Belarusian opposition march to elections “in different columns”
Published: 21 October, 2010, 18:30
Edited: 24 October, 2010, 23:34
Members of the unauthorized procession of the Belarusian opposition Day of Liberty in the center of Minsk (RIA Novosti / Andrei Aleksandrov)
TAGS: Conflict, Russia, Politics, Belarus
As the Belarusian opposition considers uniting before the presidential election, Aleksandr Lukashenko has said that disagreements with Russia will be overcome.
Belarusian opposition parties may unite when their presidential candidates are registered. According to one of them, Vitaly Rymashevsky, “there are advantages in the fact that we are going by different columns.” Thus, each party may attract its own electorate and will not quarrel with other groups, he said on Wednesday, Interfax reported.
After all the candidates are registered, the opposition parties may try to develop a united strategy, said Rymashevsky of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party.
The current presidential campaign does not differ much from the previous ones, Rymashevsky believes. “We do not have free elections, and now we already can say that the elections are not fair and free and they could not be recognized,” the agency quoted him as saying. The opposition has no opportunity to address voters on television, and it has to “stage pickets on streets,” the politician said.
Another candidate, Grigory Kostusev, who represents Belarusian People’s Front, agrees that opposition organizations may try to develop a united position after the process of registration.
Kostusev is also insisting on including representatives of opposition parties in regional election commissions. This is one of the conditions for the elections to be recognized, he said, adding that early vote should also be abandoned to avoid rigging.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian president has made new statements about the relations with Moscow, which he has made the main issue of his campaign.
The current “media attack” against him in Russia should not be exaggerated, Lukashenko said on Wednesday. Interfax news agency quoted him as saying after the meeting with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite as saying: “All this will pass and we will straighten out relations with Russia.” But he added that Moscow “must understand that Belarus is a sovereign and independent state.”
“We have nothing to do with this skirmish,” Lukashenko said, referring to TV reports about him shown by Russian TV channels. According to the president, he has asked politicians and journalists not to respond to this campaign.
The Belarusian leader said that from the economic point of view, “there are no such disagreements.” However, the information war has an impact on some projects, he said, threatening that Minsk may invite other countries to participate in them.
In an interview with Lithuanian Courier newspaper published on Thursday, Lukashenko described his country as Russia’s “advanced post.” Belarus and Russia are “absolutely united in the sphere of security,” he noted.
Sergey Borisov, RT
21.10.2010, 13:33
2 comments
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I'm neither willing nor in the position to write 'essays' on Belarus's national history. However, a brief glance at the Belarusian opposition's flag that regularly featured on the RT's articles may be of some 'help'. A historical flag of Belarusian People's Republic of 1918 (before Belarus became a Soviet Republic) is a three horizontal stripes flag of white-red-white. This is a symbol of Belarusian independence and democracy. The current flag of red upper stripe over green lower stripe ( often featured as a background for Lukashenko's image) is a modified flag of the Byelorussian SSR. In essence, Russia advocates movement of Belarus's national democratic and independent from Russia forces at the same time as talking about building and investing into the union with Belarus because Russians and Belarusians are 'practically the same nation'. Lucky Belarus to be in two great unions! If we believe that, we must believe anything...
Hi all! I dont really think that Belarus is anything between Poland and Russia in terms of similarity - Belarussians are just another nation that is right now (re)inventing its nationality. This time wpuld come sooner or later - I have sadly no stance on that particular issue. When deployment od SS-26 Iskanders in Belarus was postponed and joint polish-belarussian military consulations Belarus becam stable partner in polish foreign policy. @Enrique - I think You are vastly overestimating polish connections to Belarus. Poland has no real influence on belarussian politics and really never had.












Youre the one with the brains here. Im watcihng for your posts.