Posted on 09/08/2001 12:26:18 PM PDT by Typhoon
by Daniel McAdams
Most Americans, if told that several million of their tax dollars were being sent half way around the world to throw an election in favor of a senior member of the Soviet Communist Party, would go ballistic. At the least they might wonder whether Bill Clinton and his left-wing ideologues were somehow still running foreign policy in Washington. The strange truth is that President Bush's ambassador in the former Soviet Republic of Belarus, Michael Kozak, is doing his level best to do just that. He has set out to make sure that opposition leader Vladimir Goncharyk is elected president of Belarus this Sunday.
Goncharyk is being sold in the West as the new breed of politician to finally put an end to the "authoritarian" rule of current president Alexander Lukashenka. What his supporters in the Bush administration have tried to keep under the lid is the fact that Goncharyk, 14 years Lukaskenka's senior, is President of the Federation of Trade Unions and a former member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Lukashenka, habitually referred to in the Western press as a "communist hard-liner," was in fact merely a collective farm manager during communist rule.
The US government has nevertheless long condemned Lukashenka as authoritarian for, in 1996, holding a referendum to expand the powers of the presidency, which was successful, and for disbanding a hard-line communist parliament that ignored legislation it was sent. When US-favored Russian president Boris Yeltsin did the same and more, he was praised in the US government and media as a "reformer."
Currently, the Bush administration and Western media continue to repeat the unsubstantiated but salacious rumor of "death squads" roaming the Belarusian countryside producing scores of "disappeared." In fact, of the three or four names claimed to be "the disappeared," one, Tamara Vinnikava, has already surfaced happy and healthy in London. Another of the celebrated "disappeared," Viktor Gonchar, is widely believed to be living comfortably in the United States. The other one or two may well have been given a similar welcome in the West. Nevertheless, the State Department as recently as August 28, repeated these dubious charges. Spokesperson Richard Boucher said then: "Although the connection between the disappearance of leading pro-democracy politicians over the last two years and government-run death squads has yet to be proven, we do take these charges seriously." If the US government has no evidence that there even are "disappeared" other than the claims of the opposition, on what basis does it "take these charges seriously"?
The US government and Western media have also decried Belarusian President Lukashenka's hesitation to allow the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its 14,000 domestic observers to monitor the election. In last year's parliamentary elections the OSCE announced a month before the election that it would not bother to observe: they had decided in advance that the elections would be neither free nor fair. The several hundred international observers who actually did bother to monitor the elections in Belarus told a different story. The Belarusian president can be forgiven for questioning the impartiality of this monitoring body.
How did the West come to line up behind such an unlikely candidate as Goncharyk? Much of the credit must be given US ambassador Kozak, who Belarusian Television reported called a meeting last month between opposition candidates and told them to withdraw in favor of a single challenger, one Vladimir Goncharyk. This "pro-Western" member of the Soviet ruling elite even has a communist-sounding campaign slogan: "Vote for the agreed-upon candidate." Anything you say, comrade.
In all fairness to Ambassador Kozak, this kind of meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign countries has been the norm for post-Cold War US foreign policy. From Slovakia to Albania to Yugoslavia to Croatia, US foreign policy in the region has consisted of picking a candidate and making sure he wins. Anyone wondering why the United States is no longer widely admired in these former captive nations need look no further.
Though Belarusian voters hardly know candidate Goncharyk, he has been given at least two 30-minute slots on state television to make his case to the people. Another of the charges against Lukashenka is that he maintains an iron grip on the state media.
When a recent article in the London Times pointed out that Ambassador Kozak was acting in favor of the political opposition in Belarus, the ambassador denied it, in typical diplomat-speak, insisting that the millions sent to Belarus to "promote democracy and the civic sector" were not transferred to any political party. According to the official figures, the US government has sent some $4 million yearly for this purpose – a considerable sum in a poor country – and unofficially millions more have likely been spent. Much of this money ends up in the accounts of non-governmental organizations allied with the opposition.
While Ambassador Kozak denies that the US government funds any political parties in Belarus, one of the government's cut-out international assistance organizations, the International Republican Institute (IRI), makes less effort to hide the political nature of its activities in Belarus. According to that organization's website, in Belarus "IRI's USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development)-funded program provides specialized training for democratic youth, assistance to reform-oriented parties and literature development and distribution. The training is designed to bring activists into political party and NGO organizations and help prepare them for leadership roles" (emphasis added). The political opposition in this election happens to be Goncharyk, and such foreign support of political parties in the United States is, rightly, illegal. The USAID's own website says of President Lukashenka that he was "elected in 1994 in a vote judged to be free and fair." So, one may wonder, why are US tax dollars being spent to overthrow him in favor of a leading communist?
