I have already mentioned before that trying to find hidden messages or signals in the chaotic actions of a dictator and attempting to decipher them is an ungrateful and, perhaps, meaningless task. The answer to the question—what does Lukashenko want?—is quite simple.
He wants everything or nothing. Either he retains absolute power, bears no responsibility, and all sanctions on his regime are lifted, or Belarus and its independence can burn to the ground.
He wants no dialogue with the West, nor with the democratic forces in exile, regardless of what he may have written in his so-called "election program." He refuses to meet anyone halfway. It's all or nothing.
But do the Belarusians want the same thing, including those from his inner circle? Definitely not. And his words about "waiting for me to die — you won't live to see it" are directed at them just as much as they are at us, the democratic forces.
Because both we and they want him gone. Because Belarusians will always come to an agreement with other Belarusians. We have a saying: "A Belarusian to a Belarusian is a Belarusian," but Lukashenko to a Belarusian is a thorn in the throat.
So let's stop thinking about what Lukashenko wants. And let's start thinking and talking about what we, the Belarusians, want. On both sides of the border and both sides of the political barricades.
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