Mikalai Statkevich: “They won't get a clemency petition from me”
With a few-days' break, Bialynichy journalist Barys Vyrvich got a letter and a postcard from Belarusian political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich, with whom he maintains a regulard correspondence.
In particular, in the letter Mr. Statkevich expressed his attitude to the liberation of the head of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" Ales Bialiatski and wrote some interesting thoughts about the situation in our country and in the world in general.
"Like you, I am very glad at the release of Ales Bialiatski. I agree with you that my situation is quite different. There is a stalemate - the more they keep me, the more it costs them. On the other hand, the more they are afraid to release me. I will wait to see how it all ends. I know just one thing for sure – they won't get a “petition” from me.”
Years-long struggle ... almost without noticeable results – is an ordeal. Although there are some changes. They are just not visible. The chef one is the formation of the Belarusian nation, which is primarily due to the existence of a legally independent Belarusian state. The external changes include the EU approach to our borders and the final civilization choice in the Ukraine, for which it is now paying such a terrible cost," writes Mikalai Statkevich.
In the postcard the political prisoner says that he does not believe that on July 27, 1990 Belarus became independent. Legally, it happened on August 25, 1991, when the Declaration of 1990 was given a constitutional status. "In my opinion, it would be worth celebrating the main holiday of the country that day. And I'll just keep silent about its celebration on the day when Minsk was freed from the Nazi troops,” opines the politician.
According to Barys Vyrvich, local democratic activists seek to regularly inform Statkevich about all the events taking place in the democratic environment of Mahiliou.
"Statkevich and many other Belarusian political prisoners serve their sentences in the Mahiliou region. Therefore, Mahiliou democrats regard all of them full-fledged members of the democratic civil society in Mahiliou region", said Barys Vyrvich.
