Former Supreme Council deputy Syarhei Navumchyk who arrived in Belarus after the 20-year-old political exile believes that it is too early for the CCP BPF leader Zyanon Paznyak to return to Belarus.
Navumchyk recalled that late last year, Customs detained Paznyak’s book at the border. “This shows the attitude of the authorities to Paznyak. It seems to me that time for his return has not yet come,” said Navumchyk.
Speaking of what forced him and Paznyak to leave the country in 1996, Navumchyk noted that at the time “there was an absolutely real threat not only to freedom, but also to life.” “In the situation of choice between life and death, we made this choice,” said the activist to BelaPAN.
According to Navumchyk, emigration at the time was a politically correct choice. “Let me remind you that the West then actually recognized the official Minsk and the policy pursued by Lukashenka. The US was forced to grant political asylum to the two leaders of the Popular Front. This led them to reconsider the attitude to Belarus and the 1996 referendum was at the center of world attention. The fact played a role,” said the activist and journalist.
Navumchyk noted that some journalists called their emigration “political self-immolation.” “But 20 years later, I thank God that I am alive. And so is Paznyak,” said Navumchyk.
