Belarusian politicians’ activities during heat wave

BPF leader Alyaksei Yanukevich complains: a lot of work is to be done this week. The party is getting ready for its autumn assembly.

Alyaksei Yanukevich: “I will attend several regional assemblies this week: in Minsk, Brest, Byaroza and Hrodna. A meeting dedicated to the People’s Referendum will be held in Hrodna this week, there will be a round table discussion. I am planning to attend it. We will also conduct a number of meetings and one of them is appointed for today – we will discuss the changes planned to be adopted at the Party Assembly on September 13.”

Won’t the single candidate issue be discussed this week?

Alyaksei Yanukevich: “The people it could be discussed with are on vacations now. It will not be a top priority on the agenda this week. However, we will discuss the issue at the political commission meeting.”

The BPF Party thinks that negotiations about the single candidate should be conducted with the campaign Tell the Truth, Movement For Freedom and Belarusian Christian Democracy in the first place. Leader of Tell the Truth Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu is not on vacations but is busy solving personal problems this week. We managed to find his assistant Andrei Dzmitryyeu on his way to the airport – the family were leaving for Spain for 10 days. Won’t the fact that the single candidate has not been chosen yet bother him during the vacations?

Andrei Dzmitryyeu: “To tell you the truth, I was not thinking about the single candidate much in the past few months. It was the last thing to think about… I think that this is an ‘internal’ matter. I think it would be good if six or seven candidates gathered and chose one (single opposition candidate – Euroradio). There is the Congress – it is a festive event. There is normal work for people. I have seen it many times and I know what usually happens”.

Won’t the single candidate issue be discussed this week?

Alyaksei Yanukevich: “The people it could be discussed with are on vacations now. It will not be a top priority on the agenda this week. However, we will discuss the issue at the political commission meeting.”

The BPF Party thinks that negotiations about the single candidate should be conducted with the campaign Tell the Truth, Movement For Freedom and Belarusian Christian Democracy in the first place. Leader of Tell the Truth Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu is not on vacations but is busy solving personal problems this week. We managed to find his assistant Andrei Dzmitryyeu on his way to the airport – the family were leaving for Spain for 10 days. Won’t the fact that the single candidate has not been chosen yet bother him during the vacations?

Andrei Dzmitryyeu: “To tell you the truth, I was not thinking about the single candidate much in the past few months. It was the last thing to think about… I think that this is an ‘internal’ matter. I think it would be good if six or seven candidates gathered and chose one (single opposition candidate – Euroradio). There is the Congress – it is a festive event. There is normal work for people. I have seen it many times and I know what usually happens”.

The leader of the left party Fair World will be working this week: meetings, visits, diplomatic parties…

Syarhei Kalyakin: “I need to get ready for the Central Committee meeting today. It will be held on Wednesday. I will be preparing the papers and the meeting itself. And I will meet the new U.S. chargé d'affaires ad interim in Belarus tomorrow. Then I will leave Minsk to meet Talaka coalition activists in Homel.”

Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Syarhei Haidukevich is also thinking about Belarus, he confessed to Euroradio:

Syarhei Haidukevich: “I am only thinking about Belarus now. Do you understand me? Only about Belarus! All my plans are connected with Belarus. My main task is to provide the created headquarters with all they need and to think about the future: what may happen, how we can strengthen the state sovereignty. We should only be working in this direction – strengthen our traditional connections with our European colleagues. There is nothing else on my mind.”

As the LDPB have been supporting the idea of establishing relations with the EU lately, Syarhei Haidukevich is planning to visit ‘friendly’ parties in Germany, Italy and Austria.

Photo: Zmitser Lukashuk, tut.by, Anatol Lyabedzka’s archives