A Clinton appointee, Kozak's undiplomatic biases began before he even set foot on Belarusian soil. In a crude break with diplomatic protocol, Kozak pronounced Belarus "worse than Cuba" in advance of his arrival as ambassador. Some of us may have missed Castro's political opposition making its case to the Cuban voter on state television, or in numerous privately owned independent Cuban newspapers.
Most Americans should wonder why we are bothering to meddle in the elections of a sovereign country in the first place. As even rabidly anti-Lukashenka media like Radio Free Europe report that he is the most popular candidate in the contest, shouldn't the greatest democratic nation on earth allow the good citizens of Belarus to freely choose their own leader? Isn't that what the Cold War was about in the first place?
McAdams has monitored elections throughout the former communist world for the British Helsinki Human Rights Group, however the views expressed here are his own.
The leadership of both parties are taking us in the same direction, just slightly different routes. IMHO.
1. not really, I actually voted for the guy but wow, the way things are looking I think Im going to regret that. I try to rationalize it by say saying 'who else was I supposed to vote for, Gore?'. If Nader runs again, I'll vote just to give him more legitimacy. At least hes not Mr. Globalist.
2."The leadership of both parties are taking us in the same direction, just slightly different routes. IMHO"
You are absolutely %100 correct!
thats why I said I would vote for Nader. I consider myself very conservative but we need a new party now other than the republicans and the democRats because neither one of them are worth a shit!
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Text of report by Belarusian news agency Belapan
Minsk, 9 September: Speaking to journalists at the Sports Academy polling station, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka seemed to ignore several questions concerning the so-called "death squad" - a special unit set up, as the opposition believes, for the physical elimination of the incumbent president's political opponents and which was allegedly involved in the disappearances of the country's renowned politicians.
Journalists kept asking questions on this subject, and finally Lukashenka said: "You have already spoken of death so much that it irritates people. Generally speaking, with these [death] squads you have torpedoed the election campaign of your single and indivisible [opposition candidate Uladzimir Hancharyk] ... [agency ellipsis]. You will yet have to answer for wrecking criminal proceedings." (Lukashenka was apparently referring to the criminal proceedings in the disappearances of well-known politicians in Belarus - Belapan).
Source: Belapan news agency, Minsk, in Belarusian 1423 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
[Presenter] Ninety minutes remain until the closure of the polls. Half an hour ago, the Central Electoral Commission [CEC] received the latest information on the progress of voting. Our special correspondent, Natallya Stsyopachkina, reports live from there. Hello, Natallya.
[Correspondent] Hello. The CEC updates its information every two hours. With me here is the CEC secretary, Mikalay Lazavik, with the latest.
[Lazavik] The reports we have show that voters' interest in the elections is very high. [Passage omitted: figures by region] A total of 75.2 per cent of registered voters have cast their ballots nationwide.
[Correspondent] How do you explain this activity? [Passage omitted]
[Lazavik] I think this voter activity has to do with the fact that everyone today feels he is personally involved in such an important thing as the presidential election. [Passage omitted: more in this vein]
[Correspondent] Even despite bad weather, the turnout in Minsk has been quite considerable: some 66 per cent, a record.
[Lazavik] It is 66.73 per cent, in Minsk this figure was last reported in the days of the Soviet Union.
[Passage omitted: comments on voting abroad]
Source: Belarusian Radio, Minsk, in Belarusian 1530 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Text of report by Belarusian radio on 9 September
Belarusian Interior Minister Uladzimir Navumaw has denied media reports of allegedly deploying armoured vehicles and troops from bases of the Interior Troops. In an interview with Interfax in Minsk today, Navumaw stressed that not one soldier from the Interior Troops was deployed. The minister noted that all servicemen are currently casting their votes at polling stations.
