English

Syarhey Kalyakin criticizes opposition for failure to pick single candidate for 2010 presidential election

Syarhey Kalyakin, chairman of the "Spravedlivy Mir" (Just World) Belarusian Party of the Left, has slammed the opposition for its failure to pick a single candidate to run against Alyaksandr Lukashenka in the December 2010 presidential election.

The participation of many pro-democratic candidates was a blunder on the part of the opposition, Mr. Kalyakin said in an interview with BelaPAN on Sunday

“An alternative should be clear in the finale,” he said. “Only in a black-and-white situation, the fact that there is only the opposition and authorities to choose from will be clear.”

When there will be a dozen alternatives to the current authorities, the latter will seek to crush the opponents, which for their turn will have nothing to respond with,” the political said.

Mr. Kalyakin said that the opposition had its values, but the authorities were trying hard to prevent them from being promoted. “Lukashenka would like us to go back to the 18th century when there were no media,” Mr. Kalyakin said. “Fortunately, his desire is unrealizable in the 21st century. We have the Internet, which cannot be closed.”

Mr. Kalyakin expressed confidence that the country’s opposition would unite sooner or later. “There are obstacles. And they are people, their characters and ambitions, however paradoxical it may sound,” he said. “I am above all talking about the leaders of parties.”

But opposition groups should overcome differences over their role in joint activities, he said.

“The Spravedlivy Mir party has done this,” he said. “We don’t care who will copy our idea or pursue our initiative. An important thing is that we have done something.”

“The sooner we start implementing our task, the better it will be for us and the entire country,” Mr. Kalyakin noted. “The opposition has the desire. But the desire alone is not enough.”