The abduction of Europe

It all started in Belarus.

The slowing of democratic development is becoming increasingly evident around the world. Freedom House reports that fewer countries now guarantee all political and civil rights and freedoms than just a few years ago. This worrying retreat of democracy has been going on for more than five years.

This is largely due to a change in attitudes towards promoting democracy in the US and Europe.

There is a growing perception that democratic Europe is turning its back on the very principles it is based on; even the emotional connection to recent history, the history of fighting for freedom, for European values, is becoming weaker.

Promising past

The success story of European unification is no longer a political guiding light. However, it's worth reminding that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe wasted no time in turning its back on the former empire to join NATO and the EU.

Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Romania joined the EU. Reality exceeded the boldest of forecasts for the democratic world, for progress and human rights in Europe. The dream of a Europe whole and free became reality for much of the European continent.

In the 1990s, it still appeared that the constituent republics of the former Soviet Union, or at least those in geographic Europe, would follow suit. This was the best time to create and develop democratic institutions in the European portion of the Soviet Union. Indeed, many Western NGOs came to Belarus, Ukraine and Russia at that time to help develop civil society. However, for different reasons they failed to achieve any lasting success in these countries.

Early in the new millennium, Europe needed US support, including support for accession of new members to the EU, and was aligned with the US foreign policy, which was based on the core premise of promoting democracy above all. Europe and especially Eastern European states that reclaimed its European identity benefited from this solidarity on principles.

The entire Former Soviet Union (FSU) is now in full retreat, away from democratic values. And Western NGOs and their local partners are under the greatest pressure ever in all the years of their operation in the FSU nations. NGOs have been declared "foreign agents" in Russia. They have been "enemies of the people" in Belarus for years.

There is a clear danger of Russia becoming a totalitarian state. Totalitarian tendencies are on the rise in Ukraine as well, even as it is negotiating to sign an association agreement with the EU. It is not a “civilisation choice” of Ukraine that is being negotiated but an arrangement to accommodate the interests of an authoritarian ruling elite in Ukraine.

Disappointing present

Currently the US is distancing itself not only from promoting democracy in general but also from the process of promoting democracy in Europe. Going back to the "security paradigm" that de-emphasizes concerns for human rights and democracy lead to the US having a working relationship, sometimes very close and friendly, with the majority of non-free countries around the world. This is why the "Arab Spring" came as a great surprise to the US, creating problems for the US, the EU, and the world. No matter what provoked the nature was revolt against tyrants that were partners of the West.

Europe is now repeating this mistake. It has started sliding back into the Realpolitik mode of 20th century, dating from an era of two opposing systems, two different ideologies. This is a policy based on fallacy. It is a path that is harmful for the EU and a path that will lead to outright betrayal of democratic movements in nations living under authoritarian regimes or dictatorships.

One of the arguments behind this policy is the false premise that Russia is resisting Western influence and doing everything to oppose it and that the EU must therefore discern any signs of opposition to Russia in other FSU nations, and help support this opposition.

The key error here is thinking that by supporting these regimes against Russia the EU is weakening their ties with totalitarianism.

In reality the fact is that the FSU nations have created an alternative development model and are now building upon it, with Russia as the heavyweight in the region, and with help of Western Realpolitik. Whatever differences some of the FSU nations may occasionally have with Russia, turning a blind eye to the nature of their regimes and supporting them just because they are from time to time at odds with Russia is lethal for values and for the future of those countries.

Under this policy, the basic values Europe stands for and is based upon tend to take second seat to Realpolitik considerations. Geopolitical rivalry once again comes to the fore, which results not only in reneging on one's principles, but also in strengthening and legitimising the totalitarian regimes.

The totalitarian government model is currently much more appealing than Western-style democracy to the ruling groups of FSU countries. They have chosen this development path and are never going to adopt Western democratic ways by their own choice. Why should they?

At the moment issues like human rights and democracy can be excluded from meaningful bilateral trade relations. They can always reach a deal with Europe that is monetarily profitable to both sides. Liberalisation and democratisation will cost them power. At the same time there is little cost to them for failing to comply with international obligations and to change under current EU policy and huge risks to their dictatorships if they do change.