Source: Belarusian Radio, Minsk, in Belarusian 1530 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
|
Stef Goris managed five polling stations before lunch. He might well have reached a sixth had he not been detained as guest of honour for a show of children's folk dancing at a school in Minsk where the proud headmaster doubles as election officer. Mr Goris, a Belgian liberal leading a delegation from the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly, was one of 715 international election observers at work across Belarus on Sunday. They watched voters turn out in force for the first presidential election since the country's authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, took power in 1994. Opinion-poll data suggested the main challenger, Vladimir Goncharik, might do relatively well in the capital, Minsk, but with the provinces heavily favouring Mr Lukashenko. Results are expected in the early hours of Monday morning. Supporters of Mr Goncharik, a left-leaning trades unionist, said they planned an overnight vigil in Minsk's main square, triggering fears of a clash with security forces. But there was little sign of tension in Minsk during voting hours on Sunday. Most polling stations, in schools and other public buildings, set up bars and buffets, with pop music playing through loudspeakers, giving the day a holiday air. Several observers raised questions about the "early" votes, cast from last Tuesday by people who said they might be away for the weekend. About 15 per cent of registered voters chose this option, leaving their ballot papers sitting in flimsy boxes in polling stations for up to five days. In addition to the foreign observers, some 20,000 Belarussians declared themselves election monitors. A quarter came from a national citizens' movement, the rest from groups including war veterans and workers' associations. They made for a diverse team. At one station, another converted school, the citizens' movement was represented by an 18-year-old student. Next to her sat the war veteran, a woman of 82 who joined the Young Communist League in 1938. Both said the first two hours of polling were uneventful. The local observers were mostly young, said Georgy Andryushenko, headmaster and election officer at Middle School 212, scene of the folk dancing. Four of the eight at his station were students. As for the war veterans, he said, they "have a lot of time on their hands". However orderly the voting appeared, the election seemed likely to receive a heavily qualified opinion from some observers. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, whose view will carry most weight with western governments, was due to report on Monday. Stiflingly restrictive election laws and the government's near-monopoly of broadcast media gave the opposition very little chance to get its campaign messages across. Official harassment interrupted production of the country's few independent newspapers. Still, there was a contest of sorts. "Goncharik", said a woman leaving the Minsk polling station, when asked how she voted. "Me too," said her friend. "I'm for Batka (father)", said a third woman using an affectionate nickname for Mr Lukashenko. "The city looks fine, the metro works well. Besides, Goncharik is 61." Mr Lukashenko is 47. A straw-poll of 15 voters yielded a finely balanced result. Five said they voted for Mr Goncharik, five for Mr Lukashenko, and five refused to tell. Nobody mentioned Sergei Gaidukevich, a third, marginal, candidate. "I have nothing against Lukashenko's policies as such," said one tall and nervous young man who declined to reveal his choice. "I just hate it when a politician carries on like he is God." |
A Russian television correspondent has reported that Belarusian KGB officers suspended the operation of a TV satellite dish in Minsk which was to provide international coverage of the republic's presidential elections on 9 September. The correspondent also said he had seen troops arriving in Minsk during the night. Opposition candidate Uladzimir Hancharyk said in remarks broadcast by the television that he was on a list of three people whose "political assassination" was being planned, apparently involving linking their names with all the country's misfortunes. Later in the report, OSCE coordinator Kimmo Kiljunen said he had told President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of his displeasure at the latter's threat to deport an OSCE envoy on suspicion of working for foreign secret services. The following are excerpts from the report by Russian TV6, broadcast on 9 September:
[Presenter] We will now find out the details of what is happening in Belarus, our correspondent Vadim Fefilov is on the line in Minsk. Vadim, as far as I can make out, there have already been various unexpected events, for example, for some reason relays which are made by satellite to Europe, via the dish which has been installed in Minsk, have become impossible. What can you tell us about that?
[Correspondent] Yes, Vyacheslav, there are indeed quite strange things going on. As you can see, we are currently in the courtyard of Belarusian TV, although we were supposed to make the live link-up in the centre of the city, near the Belarus Hotel. That's where the dish, the relay television satellite station of the European broadcasting union, is located. Incidentally, it's from this dish, this satellite relay station, that virtually all the world's major television agencies and companies have ordered their relays. It's not clear what the journalists will do now. The point is that literally an hour ago officers of the Belarusian KGB arrived at the dish, they said they were not prohibiting the work of the satellite dish, but nevertheless they are suspending its operation until they receive further instructions.
Meanwhile, the journalists who were peacefully working at the two polling stations where the main presidential candidates - the current president Alyaksandr Lukashenka and the opposition candidate Uladzimir Hancharyk - were voting, suspected nothing, they were working peacefully, and this is what the two presidential candidates said.
[Lukashenka] If Hancharyk wins, or [Syarhey] Haydukevich - incidentally, I don't understand why you keep talking about Hancharyk and not Haydukevich, according to all the surveys he's nearly 50 per cent ahead of Hancharyk, and believe me, these were real surveys - so if the alternative candidates win, either of them, I will, of course, recognize that. But that's if they win. I would like them to act likewise if the incumbent president wins.
