Uladzimir Matskevich: We need a dialogue, not uproar

The objectives of the European Dialogue on modernisation with Belarus can be set only by the very Belarusians. This way Uladzimir Matskevich, the head of the Board of the International Consortium "EuroBelarus", responded to the criticism of the EU...

The objectives of the European Dialogue on modernisation with Belarus can be set only by the very Belarusians. This way Uladzimir Matskevich, the head of the Board of the International Consortium "EuroBelarus", responded to the criticism of the EU initiative.

After the second round of meetings of four expert groups, working in the framework of the Dialogue on modernization, the criticism of the initiative was heard as for the lack of any clear goals. Like, "the main problem of the European dialogue on modernization with Belarus is the definition of objectives… Belarusian experts that entered the four thematic working groups, can not have a clear understanding of what is expected of them".

- Why do Europeans have to wait for something from us, and to set goals for Belarusians? The Europeans have created the conditions, possibilities. And the objectives can be set only by the very Belarusians, commented Uladzimir Matskevich for the Information service of "EuroBelarus".

If you have something to say, if you have goals - come to the dialogue. But, according to Matskevich, three quarters of people invited to the working groups of the Dialogue, had no goals, no ideas, no opinions. And the members of the first working group - "Political dialogue and reform" - tried not to let these people take the initiative and did not start once again repeating the many stupidities about the political reforms that have been heard in Belarus for more than ten years.

It is namely the group of "Political dialogue and reform" which is setting objectives for all other groups. After all, the political objectives of the "Dialogue on modernization" are of paramount importance.

- In general, what is the purpose of the proposed dialogue? It is for that the forces in Belarus to define that would be ready and able to hold the dialogue on achieving common positions within the proposals on the arrangement of the country, made by the power and by the opposition in the complex, said Uladzimir Matskevich. A dialogue implies two positions, which agree with each other. This is different from the polylogue, that is, the uproar, where everybody is discordantly proclaiming many points of view. So, the purpose of the "Dialogue of modernization" is to come to a common opinion in the groups, to grow a single point of view, a single proposal from the opposition, which will be opposed to a single proposal from the authorities. Please note: no matter who is being delegated by the authorities to the conversation (with Europeans or with someone else), he always expresses the single point of view. It is agreed on, and those who is telling it, do not have the right to change it and to reject it.

A joint proposal from the opposition as for the arrangement of the country has not been yet put forward, so the authorities have no one to engage in the dialogue. They are, in principle, not ready for this dialogue, but given a certain pressure and setting of procedures, they will have to agree on it. And by the time they have to agree on it, we should have formed a joint democratic position, which can be viewed as a requirement for the authorities to go for democratic reforms in the country. If the authorities do not fulfill this requirement, it will mean that these authorities should be replaced. In order to make it possible, we should: 1) develop a joint position, a joint point of view for the whole Belarusian democratic opposition, including civil society; 2) accumulate power, and it lies in the unity of all democratic forces. Exactly for this we now have the only term and the only place where it will be possible to do, - "The European dialogue on modernization with Belarus".

Procedures should be developed and offered that would allow engagement of the Belarusian experts and politicians. In the Dialogue on modernization the calculation is really being done on self-organization, on the fact that leaders will appear among the Belarusian experts and politicians who would assume managerial functions. Europeans do not want and can not, and they even do not have the right to organize the Belarusians.

- It is clear that the dialogue should be done with the authorities. But apparently, not with the current ones, but with those which will replace them, noted Uladzimir Matskevich. Let’s imagine a dire situation that the government has suddenly decided to go for the dialogue and has called on for the people who are engaged into the four working groups of the "Dialogue of modernization". Then Mackey alone [Vladimir Mackey, the head of the Presidential Administration of Belarus - EuroBelarus] will handle with all these experts with one hand. As far as each of them will be yelling his own point of view, and no one will be eager to show himself and to shout others down, no one will listen to the others. Until this uproar continues, until three quarters of people entering into the expert groups not start listening to the leaders of groups that offer real objectives, nothing will happen. It's time to come to one's senses and to be responsible towards the proposals being made by the Europe’s side and the Belarusian society and political opposition leaders.