Post-Soviet totalitarianism has taken things much further than the Soviet Union ever did. The former superpower at least had some respect for national borders. It opposed the West in the Third World, rather than on the enemy's home ground. In Western Europe, the USSR used “conventional” methods of espionage, attempts at propaganda and support for local communists.

Things are very different today. Post-Soviet totalitarianism has found Europe's weakness and is increasingly trying to impose its own rules of engagement in Europe. This may not yet be a conscious strategy, but the scale and effectiveness of this “abduction of Europe" are truly impressive.

Dangerous future

It all began with significant investment in the Old World. Post-Soviet nouveaux riches became welcome in Western Europe. At first, they simply came over for a short holiday, to party and enjoy "European" life, while gradually coming to understand that they did not have to adapt to unnecessary convention, as their money was dazzling to the citizens of the EU.

Businessmen and politicians from the FSU started buying up real estate, moving their business to Europe, or at least putting them under companies in European offshore zones. They began buying sports clubs and entertainment venues on the Continent. The experience of those early weekend trips to Europe came in handy, and proved a great eye-opener. Huge amounts of cash began flowing west and huge amount of lawyers were hired to justify it, explain it and arrange for its deposit in western banks.

Business interests from all FSU countries currently have a presence in all European countries. London, which many of the Russian super-rich call home, is a prominent example. On the face of it, this would all be perfectly normal, even progressive development, if wasn’t for the fact that business interests across the FSU have no respect for laws and rules of the game accepted in the West.

These business interests bring their grey schemes of making money to Europe, making a "quick Euro" or a few hundred million quick Euros without proper control and while following corrupt practices. They also actively lobby EU member states, especially their policies in respect of FSU nations.

Business interests need lobbying, and this was precisely what post-Soviet businessmen and EU politicians started engaging in, acting through European politicians and members of parliaments and other legislators. The Latvians lobby for relaxing constraints on Belarusian petro chemicals, many of which are exported through Latvian ports. Former German Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder joined Gazprom in the midst of its energy wars with the West.

The next level of infiltration of Europe was through the media and think tanks. After several failed attempts to set up or support NGOs in the West that would promote pro totalitarian propaganda, Russia and several other nations simply started buying analysis, journalists and media personalities, who could use their full knowledge of Western sensibilities and mind-sets to promote the interests of totalitarian regimes and dictatorships. The television channel Russia Today is a prime example of this. Native English speakers and pundits are hired as presenters to present pro Russia news in perfect English.

Expensive PR agencies are more than happy to see totalitarian regimes of the FSU among their clients, going to great lengths to make sure human rights violations in these countries are overlooked in Europe. Lord Timothy Bell and his PR agency eagerly came to serve Lukashenka government to lobby its interests in the UK and in Europe.

The push-back from the FSU is strong. The opposition to a EU Magnitsky law is a prime example of this with the EU being afraid to pass an act for fear of derailing its relations with Russia.

Dictators around the world are watching closely. They happily note that the Court of Justice of the European Union has accepted the claims of the blacklisted representatives of the dictatorial regime in Belarus who pose as journalists or election committee officials as well as some oligarchs who serve the dictator to be removed from the list.

Not only accepted but even ruled to pay the lawyers of the criminals that goes against European values. We also see the Zimbabwean tyrant Robert Mugabe filing a multibillion-dollar lawsuit over the losses suffered from EU Sanctions. Frightfully expensive European lawyers will now try to prove in court that destroying one's own country and one's own people is a tyrant's inalienable right. That'll be quite a precedent.

European democracy is increasingly becoming a product for purely domestic consumption. It is in full effect in the EU, where politicians, journalists, government officials and ordinary citizens alike are more than happy to benefit from it, and it grinds to a halt at the EU’s boundaries.

Democratic principles prevail inside the EU: independent courts protect human rights from encroachment by other individuals as well as governments. Outside the EU, one can conveniently forget about principles and deal with dictators.

The policy that Vaclav Havel described as "the sinister experience of dictator appeasement," is now called a "policy of engagement." This is precisely what the EU is offering Lukashenko, the man whose regime is responsible for disappearances and murders of opposition leaders, journalists, mass human rights violations, as well as destruction of national culture, history and language.