[Hancharyk] I warned Lukashenka publicly at rallies that I am not afraid for my own fate, but if they touch my family, I have already said, I'll get these swines who are currently in power and who carry out these monstrous orders. We have information, unfortunately, that the head of state said at a closed meeting that the political assassination of three people was being planned, that is, that all the misfortunes which Belarus is currently experiencing will be pinned to their names, that is, the ruin of the economy, the ruin of the union with Russia, bad relations with the West - all of this is their fault -
[Journalist] Are you on that list?
[Hancharyk] Yes, I'm on the list...
[Presenter] Our correspondent Vadim Fefilov is on the line again. Vadim, there have been reports that military hardware has appeared in Minsk. Is that really so?
[Correspondent] Yes, Vyacheslav. During the night we observed quite a large column of lorries in which soldiers were sitting, and they were sitting there during the night and looking quite menacing. This was on Ulitsa Ivana Kupaly in the centre of the city. It's quite calm at the moment, although yesterday unknown people distributed leaflets in the streets of Minsk with brief and menacing headlines - to battle, to arms - and they contained detailed instructions on how to make Molotov cocktails, we all know that means bottles containing an inflammable mixture. But there have been no incidents of that kind yet.
Another interesting piece of information was given to us by students at the Belarusian State University, that they received instructions today not to go out on to the streets for the entire day unless they have written permission from the rector or the pro-rector of the university.
I would like to add that very many international observers are here, about 1,000 of them, and I have with me the main coordinator from the OSCE. Kimmo Kiljunen will determine whether the international community recognizes these elections as fair on Monday [10 September], when the conclusions of the Belarusian Central Electoral Commission are announced. Mr Kiljunen, you were talking to the president of Belarus just now, about 30 minutes ago. If it's not a secret, what did you talk about?
[Kiljunen] There were many things. He asked me for my impressions, and I said that we had not seen any disorders at the polling stations and that everything was OK. But I [break in transmission] because I was not very pleased with his point of view, what he said in an interview, that a special representative of the OSCE, Mr [Georg] Vik, who was here in Belarus, had been working with foreign secret services and that he wants to have him deported. I said that I was very displeased with this point of view, because all the countries of the OSCE - you know it consists of some 55 countries, including Russia - support envoy Vik. He is working [break in transmission] because of such support. I was very displeased with the president's point of view.
[Correspondent] What was the president's reaction? Will Mr Vik be deported or not?
[Kiljunen] He told me that after the elections we would [break in transmission], we would see what the situation was, and I responded that I hope the OSCE and the Belarusian leadership will cooperate better in the future.
[Correspondent] A brief question about what your colleagues are currently observing - are there any incidents?
[Kiljunen] We haven't seen any major problems so far, but it's difficult to say because, of course, we can only see certain things here in Minsk, but the main thing for me is not just what has happened today but what happened before, what the election campaign was like, what the registration of candidates was like, and so on. We have to draw conclusions about everything, not just the situation at present.
Source: TV6, Moscow, in Russian 1100 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Belarusian TV has broadcast a report on all the three presidential candidates casting their votes. It described the opposition candidate, Uladzimir Hancharyk, as attention-seeking and banal. In remarks broadcast by the TV, Liberal-Democrat candidate, Syarhey Haydukevich, said he would succeed President Alyaksandr Lukashenka at some point in future. The TV also broadcast Lukashenka's remarks at the polling station in which he dismissed opposition protest plans as bluff. The following is an excerpt from a report by Belarusian TV on 9 September:
[0541-1820] [Presenter Yuryy Hroeraw] All the three candidates for the Belarusian presidency have already cast their ballots. Uladzimir Hancharyk was the first to vote at 0900 [0600 gmt], Syarhey Haydukevich made his choice approximately at 1100 [0800 gmt], and the last among the candidates was Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who cast his ballot at about midday.
[Correspondent Yuryy Prakopaw, in Russian] Polling station No 3 today was given much attention. An hour before the appearance of the presidential candidate, Uladzimir Hancharyk, the press began to gather here. This caused surprise among ordinary voters, who were constantly inquiring why there was such an abundance of journalists. At about 10 o'clock [0700 gmt], the main character appeared accompanied by his spouse and his two new guards. At first, Uladzimir Hancharyk approached journalists for an impromptu news conference on the steps of the polling station. Uladzimir Hancharyk tried to be cheerful and confident. In particular, he said victory was already in his pocket.
