Tsikhanouski: Tsikhanouskaya could have not been afraid of prison in 2020. And, perhaps, Belarusians would have had a chance
"But if there were no Tsikhanouskaya — if she were in prison — would the Tsapkalas not do this work? Veranika Tsapkala would do this work, and Masha [Kalesnikava] would do this work."
Blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski, in a new stream on the YouTube channel "Country for Life", criticized the actions of his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in August 2020. In his opinion, if she had stayed in Belarus then, even risking imprisonment, the protest would have had more chances.
The occasion was Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's video address to former political prisoners who signed a letter to the European Union. In it, she thanked the signatories and said that she "would have signed the letter herself".
Tsikhanouski, who also signed this letter, responded with irony. According to him, Sviatlana cannot sign it because she has not been in prison.
According to Siarhei, she should not have been afraid of prison when it was possible to stay with Belarusians in August 2020.
"Perhaps then Belarusians would have had that chance for all political prisoners, including myself, to be released. If Belarusians had seen that the candidate, for whom allegedly 70% of the country voted, was in prison, could they have stayed home or simply gone to work, instead of coming out in protest and declaring a strike? I believe they could not have," he said.
According to Tsikhanouski, the call for strikes should have been made immediately, but Sviatlana was only able to "force it out of herself" in October 2020.
In his opinion, the situation could only have been corrected in 2020 or 2021: by agreeing to lift sanctions and release people.
"Therefore, Sviatlana could not and will not be able to sign this letter. She first needs to go there," he added.
Tsikhanouski does not believe that without Sviatlana at liberty, the protest would have been faceless. According to him, "a housewife can be coached to the level of president-elect": taught to read from a teleprompter, learn the language, properly shake hands, and attend interviews. But, in his opinion, others could have done the same work.
"But if there were no Tsikhanouskaya — if she were in prison. Well, would [Valer] Tsapkala or Veranika Tsapkala not do this work? Veranika Tsapkala would do this work, and Masha [Kalesnikava] would do this work," the blogger is convinced.
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