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The spring issue of Belarusian Review (Vol. 12, No. 1) was published and distributed in April this year. The issue covers this year's first quarter, January 1 through March 31. During this period, three major issues made news in Belarus: 1) human rights violations, 2) increased Western support for the opposition, and 3) opposition demonstrations, protesting the union with Russia and demanding an opposition-government dialog.

In its lengthy annual report, the U.S. Department of State detailed human rights violations in Belarus in 1999, concluding that the human rights situation in Belarus has worsened. After many years of turning deaf ear to Belarus, the West decided that it must act by taking a much stronger position against the government of Belarus. Consequently, the speaker of the (West recognized) 13th Supreme Soviet was invited to visit Canada in February where he met with Canada's foreign minister, followed by a visit to the U.S. and meetings with the U.S. deputy secretary of state and congressional leaders. Following this visit, the Belarus speaker and two of his parliamentary colleagues were invited to testify at the U.S. congressional Helsinki commission hearing on March 9.

The opposition staged two anti-government demonstrations, one on March 15 to mark the democratically adopted constitution in 1994 and another on March 25 to mark the anniversary of the proclamation of Belarusian independence in 1918. Both events were scorned by Mr. Lukashenka. While the March 15 demonstration, with some 20,000 people taking part, proceeded peacefully, the March 25 rally was brutally dispersed by police and commando units with hundreds of people detained, including over 30 members of the local and foreign media.

At both events, the opposition demanded respect for human rights, Lukashenka’s resignation, the cancellation of the union treaty with Russia, and the holding of a dialog with government to assure that the upcoming parliamentary elections would be free and fair. Lukashenka responded that he would not talk with the opposition, would conduct parliamentary elections in accordance with the electoral law adopted by his hand-picked parliament, and told the West to mind its own business.

The West reacted with more protests and insistence on starting a dialog with the opposition. More forceful and more specific in its advice was The Washington Post. In its April 2 editorial it said: "What's clear is that U.S. and European governments need to step up both pressure on Mr. Lukashenko and support, material and moral, for Belarus's democrats — while making greater freedom there an issue in diplomacy with Mr. Putin's government."

Here is the listing of topics covered in the spring issue:

EDITOR'S DESK

• The West Pressuring Belarus

FEATURES

1. US Report on Human Rights in Belarus
2. Helsinki Commission Hearing on Belarus, by Orest Deychakiwsky
3. Hearing Written Statements by Sharecki and Shushkievich
4. Belarusian Opposition Leaders Meet with Talbott (US Department of State statement)
5. US Condemns Brutal Attack on Peaceful March (US Department of State statement)
6. OSCE Chairmanship Condemns Use of Force (OSCE statement)
7. Rep Gejdenson Condemns Anti-Democracy Violence in Belarus (Gejdenson statement)
8. Suppression of Peaceful Demonstration in Belarus (CSCE statement, US Congressional Record)

THOUGHTS & OBSERVATIONS

1. Belarusian-Russian Integration: A Military Security Question? by David Marples and Yulia Shimko
2. Demonizing the Opposition, by Jan Maksymiuk   (RFE/RL)

BELARUS FORUM

1. Interview with Vincuk Viachorka, BPF Chairman, by David Marples and Yulia Shimko
2. Parties Stake out Positions on Political Dialog   (RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report)

BELARUSIAN CULTURE

1. No Home for Bykau in Belarus (Charter 97 - Alternate Site,   RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report)
2. Death of Mikola Jermalovic

BELARUSIANS ABROAD

1. Sharecki Visits Canada and U.S. -- Meets with High-level Government Officials, by Alice Kipel
2. State Department Official Visits Belarusian-American Communities (Coalition of Democracy and Human Rights in Belarus)
3. March 25 in Prague
4. Belarus: "The Forgotten Heart of Europe" by Jan Zaprudnik

NEWS BRIEFS

1. Chronicle of Events
2. Economy
3. Politics
4. Human Rights

MEDIA WATCH

1. Fight for National Survival (The Globe and Mail)
2. Shushkievich Enjoys Jogging in Washington (The Washington Post)
3. Harshest Crackdown in Minsk (The Washington Post)

LETTERS

1. European Union Position on Belarus
2. An Effective Protest

E-Mail: BelReview@aol.com       Editor: Joe Price




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