Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and head of the National Anticrisis Management, a member of the Coordination Council, and an extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador, specifically for "Pozirk"
Original article: pozirk.online
The Usurper's Path to The Hague
For the first time in our country's history, there is an official possibility to submit materials to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court concerning crimes against humanity committed by representatives of the Lukashenko regime against the Belarusian people. The goal is to initiate an investigation, issue an arrest warrant for Lukashenko and his accomplices, and hold them accountable for crimes against Belarusians.
Among all the sanctions decisions, I would particularly highlight those that could be called "werewolves in robes". Based on materials prepared and submitted by the NAM team, the European Union imposed sanctions against 24 judges of the regime, as well as 10 penitentiary system employees and three propagandists. We will demonstrate to these so-called judges that, with their higher legal education, they are fully aware of the crimes they commit. Placing them on the sanctions list is the first step towards bringing them to criminal responsibility.
Special attention should be given to restricting the use of Lukashenko's airplanes. On August 9th, the proposals and justifications of the NAM team were reflected in US sanctions against the dictator's aircraft number 1 — a Boeing 767, which completed our work on imposing sanctions on all Lukashenko's aircraft. Today, four airplanes and one helicopter of the dictator are under sanctions. It was important to send him a personal signal, highlighting his personal responsibility for what is happening. Lukashenko will find it increasingly difficult to continue enjoying the benefits and privileges he illegally created for himself and his family.
It is also important to note the significant harmonization of sanctions against Russia and the Lukashenko regime, nearly 60%. This reduces the possibilities for circumventing previously imposed restrictions in the interests of Russia and increases pressure on the Lukashenko regime.
A significant step was the restriction of the transit of sanctioned goods through Belarus. NAЬ, along with other Belarusian initiatives, including BelPol and the Belarusian Investigative Center, has documented abuses of transit schemes used by the regime to circumvent sanctions. Our evidence was reflected in the legal norms, established by the decision of the EU Council on June 29, 2024, which significantly complicated the use of false transit routes.
Sanctions against the Russian Bank's Financial Message Transfer System (SPFS) also became fundamentally important. Our justification, submitted to Brussels in December 2023, about the necessity of sanctions against SPFS — a system used to circumvent financial sanctions and pay for sanctioned goods needed for the RF military industry in the aggression against Ukraine — was taken into account in the 14th package of EU sanctions against Russia on June 24, 2024.
Support for Political Prisoners and the Fight for Their Release
In the work of the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the United Transitional Cabinet (UTC), an important achievement was the creation of the International Humanitarian Fund to assist political prisoners and their families, and the conduct of an international campaign for the release of political prisoners, especially from the humanitarian list; conducting international solidarity days.
More than 200 political prisoners have been released, but this is just a small part of the detainees. At the same time, we understand that our fight is a sprint marathon with permanent obstacles created by the regime itself. The main problem in the current situation is the principle of conditional rotation, which the regime implements by releasing some and simultaneously throwing new innocent Belarusians into dungeons.
In December 2024, unprecedented Belarus Days were organized in Brussels, during which a high-level conference of the European Parliament in support of the Belarusian people took place. The conference was attended by representatives of democratic institutions of Belarus and Belarusian civil society, as well as the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola and MEPs, a number of European commissioners, emphasizing the principled support of the European Union for the democratic aspirations of Belarusians.
Resilience of Democratic Institutions
In early August 2024, the "New Belarus" conference was held, during which important strategic documents were signed: the Protocol of Interaction, the Declaration of Responsibility and Restoration of Justice, the Declaration on Foreign Policy Priorities of Democratic Belarus. Also, the "Platform 2025" was adopted, which unites the approach of all democratic forces of Belarus to the so-called elections in 2025.
It is important that we were able to demonstrate the resilience of democratic institutions. This is an unprecedented achievement in the history of Europe: despite forced exile, the institutions of the president-elect, the United Transitional Cabinet as the executive body, and the Coordination Council as the representative body exist and operate. We are perceived as full-fledged partners, which is why strategic dialogues with the United States of America and the European Commission have been conducted, similar to those that the USA and the European Union conduct with the governments of other countries. In this case, with representatives of the democratic institutions of Belarus.
We also started a strategic dialogue with Canada and plan to launch a similar process with the United Kingdom.
The First Real Elections of a Representative Body
For the first time, we elected a representative body of Belarus. For the Coordination Council, this is undoubtedly a historic moment. Unfortunately, a relatively small number of Belarusians participated in the vote. This is related to both objective and subjective reasons. One of the factors that hindered participation in the elections was the distrust of the vote counting system. But the fact that none of the participants in the actual voting were identified and held accountable demonstrates that the system works and we have received a representative body for the first time. For me and our coalition in the CC, this means that we represent the position of about 2,400 voters who supported our program. We received 35% of the mandates. And this is a representative body, formed democratically for the first time in decades.
It is particularly important that the largest international parliamentary organization — the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) — recognized the status of the representative body of the Coordination Council. And for the first time in history, it invited the official delegation of the CC to participate in the PACE session in January 2025. This is unprecedented. I say this as a former ambassador responsible for the work of the Belarusian mission to the Council of Europe until 2019.
Help for Belarusians Abroad
We managed to resume the activities of the working group on issues related to the stay of Belarusian citizens in Poland, between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the administration of Poland and representatives of Belarusian democratic forces. My candidacy is included in the group, as well as Vitaly Molchanov from the representative office of the UTC on social issues.
Additionally, a working group on cooperation with non-governmental organizations has been established by the Interdepartmental Working Group of Poland on migration issues. Its composition will include representatives of various diaspora organizations, and as a representative of the UTC — Artem Proskalovich.
This activity is essentially aimed at solving daily issues related to the legalization of Belarusians abroad. Separately, we, in collaboration with the "Da Voli" association, provided support in obtaining 126 visas, including 117 humanitarian visas for Belarusians persecuted by the Lukashenko regime; and if necessary — the evacuation of Belarusians from the country.
Unfortunately, legalization remains a problem. We defend the interests of Belarusian volunteers in Ukraine, but other countries restrict their ability to legalize them, guided by national security approaches.
On Eternal Values
In 2024, the project of the National Anticrisis Management team — the Free Belarus Museum — continued its activity. Over the year, more than 100 cultural and educational events were held, with more than 8,500 participants, and the museum's collection exceeded 300 original exhibits from the latest history of the Belarusian protest. The museum's international connections were strengthened — partnerships were established with representatives of the embassies of more than 20 countries worldwide, as well as with the Sejm, the Senate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland, and the Mayor's Office of Warsaw.
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