It all started in Belarus

The abduction of Europe started with Lukashenko. The foundation of Europe's last dictatorship was laid in Belarus precisely in the 1990s when Europe lived through its best period of great expectations, enlargement and common values. Lukashenko achieved a successful coup d'etat (disguised as a referendum) and assumed total power in 1996.

The EU responded by suspending relations with the regime, hoping that the next election would be fair. Popular opposition leaders who enjoyed broad support were murdered in 1999: Gennady Karpenko, Yury Zakharenko, Victor Gonchar.

Every one of them could have won an election against the dictator. The EU did not respond to that. The Council of Europe conducted an investigation years after the murders. In the meantime, the dictator was building, consistently and methodically, modern Europe's toughest totalitarian system in Belarus.

All FSU regimes, notably that in Russia, carefully studied the approaches and methods tested by the dictator in Belarus. They did not simply study them, they also adopted the "best dictatorship practices" for their own use.

It is abundantly clear how Lukashenko's practices are currently implemented in Russia. Among other things, Russia is watching how quickly Belarus can patch up its relations with the EU after yet another, more vicious spat.

It could be said that Europe created Lukashenko, and Lukashenko created Putin's Russia.

The experience of the Belarusian dictatorship shows that after any flare-ups with the West, after putting down peaceful demonstration, putting more political prisoners into jail, someone will come forward in Europe to defend the bankrupt Belarusian regime, and appeasers would be found domestically, who would join efforts to make the EU to revert to the Realpolitik mode.

A united Europe, with active involvement by the US, would have been a guarantor of restoration, reinforcement and development of democratic values, principles, and standards in the post-Soviet region. This is necessary for maintaining the Transatlantic partnership, for FSU nations, and for Europe itself. However, this is not happening.

And now Europe is in the throes of a very real crisis of values, which will hit it, much harder than any financial, mortgage lending, or foreign exchange crisis. The essence of the crisis is precisely that the EU does not see its mission to strengthen and develop democratic values. It believes it can maintain its own institutions and values untainted and engage and trade with its undemocratic European neighbours at no cost to itself. This is a mistake.

No "Realpolitik," no amount of "engagement" and overtures towards dictators are going to create predictable, safe neighbours for Europe. Dialogue and engagement with these regimes legitimises them and lets them into the EU where it is the EU’s systems and values that corrode. Remember, there are fewer free countries in the world than five years ago.

Only a direct, honest, uncompromising assessment of the dictatorship's actions, only an honest, strong, and brave stance in response to human rights violations by oppressive and dictatorial regimes, and bold support of democratic movements should help Europe defend its values and avoid new conflicts and a real “clash of civilisations”.

Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau

Vital Rymasheuski: Regime conceals referendum’s true purpose

“The referendum may be used for reaching political goals of the incumbent regime, concealed from wide public today. The latest referendum had the main issue of prolonging Lukashenka’s term in power up until eternity as well as other issues for covering this up and hazing Belarusian citizens. I have no doubts that this time as well under the plausible and decent intents to reform the judiciary will hide other issues. It is quite possible that the issue of a new integration level will be put to the vote, which means surrendering Belarus’ sovereignty, and other anti-people changes”, - the politicians believes.

BChD’s co-chairman emphasized that for these reasons Belarusian democratic forces should take these statements seriously and get prepared.

“In general a referendum is a nation-wide campaign, and there are no serious reasons for intentionally losing it and by this showing the semblance of democracy. I doubt that the authorities would take such a crafty step, because it is an expensive event financially, and the very process of participating in a referendum means politicizing the population. May be the ruling elite has a great fear of the next elections, but the practice shows that the authorities prepare any electoral campaign as quite as possible so people do not get prematurely politicized. That is why this referendum will not be a game or a cover, but an actual political event, which has serious political goals behind it”, - Vital Rymesheuski is convinced.

We would remind that the concept of judiciary reform, which provides for the merger of general and commercial courts into a single system of general jurisdiction courts, was approved on 19 November at a meeting chaired by Lukashenka. It requires changes to be made to Belarus’ main law. The dictator ordered to develop the respective documents in ten-days’ time.

Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau

Lukashenka prepares a new «referendum»

The Constitution of Belarus will be changed.

The concept of reforming the judiciary, approved on 19 November at a meeting chaired by Lukashenka, will require changes to Belarus’ main law. The dictator ordered to develop the respective documents in two days.

