‘There Will Be Revolution With Mikalai Statkevich’
- 30.04.2023, 16:22
An exhibition dedicated to the leader of the Belarusian opposition started in Warsaw.
The "1000 Days #" exhibition started at the Warsaw Museum of Free Belarus on April 29. The exhibition is dedicated to the leader of the Belarusian opposition and political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich.
Close associates of the politician from the Narodnaia Hramada political party organized the exhibition.
“Mikalai Statkevich made the 2020 revolution”
The exhibition was opened by Mikalai Statkevich's wife Marina Adamovich. She recorded a video message to the participants of the event.
Mikalai Statkevich's wife Maryna Adamovich opened the exhibition. She recorded a video message to the participants of the event.
The wife of the leader of the Belarusian opposition said that she had not known anything about her husband's fate for 79 days:
- They have been holding Mikalai in a punishment cell for 79 days most likely. In a month it will be three years from the day he was forced behind bars. He was detained on May 31 on his way to a protest in support of Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who had been arrested a day earlier.
Mikalai did not see spring for three years already. Three springs! He could only dream about it and warm himself with his memories. He sees only a small piece of the sky through the barred prison yard and the rare sunrays.
Maryna Adamovich urged not to remain silent about the situation with political prisoners. She said that there are many times more political prisoners than human rights organizations tells:
– Contact politicians, human rights activists, governments in the countries where you are. Remind them about our political prisoners, write letters to them.
Mikalai always said that a person's beliefs are worth exactly as much as the one is willing to pay for them. Our political prisoners are paying a very high price for Belarus to be free. Support them. Do everything to hasten their release. We can free them together. Our Belarus will be free.
Andrei Sannikov, the leader of the European Belarus Civil Campaign, started his speech addressing Mikalai Statkevich:
– Hello, Mikalai. It has been a while. We really miss you! We know, it's so hard for you now. We want you to be free so much.
We're living in a very weird time. This is the time when the exhibitions dedicated to the heroes of the Resistance, the heroes of Belarus, are attended not only by the people who supported this regime but by those who had been creating it. Those who were making their careers when the killings of the strongest leaders of Belarus were committed: Karpenka, Zakharanka and Hanchar.
You know, this is not a feature of the times, but a feature of our actual situation. I remembered a song that has become one of the symbols, and someone calls it the protest anthem. This is a song by the Nizkiz band. Its name is "The Rules'' ("Pravily"). A line touched me: “We took to the street just out of the blue.” ("My vyjshlі na vulіcu znyanacku take")
This phrase is exactly what people think: the revolution started by itself.
Andrei Sannikov noted that it was Mikalai Statkevich who was one of those who made the 2020 protests possible:
– He became one of the most powerful influencers. Thanks to him people supported this scenario and preparations for the revolution began. I would like to remind you that it was Mikalai Statkevich who coined the concept of “protest candidates”, which he used during this 2020 political campaign (we do not call elections). And one of these candidates was Siarhei Tsikhanouski.
The Belarusian National Congress has previously nominated Mikalai Statkevich as a presidential candidate. When it became clear that Mikalai would not be registered, he stood next to Siarhei Tsikhanouski. These were the only protest candidates, as the rest said that “everything must be done according to the laws”, “there is no need to prepare the street”, “we will win, because there are many of us and it's impossible to stop the people.” They stopped. With the help of the "leaders" who were saying that there was no need to do anything.
Therefore, Statkevich and Tsikhanouski were arrested first, in May 2020, to prevent these protests. Mikalai Statkevich created the 2020 revolution. It can even say that he devoted his whole life to making the revolution real. And it will happen with Mikalai Statkevich.
The leader of the European Belarus finished his speech with an excerpt from the philosophical text by Mikalai Statkevich "Life Purposes" (“Sensy Zhyccia”), which the political prisoner wrote behind bars:
“Accept as your own life purposes those human, civil and moral duties that correspond to your sense of justice. Humanity has survived and developed thanks to the solidarity of natives, sexes and generations. You came when all the hard work was done. Don't be ungrateful and do your part.”
"Mikalai always believed in Belarusians”
A representative of Tsikhanouskaya's cabinet, former Belarusian ambassador to Poland and France Pavel Latushka delivered his speech. He noted that he had never personally known Mikalai Statkevich:
– He is the person we can look to as an example. Respect for those who know him personally. He is a true hero of our time. Mikalai was not born a hero, but thanks to his character and courage he became one.
A spokesman for Tsikhanouskaya's cabinet called for sanctions against the Lukashenka regime.
Editor-in-Chief of Charter97.org website Natallia Radzina said that she has known Mikalai Statkevich for more than 20 years:
- Of course, this is a real national leader of Belarus. It's impossible to compare anyone to him. It was said here that he was behind bars for more than a thousand days, but in fact, he spent more than 10 years in prisons under the Lukashenka regime.
Natallia Radzina told about two Mikalai Statkevich’s traits that she has always admired:
– First, he always, despite all the difficulties, despite the prisons, despite the torture, believed that he was doing the right thing - fighting for his country, fighting for people. Mikalai knew that this was his life purpose. He was ready to sacrifice his life for his homeland, for Belarus and for the Belarusians.
