VITEBSK, 28 January (BelTA) - Latvian residents come to Belarus for a breath of freedom and leave as the big fans of all things Belarusian: its way of life, statehood, government, and people, former Latvian MEP media expert and journalist Andrey Mamykin told BelTA.
The former member of the European Parliament noted that the political short-sightedness and incompetence of the Latvian authorities always negatively impact the people, who fund this government with their taxes and have no means to correct such governance. Consequently, those in power will always extract money from their citizens, humiliate, and mistreat them. The media expert explained why residents of the Baltic states, particularly Latvia, travel to Belarus. “The Republic of Belarus has achieved very significant and positive successes since Aleksandr Lukashenko introduced the so-called visa-free tourism policy. Not just tens, but hundreds of thousands of people from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and even Estonia now visit Belarus and leave as the biggest admirers of the Belarusian way of life, statehood, government, and people. Firstly, unlike the Baltic states where there is extremely strict censorship, Belarus does not have it. Secondly, after experiencing all this, it's so pleasant to share with friends back home, over kitchen conversations, what life in Belarus is really like. Why Belarusians' electricity bills are ten times lower than in Riga. Why their food is not only cheap but also very tasty. Why dental implants that cost €20,000 in Europe can be done here for ten times less. I won’t list everything, but Belarus is way ahead across many sectors,” he noted.
Andrey Mamykin emphasized that the Latvian authorities did not like such freedom of movement and acquaintance with the neighboring country.
“People traveled on regular international scheduled buses to glimpse the Belarusian showcase, breathe the Belarusian air, and experience its freedom. And so, the Latvian authorities became frightened. They realized that the image they had created - of a totalitarian enemy, dictator Lukashenko, the dragon of Belarusian farmers, and the monster of Belarusian women - was being eroded, and they urgently needed to restore it. The Latvian authorities claimed that Belarusians are enemies who want to attack and tear Latvians to shreds. Yet objectively, hundreds of thousands of people have visited Belarus over the past few years, and they say: ‘You are lying to us, it's nothing like that.’ Then, just like in the film ‘The Diamond Arm’: 'If they won't take it, we'll cut off the gas'. There was passenger traffic, there was a flow, and that's why they simply need to forbid people from traveling," the journalist said.
He particularly pointed out that only one border crossing remains open on the Latvia-Belarus border, and it operates in such a way that not every tourist can use it. “Lithuanians and Latvians, for instance, unilaterally prohibited crossing the border on foot or by bicycle, and then canceled bus services as well. Now one can only enter Belarus in a private vehicle. The Latvian authorities have come up with nothing better than to physically isolate Belarus, building an invisible wall on the border,” the media expert believes.
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