It was the deputy head of Lukashenka’s administration Valer Mitskievich, who reported of the planned judiciary reformed.

In particular, according to him, the merger of general and commercial court into a single system of courts of general jurisdiction “is possible without prior re-writing the Constitution, but will require a subsequent change in the form of eliminating the mention of the Supreme Commercial Court”.

“In the meanwhile, the chapter of the main law with a number of articles to be changed may be only re-written by the means of a referendum”, - the ruler’s press-service quotes the official.

Mitskievich noted that with the merger of general and commercial courts into a single system of court of general jurisdiction a highest judicial body will be created for dealing with civil, criminal, administrative and economic cases – the Supreme Court which will merge with the Supreme Commercial Court.

“This will allow to unify the judicial practice, ensure the uniform reading and implementation of laws by all courts, facilitate the use of judiciary for citizens and organizations, eliminate the possibility of rejections of relief at law due to the wrong competency of this or that court”, - Mitskievich claimed.

At the same time commercial courts in regions are suggested to be kept as the courts of the respective specialization, having renamed them as economic courts. They will comprise the whole domain of economic relations. Apart from that other issues related to the merger get solved, in particular the composition of a panel of judges on economic cases in the Supreme Court, which will be chaired by the deputy chairman of the Supreme Court; the extension of the plenum and panel of the Supreme Court with the consideration of empowering them with credentials to consider economic cases; the creation of common bodies of judicial community, including a qualified panel of judges, who will combine the credentials of today’s separate qualification panels of general and commercial courts.

The suggested merger mechanism, in the official’s opinion, will also allow to “provide for the cohesion of the approaches to the creation of judicial systems with other member-states of the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space”.

The dictator ordered to present him with the draft laws and decree before 1 December.

We would remind that the Constitution of Belarus has already been changed several times by “referendums”. This took place in 1995, 1996 and 2004. The changes concerned the official state languages, symbols, president’s powers. The latest referendum cancelled the limit on terms in office for a president. Opposition and international organizations deem all the referendums held in Belarus after 1994 rigged and do to recognize their results.

Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau

Lukashenka fears to repeat fate of Gaddafi and Assad

The ruler says it's necessary to check combat readiness of the Belarusian military forces.

He said it after the visit to the 61st fighter airbase, Interfax news agency reports.

“We will have serious tests of combat readiness of our armed forces,” Lukashenka siad.

The ruler finds it possible to modernise and restore certain samples military equipment and urged not to hurry with the decommission of the Su-27 aircraft from the Air Forces and the Air Defence Forces. He said it reminding about the Arab Spring – civil uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria.

”Do we need the Su-27 – a powerful and expensive aircraft? We have twenty of them. I say we need to think and keep these aircraft for, lets say so, some period of threat regardless of the costs,” he said.

“Taking into account the experience of the wars on the Arab curve, we shouldn't hurry to decommission some kinds of military equipment from the country's defence system,” the ruler noted.

Lukashenka was informed about combat duty procedures in the 61th fighter base and checked combat readiness of alert flight crews.

“I wanted to check if it was window-dressing to prepare an aircraft for a flight. The aircraft was ready to take off in six and a half minutes. Good work,” he said noting that the scramble time in Russia was “18 minutes, in Ukraine 15 minutes and in Poland about 15 minutes”.

Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau

Jerzy Buzek: I believe that situation in Belarus will change

A former head of the European Parliament said it at a conference in Warsaw to discuss the main issues of the EU policy.

The problems and prospects for the Eastern Partnership programme were discussed among other topics. The Ukrainian issue was given much attention. Participants of the conference agree than Ukraine could get closer to the EU in at least 10 years. The Belarusian issue wasn't discussed. Jerzy Buzek expressed his position in a comment to Radio Racyja.

“I had different plans when I headed the European Parliament for 2.5 years. I can say that most of them were fulfilled. I mean the EU single energy market, cooperation with the EU's neighbours and the EU's proper budget. The only important for me thing that didn't come true is that the situation in Belarus hasn't moved in the direction of democracy, a free market and principles of the civilized world. It wasn't achieved. But I believe it will happen,” Buzek noted.