The second trait is faith in the Belarusian people. No matter how difficult the situation in Belarus was, and we remember these periods between mass repressions when society fell into depression, did not want to do anything, the opposition remained under control, the media remained under control, Mikalai still believed in the Belarusians. Everyone remembers his phrase: “The Belarusians will change so much when they feel that they can win.”
Natallia Radzina noted that there are about eight or even ten thousand political prisoners in Belarusian prisons and it is important to do everything possible to make them free:
Is everything possible being done? I can't say so. I also have questions for the representatives of Tsikhanouskaya's cabinet here. Why are there no sanctions against the Lukashenka regime? You say that you've been talking about it everywhere, knocking on all the offices. But there are no sanctions for more than a year. And now Lukashenka has given the order to kill political prisoners.
We have known nothing about Mikalai Statkevich for almost 80 days. There are a lot of people in the punishment cells. Every day, we receive news that another political prisoner was locked in a punishment cell suffering torture there. Viktar Babaryka was beaten in prison. We don't know if these people will get out alive. Therefore, everything possible must be done so that sanctions against the Lukashenka regime are imposed. This is the duty of the Belarusians abroad, the duty of all politicians, public figures and human rights activists.
"Make your life with Mikalai Statkevich"
Coordinator of the European Belarus Dzmitry Bandarenka said that this is the second time he has taken part in the exhibition dedicated to Mikalai Statkevich. The previous one took place in Vilnius:
– It is symbolic that it was held in the Wroblewski Library. Walery Wroblewski was a tsarist officer who went over to the side of the rebels, and was Kastus Kalinouski's ally. We know that Mikalai Statkevich was an officer of the Soviet army, also an imperialist one, but during the GKChP [the State Committee on the State of Emergency - Ed.], the man in the uniform of a lieutenant colonel came to the square and urged not to follow the orders of the criminals. Wroblewski became commander of the forces of the Paris Commune. Despite the fact that he was a Pole, he became a hero of the Belarusian people, as well as the French.
We know that today the Belarusians are fighting for the freedom and independence of Ukraine, this is very reminiscent of Wroblewski's fate.
Dzmitry Bandarenka drew attention to one of the photographs at the exhibition:
– It's 1999 before the Freedom March. Some of us have passed away, the great son of the Belarusian people Viktar Ivashkevich has gone.
Some people who are in this photo have already said their words in the history of Belarus and, I think, they will say more.
The coordinator of the European Belarus Civil Campaign also criticized the representatives of Tsikhanouskaya's cabinet:
– Recall the attitude of the Belarusian media toward Mikalai Statkevich before 2020. For them, he was an "eccentric", emotional, waving his arms and saying that there would be a revolution. And they laughed at him: “What revolution are you talking about? We have Zybitskaya Street. You can speak Belarusian and drink coffee there, and arrange your life. Only such "crazy" are shouting: Revolution, Revolution, Revolution!"
The revolution came. Those who prepared it were imprisoned, and the "foam of the revolution" called themselves the leaders. To be called the leader of the Belarusian people, you need to have a conscience, self-criticism, and you need to have a biography. A person who has not been in prison cannot be a leader.
We were talking about this during the revolution. Many answered: “Why are you talking about your prisons, we will do everything with new technologies.” Everything turned out differently.
We will definitely win. I'm sure it will happen soon. The battle between good and evil is going on at the international level today. Belarus is on the side of the powerful light side. We are together with the US, Canada, Australia, NATO and the EU. However, the question will arise: whom the Belarusians should entrust to carry out reforms? Of course, these will be free elections. However, I urge you to trust those people who have proved with their lives that they are devoted to Belarus. You can't trust temporizers and people without shame who call themselves "leaders" for no reason.
The coordinator of the European Belarus remembered another native of Belarus, Felix Dzerzhinsky:
– Mayakovsky said: "Make your life with comrade Dzerzhinsky." Today, many continue to "make their lives with comrade Dzerzhinsky." Therefore, both Russia and Belarus are standing still, because they took an example from the wrong native of our country. There was a Pole Dzerzhinsky, there was a Pole Wroblewski. But they chose Dzerzhinsky. Therefore, I call on young people and not-so-young people to make their lives with Statkevich.
Narodnaya Hramada representative Natallia Papkova also noted that Mikalai Statkevich was at the origins of the 2020 revolution:
– It was 79 days not of uncertainty only, but also of courage, as well as disobedience to the regime that rules in Belarus today. In 2020, the people woke up thanks to the direct work of Mikalai Statkevich.
The leader of the Razam Solidarity Movement Viachaslau Siuchyk called Mikalai Statkevich the leader of the Belarusian Resistance:
– It seems to me that Mikalai Statkevich is the most real Belarusian of all the leaders. This is due to both his origin and his actions. Everything he did in his political life, he did it for the Belarusians.
The exhibition dedicated to the leader of the Belarusian opposition Mikalai Statkevich keeps working. You can visit it at: Warsaw, the Museum of Free Belarus, 11 Foksal Street.