[Hancharyk, in Russian] Don't you doubt that we shall win. We have won already.
[Prakopaw] The voting process took no more than two minutes. TV cameras and microphones were waiting for Uladzimir Hancharyk near the ballot box. The presidential candidate spent the rest of the time gladly giving interviews. However, communication with the press was banal, with the usual accusations against the authorities and electoral commissions at all levels. Uladzimir Hancharyk once again confirmed he was sure of his victory and promised to publish the correct results of the election tonight.
[Passage omitted: Hancharyk's wife says she is ready for the role of first lady, Hancharyk visited a bar at the polling station].
[Prakopaw] Before leaving, Uladzimir Hancharyk came up to journalists once again to describe one more time his negative view of the whole election process.
[Correspondent Inha Khrushchova, in Russian] [Passage omitted: candidates voting like ordinary citizens] The leader of Belarusian Liberal Democrats, Syarhey Haydukevich, a contender in the presidential race, made his choice at a school located in the Minsk Sukharava district. Haydukevich appeared a little bit earlier than was announced to journalists. Having signed the list of voters and received a ballot paper, the presidential candidate went to carry out the most important act - making his choice. Haydukevich did not spend much time in the voting booth. Having made his choice, the presidential candidate cast his ballot and talked to journalists.
[Haydukevich, in Russian] I believe I will be the president of this state, not necessarily on 9 or on 10 September, but in future I will be. I certainly will be. You know, we are hoping for the second round, but I do not know what will happen.
[Passage omitted: Haydukevich says he has nothing to do with the Russian Liberal Democratic Party and its leader, Vladimir Zhirinovskiy].
[Correspondent Svyatlana Kanapatskaya, in Russian] Today, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, like all Belarusian citizens taking part in the voting process, came to his territorial voting station. It is located in Tsentralnyy district [of Minsk] at the Sports Academy. The Belarusian president, like many others today, was in a special festive mood. This is understandable: the country is at a historic stage, being scrutinized by the whole world.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka greeted those present and presented flowers [to the commission], then he went to the polling booth. Dozens of video and photo cameras followed this process. Over 600 journalists will cover elections in Belarus. Many of them were awaiting the president today at the station to get answers to many questions.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka gave this opportunity to journalists. While answering the first question from journalists about the possible falsification of the election [result] and protests, the Belarusian president assured journalists that the election in this country would be held in accordance with the law, and the state will guarantee order in the country.
[Lukashenka, in Russian] [Omitted: remarks reported earlier] The order will be kept at an appropriate level. Do not worry about this, there will be no actions of protest today in Minsk. All this is the bluff of 20 people.
[Unidentified reporter] What is your forecast concerning the result?
[Lukashenka] My forecast? You'd better ask the chairwoman of this commission. She knows it better, she knows what is going on at the polling station, she has looked people in the eye, and so on. I have not been involved into this process. [Omitted: remarks covered earlier]
[Unidentified reporter] Alyaksandr Ryhoravich [Lukashenka], yesterday the US embassy released a letter by US President George Bush to the Central European legal centre, in which he spoke about democracy in Europe, and which says in one of the paragraphs that President Lukashenka and his administration impede democracy, impede the election process and suppress the opposition. How would you comment on this?
[Lukashenka] I cannot comment on this, Bush did not tell me this. Everything released is a lie. Bush could not say this. Absolutely. It is like with [US Secretary of State Colin] Powell's alleged message, which was actually the statement of [US Ambassador to Belarus Michael] Kozak.
[Passage omitted: Lukashenka says he has no information concerning the results at so called closed stations (hospitals, military units, etc.)]
[Passage omitted: remarks covered earlier].
Source: Belarusian television, Minsk, in Belarusian 1130 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax
Minsk, 9 September: The opposition candidate for the Belarusian presidency, the leader of the country's national trade union federation, Uladzimir Hancharyk, has announced that the authorities are planning "to politically eliminate prominent opposition leaders in Belarus and launch their criminal prosecution".
Hancharyk named ex-Belarusian Agriculture Minister Vasil Lyavonaw, ex-Belarusian ambassador to Lithuania, Mikhail Marynich, and himself among these politicians at a press conference in Minsk.
"A document concerning a possible strategy of the authorities after the elections has been obtained from reliable sources," Hancharyk noted. The document says that supervision over the abovementioned persons will be organized and they will be charged with disclosing information regarding the investigation into the disappearance of prominent Belarusian oppositionists, Hancharyk said.
Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English 1644 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
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