Elzbieta Kaca, an analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, says the relations between the EU and Belarus came to a deadlock.

“Sanctions were imposed on Belarus. We have no contacts on the governmental level. So, the EU support Belarusian NGOs. The EU offered Lukashenka to soften visa rules for citizens of Belarus, but there has been no response from official Minsk. The situation doesn't look optimistic from this point of view.”

The conference was held on the occasion of the forthcoming European Parliament Election.

Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau

Lukashenka: I say - goodbye

Everyone is now walking around Belarus as hungry as a wolf, the dictator believes.

Lukashenka is visiting the Keramin plant today and traditionally expresses himself on a topical subject.

Do not go running to currency exchange offices

The dictator is worried about the population buoying out foreign currency in large amounts.

“You go running to currency exchange offices and wait for some devaluation. I simply give you an advice: do not do that and do not wait”, - Lukashenka claimed on Tuesday when speaking to the worker of the Keramin public corporation, Interfax reports.

The ruler noted that the authorities have set “the main task for themselves – no to let any collapses happen”. “We can see that the situation is getting stabilized. So do not go running”, - the ruler said.

We would remind that an increased demand for foreign currency can be currently observed in Belarus. People buy out dollars and take loans in Belarusian roubles.

On privatization

Lukashenka claims that there is high interest in the privatization of Belarusian enterprises with high liquidity on the part of representatives of foreign businesses, including Russian, and the pressure that they put on the country’s leadership.

“The demand for Belarusian enterprises is enormous now. Russia would want to buy something, like they do not have anything of their own. Why? Because we have not destroyed them, and turned some into prosperous enterprises like Belaruskali, for example”, - Lukashenka claimed.

Speaking about the situation with the privatization of Belaruskali the ruler noted: “They came around (the ones willing to privatize- Interfax),and said – we want that. I say: pay 32 billion dollars and buy the whole enterprise if you will, or a part. They say – it is expensive. I say – goodbye”,- the ruler said. “They tried another way. Did not work out”, - Lukashenka stated.

He emphasized that his main task in the situation is “to protect the state and its property”.

Lukashenka also noted that “everyone was walking around Belarus as hungry as a wolf, looking where to bite – Keramin, Belarusneft, one refinery, another – we have a lot of such enterprises”. “The long for getting it, and put pressure today not because I am bad, such a dictator, but because I do not give it away”, - the ruler said. “I did not give it away to the East, neither to the West. But they want it, and they want it cheap”, - he said. “We do not agree to that. I thin, neither do you”, - the dictator claimed.

Dictatorship at enterprises

Aliaksandr Lukashenka claimed there was the necessity to put the hiring system in order. The possibility of hiring only with the recommendation from the previous place of employment is being considered.

“Many have relaxed today, saying that the president will make the employers pay the salary anyway, so they could smoke or come drunk to work. We will reform the hiring rules”, - Lukashenka pointed out.

The ruler believes that “we should bring back something like the recommendations from the previous places of employment”. “We should put that in order”, - he said, having also demanded to fully finalize the transition to a contract-based system of employment. “Everyone should have contracts, because we still have lots of people without one”, - Lukashenka noted.

According to him, “the manufacturing should be on top”. “There is no democracy here at an enterprise, there is a tough dictatorship of those, who buy your products”, - Lukashenka highlighted.

“We should put in order the hiring system in short terms, the transfers from one job to another. Like the whole world does that”, - he stated.

“Russia has sagged and we start tumbling”

Lukashenka sets the goal of looking for new markets before Belarusian manufacturers, as opposite to hoping solely for Russia.

“However hard and difficult that is, new markets should be entered. We should not pray to Russia the whole time, Russia has sagged and we start tumbling”, - he claimed.

“Of course, this is not simple, but we should fight these markets back from someone. I once said: we should run fast, there is no other way”, - the dictator emphasized.

Keramin will be 80% of state ownership

“Now 62% belong to the state. It is not enough. By mid-next year there should be 80% of the shares in state’s ownership”, - Lukashenka claimed.

The ruler claimed that once there was an attempt at this public corporation to “pocket the enterprise, arranged by certain managers”. “This is wrong, it should not be like that”, - he emphasized.

According to him, “the enterprise belongs to the people, it was created at the expense of the people”.

