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Belarus Opposition Leader Milinkevich Reported Detained November 24, 2006 -- A spokesman for Belarusian opposition leader Alyaksandr Milinkevich says Milinkevich has been detained by police in the Vitebsk region. According to the statement, Milinkevich he had been in the region gathering signatures in support of candidates for local elections. Spokesman Pavel Mazheika is quoted by the Associated Press as saying Milinkevich was detained along with a local opposition activist. He said police accused the activist of involvement in an earlier car accident. Milinkevich ran for president against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in an election in March, and he led public protests...

The beginning of the end? The democratic opposition in Belarus did not win the presidential election but it made a large step towards victory, Belarussian opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich said in Warsaw, ahead of meetings with Polish leaders last Thursday. 01.04.06 Milinkevich was defeated in the March 19 poll, which was branded in the West as rigged. He came to Poland to tell the world what is going now in his country, ruled by the authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko. The democratic opposition in Belarus did not win the presidential election but it made a large step towards victory, Belarussian opposition...

Belarus Opposition Accused of Plotting By YURAS KARMANAU, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 1, 9:54 PM ET MINSK, Belarus - The Belarusian security service on Wednesday accused the isolated ex-Soviet nation's opposition party of planning to seize power during this month's presidential election. Security chief Stepan Sukharenko read a statement on state television alleging that the opposition had plotted to detonate explosives on election day in a crowd of supporters protesting against alleged fraud. "The opposition planned to seize power," he said. The allegations were dismissed by the opposition in Belarus, where authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has ruled with an...

Belarus crisis BIALYSTOK, Poland: Belarus will be rocked by mass street protests if long-time President Alexander Lukashenko cheats in March’s presidential election, the main opposition candidate said during a visit to Poland on Friday. "Our aim is not to stage a revolution but if the law is flouted during the vote we will take to the streets," Alexander Milinkevich told reporters in this north-eastern Polish city after meeting Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz. But, he warned, Lukashenko could use force to put down any protests. "We can’t rule out that Lukashenko will call in the army," said the opposition leader....

Following last week's scheduling of a presidential vote for 19 March 2006 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 December 2005), the Central Election Commission said it will register nomination groups to collect signatures in support of presidential candidates until 23 December, Belapan reported. To get on the ballot, a presidential contender needs to collect at least 100,000 voter signatures. Apart from democratic opposition candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich, who was selected in October to challenge President Alyaksandr Lukashenka (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 October 2005), four more aspirants have signaled their intention to run. They are lawmaker Syarhey Haydukevich, leader of the Belarusian Liberal Democratic...