Stefan Eriksson: The years I spent in Belarus might be the best days in my life
28.12.2012 | Politics
Former Swedish Ambassador sent a New Year message to Belarusans, saying he misses them and wishing them confidence and respect to all kinds of people in order to find compromise over disagreements.
In the video message posted on the “Nasha Niva” newspaper’s website Eriksson congratulates Belarusans on the oncoming New Year in Belarusan language, reports BelaPAN. "The expiring year has been difficult for many people, including myself," Mr. Eriksson said in Belarusian in the video message posted on the website of the private newspaper Nasha Niva. "I would like to wish that the New Year become the best one for you, for all of us. Of course, I would like to wish to all of you the good, health, wellbeing and everything else that's usually wished on New Year's Eve", - said Eriksson.
"I would like to wish to you, the Belarusans, more confidence in yourself," Spadar (bel. “Mister”) Eriksson said. "Confidence in yourself, daily, in life, in love. Confidence in yourself as Belarusans, as representatives of a really wonderful country with a rich history and a most interesting culture. One should be proud of this. I would also like to wish you a lot of good, a lot of kindness in your life. This helps one live."
"Let me assure you that even when I'm far away, in Sweden, I'm with you in my heart," he said. "The years that I spent in Belarus were very good, one might say, the best ones in my life. I miss you very much and will stay with you and not disappear."
Stefan Eriksson ended the message with "Zhyve Belarus! [Long Live, Belarus!]", which is a quotation from a poem by literary great Yanka Kupala that is always chanted during opposition demonstrations.
Let us recall that Stefan Eriksson was expelled from Belarus a few weeks after a July, 4 incident in which two representatives of Sweden's ad agency Studio Total illegally flew a small plane from Lithuania to Belarus and dropped hundreds of teddy bears containing pro-human rights messages on the Belarusan territory.
The Belarusan foreign ministry announced on August, 3 that Belarusan authorities had denied an accreditation extension to Swedish Ambassador.
"He has worked in Belarus for about seven years, which is a long period," said the ministry's spokesman, Andrei Savinykh. "However, all his activities were aimed at destroying Belarusian-Swedish relations, not at strengthening them."
The diplomatic row that followed Eriksson’s expulsion eventually led to the closure of the Swedish embassy in Minsk and the Belarusan embassy in Stockholm.
-
03.01
-
07.10
-
22.09
-
17.08
-
12.08
-
30.09
