Pavel Latushka at the Forum "Warsaw Dialogue for Democracy": "Lukashenko Is Already in Europe. We Must Not Allow the Mistakes to Be Repeated"
- Admin of the NAM
- Dec 4
- 3 min read
The Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM), Pavel Latushka, spoke at the international forum "Warsaw Dialogue for Democracy", dedicated to the theme "Democracy and International Security: Human Rights Defenders on the Frontline of Freedom".
Facts of Repression and the Scale of the Tragedy
Pavel Latushka began with concrete figures: since the start of the 2020 presidential campaign, 4,278 people in Belarus have been recognized as political prisoners. Today, more than 1,250 political prisoners remain in places of detention. However, experts believe the real number may be two to three times higher.
Repressions have affected tens of thousands of Belarusians: at least 100,000 people have gone through various forms of political repression. About 600,000 people have been forced to leave the country — 6.4% of Belarus’s population.
The Regime Is Intensifying Terror and Militarization
The Deputy Head of the UTC noted that repression is not stopping but intensifying: since the most recent release of 39 political prisoners on September 11, 345 new criminal political prosecutions have been recorded and 158 new political prisoners recognized — four times more than were released.
Pavel Latushka cited a telling fact from Belarus’s budget: in the 2026 budget, spending on security forces and courts will increase by 25% and amount to almost €2 billion, while the budget itself is planned with a deficit. This indicates that the regime plans to continue repression, which is becoming a system-forming foundation of Lukashenko’s regime.
Transnational Repression and a Threat to Europe
The politician emphasized that repression has gone beyond Belarus’s borders: since the beginning of this year alone, at least 970 criminal cases have been initiated against Belarusians abroad, mainly in Poland and Lithuania. In absentia sentences, property confiscation, and threats of reprisals are widely used.
As an example of extraterritorial actions, Pavel Latushka cited the designation of the Cabinet as a "terrorist organization".
Strategy: Eliminate the Root Cause
Pavel Latushka presented the key areas of NAM’s work:
preparation of legal initiatives to hold perpetrators accountable;
sanctions policy (national and supranational, economic and personal sanctions);
communications with the ICC in The Hague regarding the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children;
initiation, with NAM’s support, of submissions to the ICC concerning crimes against Belarusians;
EU, U.S., Canadian, and UK sanctions packages (sanctions lists include hundreds of enterprises, entire sectors of the economy, as well as more than 400 individuals of the regime).
Answering the question of what can be done to support Belarusians’ democratic aspirations, Pavel Latushka especially emphasized accountability, because without the use of international law and legal instruments by EU partners, Belarusians lose faith in democracy and in the effectiveness of international institutions.
The Deputy Head of the UTC noted that today a situation of a cumulative sanctions effect is taking shape, the potential of which must be used to force the regime to change its internal repressive and external aggressive policies.
Pavel Latushka gave an example of the effectiveness of legal actions in the international arena: the submission of communications to the ICC regarding the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Belarus and their indoctrination effectively stopped these actions by the regime.
Appeal to Partners
Addressing partners, Pavel Latushka noted that the regime seeks the lifting of sanctions without real changes in policy, making only cosmetic steps. The mistakes of past years must not be repeated. Pressure must be maintained until real steps are taken: the cessation of repression and the launch of a national dialogue in the format of a Round Table.
The Deputy Head of the UTC emphasized that the democratic forces have political institutions, recognition, and partner support, while partners have an instrument — sanctions. Their partial lifting is possible only on the condition of a genuine dialogue and political change.
The panel within the framework of the forum "Warsaw Dialogue for Democracy", at which Pavel Latushka spoke, was organized by the Center for International Relations with the support of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Comments