Belarus Elections

[TAP]

Belarus dictator has election sewn up

FROM ALICE LAGNADO IN MINSK

THE hardline Communist who presides over the last Soviet-style dictatorship in Europe, President Lukashenko, is expected this weekend to prolong his draconian regime over ten million Belarusians by four more years.
Independent polls show that Mr Lukashenko would be toppled when Belarusians go to the polls on Sunday if their votes counted. But because of widespread vote-rigging the Belarusian former collective farm manager is set for a landslide victory. In reality he is expected to get approximately 40 per cent of the vote.

Many fear that his return will bring nothing but instability to Belarus, already the most unpredictable state in eastern Europe. Mr Lukashenko must win in the first round to stay in place as the people▓s dictator.

Ordinary Belarusians, meanwhile, will have to put up with economic decay, corruption, hidden unemployment and a climate of fear in which many have access to just one state television channel. Newspapers print the words ⌠Blank Space■ where the state censor has banned anti-government articles.

The regime has become so powerful that it has touched the lives of those outside the world of politics.

Svetlana Zavadskaya, 28, a fashion designer, was married to the President▓s personal cameraman. In July 2000 her husband Dmitri disappeared at Minsk airport. Mrs Zavadskaya believes that he was kidnapped and possibly killed by President Lukashenko▓s hit squads. In 1997, after her husband had left his job with the President and started working for Russian state television, Dmitri happened to see him at a press conference.

⌠Lukashenko said, ▒Dima, who are you working for? I will not forgive you▓,■ Mrs Zavadskaya said in an interview. ⌠It▓s my opinion that this is the revenge of a sick man.■

Mikhail Khvostov, the Foreign Minister, told The Times that Belarusian detectives had discovered that Mr Zavadsky, who had covered the war in Chechnya, had been killed by a group of Belarusian mercenaries who fought there. The minister also insisted that foreign governments were paying young Belarusians up to ё70 each to take part in street demonstrations against Mr Lukashenko designed to cause bloodshed.

At the age of 18 Aleksei Shidlovsky was imprisoned for 18 months after he scribbled ⌠Long Live Belarus,■ an opposition slogan, on a government building. Today, aged 22, he leads one of the country▓s biggest opposition groups, Bison, which claims 5,000 members.

But several of the best candidates for the opposition have disappeared in recent years, leaving Vladimir Goncharik as Mr Lukashenko▓s main rival on Sunday. Mr Goncharik, a trade union official with a clean reputation, is unlikely to bring Belarus into a new democratic age

[ricknorth]

President Lukashenko is a complete fool. He has gone to Russian President Vladimir Putin to try and work out a two-state union with Russia. But, now, Putin keeps Lukashenko away at arms length.

Next, Lukashenko goes to Chechnya and Georgia to try and strike up trade and economic partnership. If he would just step aside, Belarus could move toward the west like the Baltic States and begin the road to modernization and prosperity.

He has also visited China to try and negotiate trade. What he is really doing is looking for aide for his economically stifled country, instead of realizing the days of the Soviet Union are gone and the future lies in trade with the whole world, not the former Communist world.

Diesel Fuel and fertilizer in a truck for Lukashenko the fool.

[YuraPolt]

Mostly funny of all is that peoples are so eager to have the
same bazaar in Belarus which we have in Ukraine. Don't You
undersatnd that it is one of the few countries left which
is socialistic ? Are You all so wealthy to vote for rude
capitalism ? Or You like VCR's in the stores and having no work and money to buy them ? Who ever said that so called
capitalism where few peoples are fooling all is the final stage of human progress ? Take Chineese... They didn't make social changes at the expense of the peoples as we did. They attract over 100 billion USD investments per year...So
is the communism is so unattractive with foreigh investors ? Do You know that Soviet Union had almost unlimited credit lines in the West ? Thanks to its predictable economic system. I am very sorry that so many peoples get misled by yellow press. I live in the US even though I am from Ukraine and I would say : this system is very rude to peoples who work from day to day. Most of them have no hope for better tomorrow.

[ricknorth]

The former Soviet Union states have capitalism, but no capital. No capital will flow in because of high risk; too much corruption. And, people in CIS are well-educated and not ready to work in factories like the Chinese to make cheap goods for the store shelves in the West.

It is a difficult question. How to attract investment and business from the West to the East, with little gain expected.

[JetSet]

Very interesting discussion you two!

[ricknorth]

I'm extremely bothered that I read recently the US is taking away Favored Nation Trading Status with Ukraine because of theft of patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc.

China has been stealing from us for years. Clinton managed to line his pockets from these Chinese businessmen however, and turned and looked away from their misdeeds.

[JetSet]

I agree... I think that was something in the works a few months ago. What is even stranger is that Ukraine is one of the leading recipents of aid from the US, following Egypt and Israel.