The Struggle Within Democratic Forces — An Eternal Mystery

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Photo courtesy of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office

1. Tsikhanouskaya is nothing. All her meetings have no impact; these are photo opportunities, political tourism.

2. Tsikhanouskaya must leave; she must hand over her position to us because her term has ended.

It's difficult for me to understand this logic. Hand over the position, but for what? So that now someone else has no impact and takes empty photos with Mark Rutte or Donald Tusk? So that Babaryka, Pazniak, or Prakopieu would head Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office? But if her activity is zero, if her mandate has expired, then why ask her to leave? Ignore her. But it turns out to be the opposite — they chase after her to say how indifferent they are to her.

For me, the struggle within the democratic forces is an eternal mystery. In my early youth, the Belarusian opposition was always uniting. But now it constantly tries to figure out who should be on top, while simultaneously emphasizing that it doesn't really affect anything anyway. This is absurd.

Let's assume that the output from Tsikhanouskaya's team's activities is negligible. Then, against this background, the brilliant ideas, actions, and results of other forces should stand out, whether you like it or not. During the communist era in Poland, there was "Solidarity" and, in parallel, "Fighting Solidarity." The latter accused the former of softness and appeasement, claiming that they, not the regular "Solidarity," were the ones truly engaged in a decisive struggle against the communists. But their one "decisive action" known was the explosion of doors in an empty building linked to communists.

Let's say Tsikhanouskaya isn't fighting but simply traveling the world with security and talking. As in that joke, so you talk too. Who and what prevents all those who shun "office" politics from fighting the way they wish?

Has YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, email, WhatsApp been banned in Belarus, making it impossible to campaign and convince Belarusians of one's righteousness? We have a dozen independent media outlets. Are we arguing about who is in charge? Everyone does their own thing, for their own audience, sometimes better, sometimes worse.

Is Tsikhanouskaya blocking the internet so that someone cannot communicate with Belarusians in Belarus or abroad? Look, Belarusians forced Lukashenka to restore street lighting overnight, just by expressing outrage on social networks. As a schoolboy, I used to deliver leaflets to neighboring villages by bicycle, sometimes even on horseback. Now, you don't even need to harness a horse. Look, half of Minsk and a third of officials are on Threads. Come, prove it, persuade! Cultivate them!

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