When will Lukashenka return the issuance of passports to Belarusians abroad? Analysts' versions
When the dialogue on urgent issues — political prisoners and the migration crisis — concludes, the issue of repression may follow, believes Artsiom Shraibman.
Photo: LookByMedia
Will the issuance of passports to Belarusians abroad through embassies be returned? This was discussed in the YouTube program "The Clock is Ticking".
Economist Lev Lvovsky thinks there are chances. However, for democratic forces, the priority is currently to get political prisoners out of jails.
“One can imagine that at some point at the beginning of a dialogue with Europe or at the end of a dialogue with America, along with the reopening of embassies in Belarus and the permission for consuls to return to Belarusian embassies abroad, such a measure could be set as a condition,” he says.
Analyst Artsiom Shraibman believes that democratic forces cannot influence which issues are put on the agenda. But he agrees with Lvovsky.
“I think that when the dialogue on urgent issues — political prisoners and the migration crisis (which remains a top priority for Belarus's neighbors, Latvia and Lithuania) — concludes, the issue of repression may follow. And, of course, it is most logical to demand the abolition of this repressive measure, because it creates problems for the countries where Belarusians reside,” Shraibman believes.
But if the ban is lifted, what will the Belarusian authorities get for it, asks presenter Yauhenia Suhak. She suggests that, if she were in the shoes of the Belarusian authorities, she would introduce an exorbitant price for a passport issued abroad — hypothetically 300 euros.