definitely not a buffer.

By Sergei Martynov

Published: February 23, 2009