Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- [The elected, and soon to be reelected, president of Belarus and his administration are not the last but the latest to be branded by the global elites clustered in New York, Washington and London the "last redoubt of Soviet-style tyranny." Neither do they supposedly represent "Europe's last dictatorship." Rather, President Lukashenko's government is the current Western-designated "last dictatorship." As he himself is the latest edition of the sophomoric alliterative comic book (or Big Time Wrestling) monicker Bully/Butcher/Boss/Badman/Bastard of Baghdad/Belgrade/Belarus/Bhutan/Bahamas. People with doctorate degrees earning six figure salaries concoct such inspired crud. The same type of mandarin manque has deemed the desire of the peoples of both Russia and Belarus to form a common political unit, in large part to defend themselves against NATO, "misguided." Scribblers in Manhattan know what's best for the people of Eastern Europe and the world; locals can't be trusted to recognize their true interests - after all, look how often they vote the wrong way. The former will be seriously challenged when NATO and the EU launch their next attack against Moldova, as neither the country not its capital begins with the letter B.] New York Times August 29, 2001 The Bully of Belarus Nothing is more likely to drive a dictatorship to extremes of repression than the threat of a competitive election. That is happening now in Belarus, Europe's last redoubt of Soviet-style tyranny. With the candidate of a unified opposition given a chance of winning an honestly conducted vote next month, President Aleksandr Lukashenko seems determined to crush his critics, while lashing out at the West. It is up to the outside world, primarily the European Union, Russia and the United States, to insist on a free campaign and honest vote count. So far, the contest has been most unfair. The government has blocked publication of the opposition's campaign literature, interrupted press runs of independent newspapers and even threatened to remove the main opposition candidate, Vladimir Goncharik, from the ballot. Mr. Lukashenko, who came to power in a free election in 1994, is unwilling to allow anyone else the same opportunity. Mr. Lukashenko's candidacy has been damaged by credible charges that officials of his Interior Ministry ordered the murders of two pro-democracy politicians in 1999. Detailed accusations of government complicity have been broadcast back into Belarus by television networks in neighboring Russia, circumventing the tight censorship of Belarus's own state-controlled television outlets. Moscow has been a close ally of Mr. Lukashenko, hoping to take advantage of Belarus's location as a conduit for Russian gas exports and a site for radar monitoring of NATO activities. There is even misguided talk of reuniting the two countries, restoring the political link that existed under the Soviet Union. Moscow's interests would be better served simply by the election of a more enlightened Belarussian leader. The European Union needs to be particularly vigilant and vocal during this election period. As the political voice of Europe's democracies, the E.U. must come to the aid of those struggling under Europe's last dictatorship. The kind of coordinated American and European campaign that helped keep Slobodan Milosevic from stealing Yugoslavia's presidential election last year could be effective in Belarus next month. In particular, Brussels and Washington need to rally behind the plans by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to supervise thousands of election monitors in Belarus. Mr. Goncharik's candidacy offers Belarussians a realistic chance to rid themselves of the oppressive Mr. Lukashenko. He should not be allowed to rob them of that opportunity. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
