From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> R Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- 11:36 [Friday 31st August, 2001] Lukashenko bristles at U.S. MINSK, Belarus (AP)- With the presidential election just over a week away, Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday donned combat fatigues to attend a military exercise and accused the United States of pressuring his ex-Soviet republic. "We have elements of information pressure on Belarus, starting with petty statements on Radio Liberty and ending with a statement by U.S. Secretary of State (Colin) Powell," Lukashenko said at a meeting with officials before the start of the military maneuvers. In a statement posted on the Web site of the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, Powell congratulated the Belarusian people on their independence from the Soviet Union 10 years ago but accused the government of abandoning "the transition to democracy and the rule of law." Lukashenko sharply reacted to Powell's statement in a television interview broadcast Wednesday, calling it "insolent and unprecedented." Belarusian Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev told Lukashenko that the military maneuvers, which involved 10,000 troops, were imitating a response to an "intervention." Lukashenko routinely accuses the West of hatching plans to overthrow his government. Lukashenko, who has ruled the nation of 10 million since 1994, is widely expected to win a second term in Sept. 9 elections. Lukashenko's crackdown on political opponents and independent media has made him a pariah in the West, but he remains popular among Belarusians thanks to his firebrand populism and efforts to preserve a Soviet-era social safety net. The state-controlled Belarusian media also lavished Lukashenko with praise on his 47th birthday Thursday. "Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has a strong authority both at home and abroad," wrote the official daily Zvyazda (Star). "He is strongly committed to defending human rights and combating terrorism and drug-trafficking." Detailed coverage _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
