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Milinkevich — EU membership key to Belarus’ independence

Belarus will be able to remain independent and preserve its culture and language only if it joins the European Union, Alyaksandr Milinkevich, leader of the Movement for Freedom, said in an interview with BelaPAN on the sidelines of an opposition conference in Mahilyow on July 31.

“Otherwise we will be fighting for survival, for existence as is the case today,” the former presidential candidate said.

Mr. Milinkevich, 63, said that one of the opposition’s major goals was preparations not for the coming presidential elections, which he said will be neither free nor fair, but for the first democratic elections after Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s departure from the post of president. “Much will be decided in these democratic elections. And we must be getting ready for the free elections: get united, strengthen our ranks, recruit youths and so on,” he said.

Mr. Milinkevich stopped short of speaking about his strategy for the coming elections, in which he plans to run again.

“I would like to unite people who care about where Belarus will be, what path of development it will take,” he said. “[I would like to] recruit new people, have good programs for reforming Belarus. One must constantly work to this end. I’m taking on the role of the leader of pro-Belarusian, pro-European forces.”

Mr. Milinkevich announced his plans to run for president in the coming elections this past May.