BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

03/04/2006

Bogus democracy in Belarus

The Gazette

Elections come in many flavours, but the principal types are honest and otherwise. Ukraine and Belarus have recently given us, respectively, a taste of each. And each nation, not coincidentally, is pursuing a sharply different course in its quest for national identity.

Ukraine, spurred by ancient resentments, bread-basket prosperity and a distinct language and culture, has gone the honest-democracy route. But Belarus, reliant on its giant neighbour for raw materials and energy, is ruled by a post-Soviet strongman who despises the West, stole his election, and seeks to reunite Belarus with Russia.

The U.S. has called Alexander Lukashenko the last dictator in Europe because of the less-than-free elections that return him with improbable majorities (most recently on March 19) and because of his human rights failures.

Equally odious to the U.S. - and to many countries - are the eagerness of Belarus to sell arms to rogue nations and the possession of Belorussian passports by officials of the Saddam Hussein regime.

Since the Russian oil and gas that fuel so much of the European economy has to flow through the territory of Belarus, Lukashenko's behaviour cannot be ignored. And what a history he has.

In 1996, he held a referendum on extending his own term of office and locked 89 "disloyal' deputies out of parliament.

He jails opponents, controls the media and harasses diplomats - with pride. He spoke admiringly of Hitler in an interview with a German newspaper.

None of the above, alas, has interfered with his popularity in the countryside, where his authoritarian style is viewed as a bulwark against the economic shocks that have visited other ex-Soviet republics.

The relative economic stability of Belarus is an illusion, built on cheap energy and preferential trade with mother Russia. The Russian gas monopoly recently announced the end of subsidies to Belarus, an obvious attempt to gain control of the Belarus pipeline and accelerate political union.

That union might be inevitable. It will be valid, however, only if it is clearly chosen by the people of Belarus after a fair and free election. 3

Source:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=255a384c-9d2e-4376-af81-2f845e806849