Babaryka: I understand that Eduard is a hostage, but no one has ever set conditions for me
Former political prisoner, banker and ex-presidential candidate of Belarus Viktor Babaryka, in an interview with Delfi, spoke about whether he has to limit himself in public statements due to his son Eduard still being behind bars.
During the lengthy conversation, the host asked Babaryka if his son's imprisonment tied his hands and if this factor forced him into self-censorship.
«I can say that this is a very difficult state for me. Even more difficult, probably, for Eduard. Although I don't know how he is. Why difficult for me? I understand that he is a hostage,» Babaryka replied.
«But all my life, the one holding a hostage has set conditions. If you've taken a hostage, then ideally you should say why you took him.»
«Otherwise, it turns out to be some kind of slavery,» the host remarked.
«I don't even know if it's slavery. (...) You've made some fetish of a hostage for yourself, and you understand that, on the one hand, to give him back — the fear doesn't existentially go away, and to hold him — you also don't understand the point.
And for me, this is exactly the problem. That is, for all five and a half years that I was in prison, and now, no one has ever set conditions for me regarding Eduard. "If you don't do this, then Eduard will be released." Or, on the contrary, if you do that.»
It is precisely the absence of any conditions, Babaryka explained, that leaves him in uncertainty about how to behave publicly.
«What I will do or what I will not do — I don't know how it will affect Eduard's fate. Whether I will say what I want, or what the authorities would like to hear.»
As follows from Babaryka's words, in this dilemma, the principle they had adhered to with his son earlier is important to him:
«With my friends and with my family, there has always been one understanding: each of us makes our own choice.»
«In 2020, Eduard made his choice. Yes, I proposed it to him, but he accepted that proposal.»
When the host at the end of this part of the conversation wished Babaryka that Eduard would be among the next group of released political prisoners, Viktor replied:
«Thank you very much. I really, really hope for that.»
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