12-01-2009, 12:57 PM
Belarusian President Lukashenko seems to have gone as mad as a March hare! In his interview to an Italian La Stampa he said that “Belarus is ready to do more for you (EU) than you are for us (Belarus)” (naviny. by/rubrics/inter/2009/11/26/ic_articles_259_165611/)! Huh, what a daring and absolutely groundless remark, imho! Well, let’s take a look at the things we’ve done for Lukashenko and vice versa.
1) We accepted him in the Eastern Partnership (soderkoping. org. ua/page24441. html)
2) We are considering the issue of easing visa regime for Belarusians (democraticbelarus. eu/node/6499)
4) We gave Lukashenko huge sums of money so as Belarus wouldn't go bust in time of crisis (imf. org/external/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09363. htm)
4) We suspended the sanctions against Belarusian officials (rferl. org/content/Pragmatic_EU_To_Keep_Belarus_Sanctions_In_Suspension/1879712. html)
However we’ve got nothing in return except maybe the abovementioned deceitful remark! It actually seems that no matter how hard we try ‘the last dictator of Europe’ will never become ‘a new democrat’. So, guys, I can see no point in maintaining our relations with Belarus until another President – a real democrat is elected there.
1) We accepted him in the Eastern Partnership (soderkoping. org. ua/page24441. html)
2) We are considering the issue of easing visa regime for Belarusians (democraticbelarus. eu/node/6499)
4) We gave Lukashenko huge sums of money so as Belarus wouldn't go bust in time of crisis (imf. org/external/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09363. htm)
4) We suspended the sanctions against Belarusian officials (rferl. org/content/Pragmatic_EU_To_Keep_Belarus_Sanctions_In_Suspension/1879712. html)
However we’ve got nothing in return except maybe the abovementioned deceitful remark! It actually seems that no matter how hard we try ‘the last dictator of Europe’ will never become ‘a new democrat’. So, guys, I can see no point in maintaining our relations with Belarus until another President – a real democrat is elected there.