Posted on 05/06/2005 12:29:20 PM PDT by lizol
'White Revolution' stirring in Belarus
By Jeffrey T. Kuhner
The winds of change are about to sweep across the plains of Belarus. Since 1994, the former Soviet republic has been ruled by Stalinist strongman Alexander Lukashenko.
This proud nation has the dubious distinction of being Europe's last dictatorship. Mr. Lukashenko has stifled dissent, curbed opposition parties, imposed state control over the media and rigged elections to ensure his grip on power.
Anti-Lukashenko journalists face constant harassment from the secret police, and several high-profile critics have gone "missing" -- most likely murdered by former KGB thugs.
Belarus' capital, Minsk, once the cradle of a brilliant, Slavic medieval kingdom and a major center of resistance to Adolf Hitler's invading armies, is now often derided by Western diplomats as resembling "East Berlin, without the charm."
Yet Mr. Lukashenko's days in office are now numbered. During a recent meeting with Belarusan opposition leaders at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced administration is support for regime change.
"The Belarusan government should know that they are being watched by the international community, that this is not a dark corner in which they can [go] unobserved, uncommented on, as if Belarus is not a part of the European Continent," she told reporters.
Washington is hoping Belarus will follow the recent successes in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, where pro-democracy forces toppled autocratic, Soviet-style governments. President Bush's policy of spreading democracy is slowly working not only in the Middle East, but also in the former Soviet empire.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Belarus, the last frontier in Europe against dictatorship. Democracy should give one more buffer state for Poland. :)
They defend Stalin, so there's no doubt in my mind they will defend Lukashenko.
This is just Polish conspiracy !!!
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1288393/posts
He hasn't murdered 20 million people, so in the minds of many here he is a "reformer", who probably studies "The Federalist Papers" and is the type of leader who would make George Washington proud.
Or they will decide to have a "free and open" election and by election day his opponent's face will look like something out of a bad horror movie.
Exactly.
LOL, looks like he's asking, "What's your Idiotic Question?"
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