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(CNN) -- Vowing to crackdown on a new wave of anti-government
protests, President Alexander Lukashenko warned Sunday in Minsk there
will be "no color revolution" scenarios in Belarus, the nation he has ruled
with an iron fist since 1994, the official Belarusian Telegraph Company
reported.
The so called "clapping protesters", as the peaceful yet defiant
anti-government movement gaining momentum throughout Belarus has
become known, will not be allowed to snowball into another government
toppling insurrection inspired by the Arab Spring and fueled by the
Internet, Lukashenko said.
In late 2004 and early 2005, the so-called "Orange Revolution" toppled the
government of Ukraine, another former Soviet republic.
"We will overcome any difficulties and endure the hardships imposed on us,"
Lukashenko said.
"They want to bring us to our knees... That's not going to happen," he
said.
On Sunday, police used tear gas and batons against hundreds of
protesters as they marched peacefully on Independence Day by clapping in
unison as the president spoke, Russia's official Ria Novosti news agency
reported.
In return, Lukashenko lashed out against the protesting crowd saying he
will continue to meet any dissent with full-force, blaming outside influences
for fomenting domestic unrest by handing support the Internet-fueled
protesters who call themselves The Revolution Through Social Networks,
the agency reported.
In the past weeks, protesters have been organizing themselves via the
Internet through social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, despite a
government forced shutdown of these sites.
According VIASNA, a Faceboook page on Human Rights in Belarus, 460
people were detained on the June 21, including several journalists, foreign
nationals and even a Swedish diplomat who was later released.
The Internet-organized rallies spread over the republic and took place in
Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev and other cities, Russia's Itar-Tass news
agency reported.
While CNN cannot independently confirm the arrests, Russian news
agencies reported that hundreds of people have been detained in the last
few weeks, many sent to isolation units.
Belarus, once called "last remaining true dictatorship in the heart of
Europe" by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, is facing one
of its worse economic crisis since it became independent from the Soviet
Union in 1991.
Early this year, the United States and the European Union prolonged
sanctions against Belarus as a response to the political crackdown in the
wake of the presidential election of December 2010.
According to the U.S. Department of State, presidential opposition
candidate Andrey Sannikau and five other candidates and activists and
were convicted and given hard sentences as part of the post-electoral
crackdown.
The United Nations Human Rights Council voted in June to condemn what
they deemed the "persecution" of opposition leaders in Belarus.
The U.N. resolution "urges the Government of Belarus to end the politically
motivated persecution and harassment of opposition leaders,
representatives of civil society, human rights defenders, lawyers,
independent media, students and those defending them."
Heavily dependent on Russian imports, Belarus is facing a 36% devaluation
of its currency, Russia's Itar-Tass reported.
_____________
I read up about him, he is not as bad as he is portrayed. He has provided the country with political and economic stability and his social welfare reforms aim at increasing the standard of living for the citizens. Although he is a dictator with Soviet/Communist tendencies which I cannot abide by.
protests, President Alexander Lukashenko warned Sunday in Minsk there
will be "no color revolution" scenarios in Belarus, the nation he has ruled
with an iron fist since 1994, the official Belarusian Telegraph Company
reported.
The so called "clapping protesters", as the peaceful yet defiant
anti-government movement gaining momentum throughout Belarus has
become known, will not be allowed to snowball into another government
toppling insurrection inspired by the Arab Spring and fueled by the
Internet, Lukashenko said.
In late 2004 and early 2005, the so-called "Orange Revolution" toppled the
government of Ukraine, another former Soviet republic.
"We will overcome any difficulties and endure the hardships imposed on us,"
Lukashenko said.
"They want to bring us to our knees... That's not going to happen," he
said.
On Sunday, police used tear gas and batons against hundreds of
protesters as they marched peacefully on Independence Day by clapping in
unison as the president spoke, Russia's official Ria Novosti news agency
reported.
In return, Lukashenko lashed out against the protesting crowd saying he
will continue to meet any dissent with full-force, blaming outside influences
for fomenting domestic unrest by handing support the Internet-fueled
protesters who call themselves The Revolution Through Social Networks,
the agency reported.
In the past weeks, protesters have been organizing themselves via the
Internet through social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, despite a
government forced shutdown of these sites.
According VIASNA, a Faceboook page on Human Rights in Belarus, 460
people were detained on the June 21, including several journalists, foreign
nationals and even a Swedish diplomat who was later released.
The Internet-organized rallies spread over the republic and took place in
Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev and other cities, Russia's Itar-Tass news
agency reported.
While CNN cannot independently confirm the arrests, Russian news
agencies reported that hundreds of people have been detained in the last
few weeks, many sent to isolation units.
Belarus, once called "last remaining true dictatorship in the heart of
Europe" by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, is facing one
of its worse economic crisis since it became independent from the Soviet
Union in 1991.
Early this year, the United States and the European Union prolonged
sanctions against Belarus as a response to the political crackdown in the
wake of the presidential election of December 2010.
According to the U.S. Department of State, presidential opposition
candidate Andrey Sannikau and five other candidates and activists and
were convicted and given hard sentences as part of the post-electoral
crackdown.
The United Nations Human Rights Council voted in June to condemn what
they deemed the "persecution" of opposition leaders in Belarus.
The U.N. resolution "urges the Government of Belarus to end the politically
motivated persecution and harassment of opposition leaders,
representatives of civil society, human rights defenders, lawyers,
independent media, students and those defending them."
Heavily dependent on Russian imports, Belarus is facing a 36% devaluation
of its currency, Russia's Itar-Tass reported.
_____________
I read up about him, he is not as bad as he is portrayed. He has provided the country with political and economic stability and his social welfare reforms aim at increasing the standard of living for the citizens. Although he is a dictator with Soviet/Communist tendencies which I cannot abide by.
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