Hellmer: I actually told Bell that he would disappoint your president
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While Lord Bell’s plan to improve the image of Belarus has been lost in the corridors of power, the European Radio for Belarus is finding out how Europeans see Belarus.
Marek Bucka, former adviser to the Polish ambassador in Minsk, believes that Belarus currently has no external image at all.
“I think that half of Europeans do not actually know about the existence of Belarus. Similarly, in early 1990s very few people in America or Europe heard about Poland, according to the public opinion polls. Thus, nothing is known about Belarus apart from the thing that there is a bad guy there named Alexander Lukashenka who beats the opposition. The image of Belarus will be the one presented by Belarus itself. As of today, Belarus presents no image”, he said.
In Ukraine, Belarus is perceived as a Soviet country. Ukrainians feel proud that they are more advance in terms of democracy, according to Vadim Balitskiy, a business development officer at the PRESSCENTER holding.
“In Ukraine, the perception of Belarus suffers the stereotypes like for any other country. Simple folks have the following stereotypes regarding Belarus: a stable country where there is the order and pensions are paid on time; and the pensions are higher than Ukraine. On the other hand, Belarus is perceived as a Soviet country. In a certain sense, Ukrainians are proud that they are more advanced in terms of democratic institutions. Belarus is seen as an appendix to Russia. People don’t seem to like that Lukashenka tends to control single-handedly.
Jan Marjan from the Czech Republic-based organization Civic Belarus says that the Czechs do not approve of what the Belarusian government is doing, but they have good attitude to Belarusians.
“I think that the current image of Belarus and the Belarusian government in the Czech Republic is quite bad. This is caused by the measures of the Belarusian authorities against independent media and the civil society. Nevertheless, I think that the Czechs have a good understanding of what is taking place in Belarus. Therefore, they treat Belarusians well”.
Russian lawmaker Nikita Belykh from the Union of Rightist Forces says that to him, Belarus is geographically a European country with the authoritarian rule.
“To me, Belarus is a geographically European country yet with an absolutely eastern, despotic type of rule. It has an authoritarian regime which violates human rights and does not tolerate political competitors. Moreover, it has no civic control over the operation of the government”.
However, none of our interlocutors does not believe that Lord Bell’s plan to improve Belarus’s image abroad can realistically change how we are perceived in the outside world.
Marek Bucka: “I absolutely don’t believe in the PR techniques that the British expert is proposing to Lukashenka. I don’t believe in those tricks that can make the West fall in love with Belarus. Moreover, the media in Poland and Central Europe where people know a bit more about Belarus have a very clear image of Lukashenka. No public relations guru will help in this case”.
Jan Marjan: “PR is a very powerful tool. But, quite frankly, Lord Bell has never had and will never have such a client. He will simply be unable to prove anything. PR alone is not enough to change anything in Belarus, because we monitor the situation in Belarus and no PR will help here”.
Rodger Hellmer (MEP, Independent) from Spain: “It is very difficult to change a country’s image with the help of only one man, even if this man is a prominent PR expert. Actually, I told Lord Bell that he would disappoint your president”.
Nikita Belykh: “I think that PR cannot resolve those issues that I mentioned. It can only change in case the political system undergoes a democratic modernization. This is the business of politicians, not PR experts. I admit that this could be done by the government: loosing the nuts, allowing the opposition to take part in the fair or relatively fair elections. PR alone will not be able to change anything”.
Marek Bucka: “The recipe is very simple and complex at the same time. As long as Alexander Lukashenka is in power, the image of Belarus will be either nothing or very bad. Removing Lukashenka from power and the installment of a democratic government could possibly make the public opinion in the West to get more interested in what is going on across the eastern border”.
Vadim Balitskiy: “For Ukraine, it would be a very good sign if other public institutions apart from the administration of the president would emerge. It would be good if the Cabinet of Ministers and the House of Representatives could have real political powers. Ukraine would understand then that something is taking place in Belarus”.
Jan Marjan: “One should change the policy, not the image. The situation in the field of human rights, civil rights, etc. should be changed in Belarus”.
Rodger Hellmer is confident that the reduction of police troops, economic reforms and democratization could also help to improve the image.
Rodger Hellmer: “You need to change something inside your country. You need to start changes: to reduce the number of policemen, to launch economic reforms, to respect human rights and freedoms. If this is not done, making a beautiful picture of your country by Lord Bell will have no sense”.