Speaking to the representatives of the staff, Lukashenka assumed that they were “most likely once lied to”. In this regard, he continued, he gave an order to the State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus and KGB to examine the situation. “We can see that violations start emerging, that is why I demanded to get the enterprise back to the state. But not to take the shares away, but to pay the minimum price”, - Lukashenka said.

At the same time he explained: “It is not me, who needs that. I do not want for you to reprimand to in several years for not seeing this stealing”.

In the meanwhile Lukashenka deems possible the participation of private business in the privatization of state property, in managing it, including the Keramin public corporation. “If you want to buy something, everything should be by our laws”, - the ruler noted, having reminded of the procedure of agreeing the privatization process on all the levels – from employees to the head of state.

“If an owner emerges, who offers a good price, we will thing whether to sell an enterprise or not”, - Lukashenka added.

However, he claimed, “have are fed up with private businessmen”. “If there is some failure, it means the swindler, the private businessman did not do the full amount of work”, - Lukashenka said. “Private ownership is good, when he (a private businessman - Interfax) creates and builds it with his own sweat and blood. If he just takes it, there will be no use”, - the dictator claimed.

Tomorrow I’ll come to you

Aliaksandr Lukashenka stated his intent to visit a number of enterprises being modernized in the nearest time with the purpose of controlling how the government fulfills his orders.

“I will go to significant enterprises, regarding which there were orders given. It is not a president’s job, of course, but what can you do if the government does not work”, - he said.

Coming back to his recent visit to Barysaudreu, Lukashenka claimed that the personnel decisions made were cause by the fact that “they (officials - Interfax) promised, but did not deliver”.

Particularly, the ruler commented on the decision to dismiss the chairman of Minsk region executive committee Barys Batura. “Batura is not the worst governor. He was one of the best governors”, - he said, having explained that the decision on Batura’s dismissal was made due to the fact that the official failed to execute the head of state’s orders.

“He says: we will do that in a week. Where have you been for a year? They went around, designed projects…” - the dictator said.

In this regard he demanded that the chairman of Minsk city executive committee Mikalaj Ladutska warned the heads of the capital’s district administrations to rigorously fulfill the errands, including the ones on putting in order the territories under their management. “For it not to be excruciatingly painful for them, you get them together and warn”, - he said. “Warn everyone that things must be put in order. The city must be prepared for winter, garbage collected, holes fixed”, - Lukashenka pointed out.

Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau

Five days in custody for “Belarus without dictatorship”

A man from Stoubtsy was sentenced to a short term in custody for a T-shirt with the slogan “For Belarus without dictatorship”.

Leanid Smouzh was tried today in the Leninski district court in Minsk. The activist was accused of resisting police officers. The court decision was taken by judge Nadzeya Navitskaya, Radio Svaboda reports. The police officers, who detained the participant of a memorial procession to Loshytsa on November 10, gave false evidence. The activist appeared at the rally in the T-shirt “ For Belarus without dictatorship”.

Leanid Smouzh said before the rally that he didn't belong to any political party. The man said he wore the T-shirt “For Belarus without dictatorship” to protest against injustice – he cannot find a job for the last few years.

Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau

Zmitser Dashkevich sentenced to three days in jail

Zmitser Dashkevich was sentenced to three days in jail for allegedly disobeying lawful police orders after being arrested in downtown Minsk earlier on Wednesday.

The sentence was handed down by Judge Valery Yesman of the Tsentralny District Court in Minsk.

As Barys Haretski, spokesperson for the Belarusian Association of Journalists who attended the trial, told BelaPAN, during the hearing, which lasted only five minutes, police officers claimed that Mr. Dashkevich had resisted arrest by trying to sit down on the ground.

According to Mr. Haretski, Mr. Dashkevich dismissed the officers’ allegations as lies and noted that he knew well Belarus’ judicial system and did not expect to be found not guilty.

According to Mr. Dashkevich's wife, he was apprehended near the HUM department store at about 12:15 p.m. while he was collecting signatures for a petition for giving Minsk’s Lenin Street its original name of Frantsyskanskaya.

