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Moscow’s stance on Lukashenko to be delivered to Europe
Published: 05 October, 2010, 15:20
Edited: 09 October, 2010, 03:57
TAGS: Conflict, Medvedev, CIS, Russia, Politics, Belarus, Mass media, Lukashenko
The Belarusian opposition has welcomed President Medvedev’s criticism of Lukashenko and vowed to make Moscow’s position heard in Strasburg, where the pre-election situation in the ex-Soviet republic is being discussed.
The former chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus and one of active opposition leaders, Stanislau Shushkevich, said he was glad the Russian leader gave his view on Aleksandr Lukashenko and his presidency. “I believe that now Russia will take the path of decent policy in relations with Belarus,” Shushkevich said in an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper.
In a video blog posted on Sunday, Dmitry Medvedev slammed President Lukashenko’s anti-Russian rhetoric, saying that his entire election campaign is built on “insults and accusations aimed at Russia”. The Russian head of state said that the Belarusian leader is trying to portray Russia as an enemy, adding that Lukashenko’s “utterances not only go beyond all diplomatic sense, they are downright indecent.”
The presidential campaign in Belarus is in full swing, with the voting date set for December 19. It remains to be seen if any of candidates will manage to beat the main contender, the uncimbent Lukashenko, who has been ruling the state for 16 years.
This week, from October 4 to 7, the pre-election situation in the former Soviet republic is in the spotlight in Strasburg, at the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) under the Council of Europe.
“We will try our best to make Belarusian people hear Dmitry Medvedev’s words in Strasburg as well,” Shushkevich said in his interview with NG. For the first time ever, “Moscow’s hand” will be considered as a positive element of influence on the situation in Belarus, the paper notes. Shushkevich recalled that back in 1997, when the Belarusian parliament attempted to have Lukashenko impeached, Russia rescued him.
“Thanks to Moscow, democratic processes in Belarus were ended then. From that moment, Russia has been the only country that recognized Belarusian elections as legitimate,” he said. The politician expressed hope that from now on the situation will change radically and the opposition will make sure Medvedev’s stance is delivered to the Belarusian people as well as to Europe.
Commenting on the issue to Russia’s Channel One, Shushkevich also added that he was glad that Medvedev’s statement was made in a calm and dignified tone.
“This was a slap in the face; nothing like that has ever happened before,” he said. “I dismiss any thought that Lukashenko will remain president after the election. The maximum rating he currently has is about 30 per cent.”
04.10.2010, 17:14
2 comments
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The Byelorussian opposition are a bunch of corrupt sell-outs and liars. They can't wait for Lukashenko to go, so they can sell the nation to western corporate criminals, for cheap of course. If Lukashenko goes, so will go Byelorussia's independence and wealth. They will then be easy prey for the same freaks responsible for the economic rape of the world. Hopefully Medvedev is just playing a game, aimed at gaining Lukashenko's cooperation. If he really aims for Lukashenko to go, then Russia will soon have another new NATO/pro US pissant on their borders with possible missile silos. Is Russia ready for such a scenario?
As the only country that escaped the ravages of "transition", it is normal they will not thank heavens for their luck. Quite the contrary. They believe in Fairy Godmother, the Europe, and will stop at nothing till they destroy what they have. This is inevitable, and they will not bother to learn what happened to Bulgaria, Romania, Greece. No, no. "Others" are just "corrupt", "incompetent" and such, they for sure would be successfull. One can never argue against the greed and ill though through ambition. Hope they will not ask for some "humanitarian" bombing to usher in the era of their dreamed off prosperity.
The Belarusian opposition's superficial 'unity' is as deceptive as its sense of direction. Indeed , it is an anti-Lukashenko crowd. But the 'intellectual' faction of this crowd is pro-Russian and is willing to use the 'European integration' platform to break any support of political independence which Lukashenko defends so furiously against Moscow. It is only indicative of that Russia has not only abandoned its vision of Belarus as a part of its federation, but is now proactively seeking and supporting those who can do it internally within Belarus. Considering that the opposition's manifesto isn't clear if non-existent at all, Russia isn't worried to be surrounded by hypothetical European/NATOs threats via Belarus. What annoys Russia now that there is some collective intelligence among the people in Belarus and outside that unveiled its dominance game. It would be naive to believe that Russia and Belarus is "one united nation", Russia has to be reminded that its keys to Minsk's policymakers offices are no longer in Moscow.