But this is not to imply there is no hope and that no one is doing anything about the
"retreat from democratic reforms" that characterizes the current regime. Clearly, Belarusians have been dominated by other nations for most of their history, yet they have also had democratic values and institutions for an even longer time (going back to the Middle Ages, at the least). The latest attempt at democracy (going back to the late 1980's), is obviously not without setbacks--including this current "situation". . . .
Notes
Refer to the recent report,
Belarus: Crushing Civil Society, (August, 1997) by Human Rights Watch/Helsinki for a succinct summary of the human rights and censorship issues in Belarus.
The information in this section of the A Belarus Miscellany has not been updated beyond late 1997. Although it is quite depressing and tragic to note, events similar to those noted here (and much worse) continue to take place in Belaus, I simply do not have time to add to what is already noted here. In addition, the extensive information compiled here gives a clear record of the regime currently in power in Belarus. . . .
In a country where
The citizens were apparently totally unprepared for the honor and responsibility (and challenge) of evaluating and selecting political parties, candidates, and issues--thus a place easily exploited by the unscrupulous, etc.
The president has almost absolute power--which he and his cronies are working very consistently, persistently, and steadily to increase (after all, there is no need to hurry). Thus there is no rule of law, no civil society, no democracy, nor access to a diversity of free information (as noted repeatedly by many world organizations)
"Interestingly," given what Mr. Lukashenka and his cronies did in the referendum (sic) of November, 1996, another "Lukashenka" has no possibility of getting elected. That is, one of Mr. Lukashenka's acts during his first year was to absolutely prevent any one else from doing what he was able to do
Not only is the "presidential administration" ensuring they control and decide everything of significance, they are also taking control of as many buildings as possible in Mensk (and possibly elsewhere in Belarus). It will be interesting to see the full repercussions of such a takeover.
Such de-railing of democratic institutions at the top speeds up the destruction of society, encouraging widespread cynicism among the citizens and also encourages corruption among groups and factions below it
Humanitarian aid (medicine, food, clothing, etc.) donated from the West is being prevented from entering Belarus by the Belarusian government (which, in turn, criticizes the West for lack of humanitarian aid!)
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are being harassed and/or forced to leave; the international diplomatic community was treated similarly in 1998
New, Belarusian visa regulations make it more difficult for visitors to come and/or extend their stays in Belarus (fall, 1997)
Only the president has real access to electronic and print media, and thus, only approved news stories can be published
The availability of information, especially in independent media, is decreasing day by day
Deterioration of access to media (especially television in the provincial cities and villages) is systematically taking place
There is a climate of fear for those who voice or express
opposition to Mr. Lukashenka, and some opposition leaders have been
given political asylum in the US
The use of the Belarusian language is considered an act of opposition to the government of Belarus (that is, the gov't of Belarus has either a Soviet or some sort of pan-Slavic, Russian colonist approach where only the Russian language and culture are honored--as was true during the days of the USSR)
Beatings and arrests of demonstrators are on the rise
People are fired for taking part in street demonstrations
The economy is in shambles and many are either unpaid or
unemployed (for example, 60 percent of women are unemployed -- OMRI
Daily Digest, Dec. 17, 1996)
Related to the preceding, there has been no post-Soviet economic
reform, and thus, economic aid from the West is not
forthcoming (thus forcing further dependency, both politically and economically, on the fragile Russian democracy and economy).
Tourism as well as investment is decreasing
Prostitution, crime, and AIDS-related illnesses are on the rise
Health care is abysmal
The best and the brighest are leaving Belarus in unprecedented
numbers
Adoptions of Belarusian children by people in other countries
appears to be an increasing Belarusian "export."
What can one expect other than tragedy and poverty? Clearly,
Belarus has had more trouble with its post-Soviet existence than any
other former Soviet of the USSR (although a couple of central Asian
nations have problems with would-be dictators or Russian colonialism
as well).
The referendum is yet another in an apparently endless series of
disasters for Belarus.
By all means, please read as many different news sources about Belarus and this Soviet-style "election" and come to your own conclusions. That is something you could not do in
today's Belarus.
Results of the Referendum
The parliament's draft constitution received only 7.9% of votes cast
in the 24 November referendum, international agencies reported the
next day. Earlier, it was reported that President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka's draft constitution won 70.5% of the vote. 88.5% of
respondents voted in favor of changing the national holiday from 17
July, when the republic declared independence, to 3 July, when the
Red Army liberated Mensk from the Germans. Lukashenka's other two
questions--on banning the free sale and purchase of land and on
retaining the death penalty--also passed by a wide margin. Neither of
the parliament's two questions passed. Only 29.9% voted for electing
local administrations by direct popular vote and only 32.1% were in
favor of funding all state agencies directly from the budget. Voting
among the KGB and military was particularly high, with 99.6% casting
ballots. Former head of the Central Electoral Commission Viktar
Hanchar said the results were forged, and independent observers
claimed irregularities in voting procedures. OMRI Daily
Digest, Nov. 26, 1996; Ustina Markus
Pre- and Post- Referendum Events Related to "Free"
elections
The OMRI Daily Digest Mailing List.
OMRI Daily Digest access information at this Web site.
"This material is reprinted with permission of the Open Media
Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research
offices in Prague, Czech Republic. For more information about
OMRI, please write to
info@omri.cz"