Hope for Belarus

Emmanuel Decaux, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Aloisia Wörgetter at the opening of a highly interesting conference. Foto: Eurojournalist(e) / CC-BY 2.0

(KL) – Yesterday, at the Fondation René Cassin in Strasbourg, a joint event with the Permanent Representation of Austria at the Council of Europe was supposed to be “just” a presentation of the book “Democratizing the Constitution of Belarus” by editors Thomas M. Buchsbaum and Katharina Pabel – but it turned into a highly interesting conference on the future process of democratization in the country, which many observers see as a “satellite” of Moscow and which is therefore perceived as a threat by its neighbors. This makes the courageous efforts to give the country a new, democratic constitution, as a prelude to internal and external pacification, all the more astonishing.

In the presence of numerous personalities such as the Belarusian opposition presidential candidate in 2020, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the President of the University of Strasbourg, Frédérique Berrod, numerous ambassadors to the Council of Europe, and experts, the President of the René Cassin Foundation, Emmanuel Decaux, together with Austrian Ambassador Aloisia Wörgetter, opened the conference, at which the head of the Belarusian Constitutional Commission, Anatoli Liabetzka, first outlined the process towards a democratic constitution for the country.

It should be noted that this work was and is being carried out under pressure from the Lukashenko regime, which is remarkable given that the regime in Minsk has a habit of arresting opposition figures and those who do not toe the party line and making them disappear into prisons. In 2007, a “mini-constitution” was adopted, which was to remain in force during the transition to a “proper constitution.” A draft of a new constitution was presented in 2010 and has been under public discussion since 2021.

However, Professor Veronika Bilkova, connected to the conference from Prague, urged patience. Even if this constitutional process can only be viewed as positive in the long term, a great deal of patience will be needed, if only to come to terms with the violations and crimes of the past. It remains to be seen to what extent this will succeed, as it is a process that many other countries have attempted after a change of regime, and these attempts have always proved very difficult, whether in South Africa, during German reunification, or in other countries. Coming to terms with the past is always painful, but at the same time it is a prerequisite for reconciliation in the future.

The very intense debates were excellently moderated by Austrian Helmut Brandstätter (former Member of the European Parliament) and Thomas Markert, Director of the “Venice Commission” at the Council of Europe, who facilitated a lively exchange between the audience and the experts.

If we learn to think in generous time frames, there is hope, because no unjust regime lasts forever, not in Belarus and not in Russia. The fact that committed Belarusians are now working on a new, democratic constitution for the “post-Lukashenko” era gives us courage and hope. And ultimately, that is the only thing that can be done at present, as the current regime cannot be talked away – one can only work for a better future.

The René Cassin Foundation, which emerged from the International Institute for Human Rights, organized this conference excellently together with the Permanent Representation of Austria, and it is particularly important today to counter the gloomy atmosphere with such positive perspectives. Because yes, there is hope for Belarus!