Who may be removed from EU “black list”?
You can guess 9 “lucky beggars”. Three other people may be deputy editors-in-chief of “Belarus Today’. It is not clear who the other 13 people are.
“It is not even a list. There are several categories. Like rectors of educational institutions – those people may be removed from the list because the Belarusian education system needs reforms if we think about expanding educational programmes. Only cooperation with the European Union could help here. But it is only a suggestion”, - says Volha Stuzhynskaya, head of the Office for a Democratic Belarus in Brussels.
Volha Styzhynskaya is not answering the phone. She may stung by Belarusian democrats’ harsh reaction to the suggestion. That is why Euroradio journalists will have to find out who was meant by the Office for a Democratic Belarus on its own.
There are 5 rectors of Belarusian universities on “the black list” at the moment. Rector of Brest State University Mechyslau Chasnouski does not want to discuss the first place he would visit if the Schengen visa was returned to him. The rector sees no sense is the existence of “the black list”:
Mechyslau Chasnouski: “It was a big mistake to deprive me of the right to go abroad using my Schengen visa. The person who made the decision just did not find any other way to do a bad turn to me. Speaking about the persecution of students for their political views – I do not persecute them”.
According to Mr. Chasnouski, he has missed at least 5 important meetings abroad due to “the black list”.
Euroradio has analyzed some other sources and found out that Mihail Pishchulyonak, former CEC chairperson of Vitsebsk Province, will be among the 25 people who will be removed from the list. It is time Mr.Pishchulyonak was crossed out as he is deceased.
“I missed several thousand links to educational programmes connected with my scientific interest last year. I could have continued my education in gender theory, social theory and cultural studies. I would have started working for doctor's degree somewhere if I had had the chance”, - says Hanna Shchadryna, former deputy editor-in-chief of “Belarus Today”. She is also on the list.
However, the list of “lucky beggars” is virtual. At least the press secretary of MEP Ivars Godmanis who is a member of the work group on Belarus was surprised about the initiative of the Office for a Democratic Belarus:
“I can tell you that we have not seen any lists. We did not discuss the issue at the last meeting connected with Belarus either. I do not think that the MEP will be able to tell you more”.
Ex-director of the Belarusian State Broadcasting Company Alyaksandr Zimouski also says that Volha Stuzhynskaya’s suggestion resembles “an overture”:
“I do not know where I will go in case the decision [about a Schengen visa. – Euroradio’s note] is taken. There is no sense planning something like vacations is such a situation. Speaking about the working visits I missed due to the sanctions, I can tell you that there were none. First of all, I used national visas to attend international events from 2006 till the moment the sanctions were suspended. Secondly, I did not occupy any official position in Belarus when the sanctions were reintroduced. I did not need to attend meetings and conferences in the EU because I deal only with issues of the Russian internal politics now”.
Blacklisted Uladzimir Peftsiyeu who is described as “a person close to Lukashenka and his family” keeps doing his business. However, Volha Stushynskaya has also suggested removing him from the list. But why?
Thus, Euroradio has counted 9 people the Office for a Democratic Belarus may be going to ask to remove from the list: 5 rectors, 2 former journalists, 1 businessmen and 1 deceased official. Three other people may be Pavel Yakubovich’s deputies not dealing with political issues. But it is not clear who the remaining 13 people may be.
