BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

07/12/2006

Hunger-striking Belarusian opposition leader near death

dpa German Press Agency

Minsk- Belarusian opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin is nearing death as a result of his anti-government hunger strike, according to a statement made public on Thursday. An open letter signed by Aleksender Milinkevich, Kozulin's ally, to the leaders of G8 nations described Kozulin's physical state as "almost at an end."

"The politician (Kozulin) has lost 40 kilos, his blood pressure is critically low, heart weakness has begun, and his kidneys are nearing failure," Milinkevich's statement said in part. "Brain damage begins at this stage."

Kozulin began the hunger strike on October 20 to protest a 66- month jail term he received for participating in anti-government demonstrations in March.

The strike also was aimed at drawing international attention to the authoritarian regime in Belarus, whose strongman leader Aleksander Lukashenko is generally ignored by Western governments, aside from pro-forma complaints about Belarusian human-rights violations.

"If only one G8 nation ... were to declare its intention to discuss the human-rights situation in Belarus at the United Nations Security Council ... Kozulin would end his strike," the Milinkevich statement said.

A former collective farm boss, President Lukashenko in recent years has marginalized the country's weak opposition using a combination of police state tactics, pro-Lukashenko propaganda in the state media and functional social services for the majority of Belarusians.

The country's opposition, led by Milinkevich and Kozulin, has repeatedly attempted to stand up to Lukashenko, with little success. Recent jailings of both leaders sparked little reaction in the West.

Source:

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Hunger_striking_Belarusian_oppositi_12072006.html