The 32-year-old Dashkevich was apparently jailed with a view to preventing him from staging any protests on the occasion of the 96th anniversary of the so-called October Revolution (Bolsheviks' coup d'etat in Russia in 1917), which is still observed in Belarus as a public holiday on November 7.

On August 28, Mr. Dashkevich was released from a prison in Hrodna after spending two years and eight months behind bars.

He was arrested in Minsk on December 18, 2010, on the eve of a scheduled large-scale post-election demonstration, for allegedly beating up two passers-by. Speaking during his trial, Mr. Dashkevich said that the incident was a provocation orchestrated by authorities and accused the two alleged victims of giving false testimony.

On March 24, 2011, he was sentenced to two years in a minimum-security correctional institution on a charge of "especially malicious hooliganism."

Mr. Dashkevich was repeatedly placed in disciplinary confinement and transferred to other prisons for allegedly violating prison rules. As a result of two trials, he had his prison term extended, and ended up in the cell-type prison in Hrodna.

Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau

Grey schemes of Lukashenka's clan

The Belarusian security services cover up the illegal business of the dictator and his inner circle.

Major general Valery Vakulchyk, who had headed the Investigation Committee, was appointed KGB chief last November. He is considered for many years to be the main aide to Lukashenka's eldest son Viktor who is in charge of all security bodies. They had worked together in the Operational and Analytical Centre, a special agency that was founded in 2008 to analyse and control the internet. Controlling the most important investigations in the KGB and prosecution bodies, Vakulchyk guaranties impunity for the ruler's people for using “grey” schemes, forsal.pl writes in the article “Lukashenka as mafioso. Security services take care of his interests”.

It helps the Belarusian authorities avoid situations that happen from time to time, when ambitious prosecutors accidentally reveal secrets of Lukashenka's family and the oligarchs close to him. The example is the case of investigator Sviatlana Baikova, who received a prison term for her excessive zeal in exposing corruption schemes on the state border. Customs frauds is not the only activity of the Belarusian authorities. Another Lukashenka's son, Dmitry, who formally heads the Presidential Sports Club, controls Lukashenka's $8-12m fund that apart from official subsidies from the state budget receives income from gambling, arms trade, cigarette business and “fines” from businessmen.

The oligarchs loyal to Lukashenka – Yury Chizh, Anatoly Ternavsky, Viktor Shevtsov, whose Trustbank was used by Saddam Husen to launder money from illegal oil sales, arms dealer Vladimir Peftiyev, whose firm employed Viktar Lukashenka's wife Lilia – help lobby Lukashenka's interests. Shevtsov was reported to have been arrested for hiding a part of the common income, but he returned to the ranks after paying a compensation. KGB headed by Vakulchyk and other persecutory services look for similar cases in Lukashenka's circle or, in other words, guard the money of the Belarusian ruler.


Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau

Small businessmen forum: Market vendors won't work starting December 1

More than 400 small businessmen from all over Belarus adopted a harsh resolution.

It was their response to Piotr Prakapovich's statement, who said that market vendors wouldn't be allowed to sell goods without supplementary documents starting December 1.

Charter97.org learnt it from Anatoly Shumchanka, the head of the public organisation Perspective.

“We've held a forum today. More than 400 people attended it. The hall was full of anxious people. An official from the Ministry of Trade appeared in the middle of the meeting to answer our questions. We adopted a resolution and decided to hold another forum on November 25. All people present said they wouldn't work under the proposed conditions starting December 1,” one of the leaders of the small businessmen movement said.

Anatoly Shumchanka emphasised that people wouldn't work and pay taxes and other duties.

“It is Prakapovich who is responsible for it. He is leading the country to another crisis. If his statements are adopted by the government, market vendors will not work starting December 1. We also decided that small businessmen wouldn't pay any duties until the situation became clear. We are going to apply to the Eurasian Economic Court to cancel the technical regulations,” the Perspective leader noted.

We remind that small businessmen held the forum “Customs Union's Technical Regulations. Belarusian Issue”. The meeting was devoted to the problems of the Customs Union's technical regulations on safety of light industry products.

The event was carried out following the statement on Belarusian deputy prime minister Piotr Prakapovich, who said on October 31 that starting December 1 market vendors would be prohibited to sell goods without the documents confirming their quality and safety in accordance with the Customs Union's technical regulations on safety of light industry products.

Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau