Saw this tidbit today and it got me thinking...
TOUGH TALK ON BELARUS
In an open letter to Mr. Obama, 19 prominent activists called for the administration to match sanctions from the European Union against President
Alexander Lukashenko, often called “Europe’s last dictator.”
They noted that Mr. Obama has “shown leadership” by earlier condemnations of violent crackdowns on protesters and by his extension of sanctions
imposed by President George W. Bush in 2006.
“But we urge you to consider additional measures focused on bringing about the immediate release of all political prisoners in Belarus and to
reiterate America’s deep concern regarding reports of torture and other forms of cruel and degrading treatment of detainees,” they said
Source
Firstly, I find it ironic that 'they' are talking about America's 'concern regarding reports of torture and other forms of cruel and degrading
treatment of detainees'... remember
this? and
this? But that's besides the point... it seems that sanctions that have already been imposed by the E.U.
don't seem to be working against Belarus. So now they are asking for Obama to do more AND to somehow force the dictator
(
Alexander Lukashenko) to allow for the 'immediate release of all political prisoners in
Belarus.
Now, it should be said that there has been some crackdowns and other stuff happening to Belarus lately:
Police beat, detain dozensprotesting economic
policies in Minsk
MINSK, BELARUS — Belarusian police violently dispersed a peaceful rally Wednesday by thousands of people protesting the authoritarian regime of
President Alexander Lukashenko and the country’s worst financial crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago.
Police beat and detained dozens of protesters. Crowds of Belarusians defied official warnings and torrential rain to march down a central street of
the capital, clapping in unison after police physically prevented them from gathering in any one spot.
And
Belarus dictator mocks plan to prosecute
him
Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, has hit out at plans by a group of British lawyers to sue him over his regime's ongoing crackdown
on pro-democracy campaigners. The 56-year-old leader, often described as Europe's last dictator, said any attempt to pursue him through the courts had
"zero prospects" and were a "cheap trick" by opposition politicians.
And
Why Belarus' Dictator Is Not Fond of Applause
The dictator who rules Belarus does not like the applause he hears. That's because it isn't for him but aimed at him. Young Belarusians have
adopted a novel strategy to protest their frustration at the humorless and iron-fisted regime of Alexander Lukashenko: they have started clapping.
Organized by way of social media (the leaders of the opposition to Lukashenko are either in jail or in exile), the flash-mob rallies began last month
as a peaceful means of working around draconian laws that prohibit unsanctioned public gatherings.
And, a good thread by Vitchilo
Belarus economy and currency collapsing...revolution to come?,
And another by j35us
Belarus KGB declares war on social networking opposition
With an addition with this very interesting article about a reporter actually having his twitter acount cloned by the Belarus 'KGB' and sent out
falsified and misleading information to combat the protesters.
My Twitter ID was cloned to spread
lies in Belarus
"The KGB [Belarusian security services] know exactly what they're doing," he said. "They have stolen people's passwords using phishing, to post
false messages; they've created hundreds of fake accounts, and they've spammed all of our groups."
Ok so, it appears that the regime in Belarus is cracking down on peaceful protesters. All they are doing is clapping their hands walking down the
street and they are detained.. not even shouting or holding any signs! Some are given prison sentences or expelled from university. They are even
using the social media tools that brings these protesters together against them!
There is also an economic crisis (ha, i guess like everywhere else right?) with the potential to start even larger protests that would most likely
turn violent when police start clashing. So after researching a bit more i found this:
Mr Lukashenko accuses Western ambassadors of spying, and plotting to overthrow his regime.
Source
He said that in 2001! Since then he has even
expelled the U.S. Ambassador in
2008.
Then this;
‘Alexander Lukashenko’s Belarus cannot long survive in a world where the United States and Russia enjoy a strategic partnership and the United
States is serious about its commitment to end outlaw regimes whose conduct threatens us...September 11th opened our eyes to the status of Belarus as a
national security threat’.
Senator John McCain
source
Hmm.. I have a feeling that Russia is not going to be happy if the US/NATO/UN decide that they have no choice but to go in and provide 'Humanitarian
aid' to Belarus, regardless of the above mentioned 'strategic partnership'. The same article that has the above quote talks about how Belarus is/was
an up and coming socialist country with many positives compared to other developed countries in the world. Got me thinking about the similarities
between Belarus and Libya. Libya morphed from one the poorest African states to one of the fastest growing and succesfull countries (albeit, under a
dictator) on the African continent. Belarus is somewhat on the same track.
SO.. (i should apologize for the length of the thread haha) after reading all that, here are my questions..
Is Belarus an actually issue here?
Maybe. If the US/UN/NATO start looking over there to overthrow the regime, I can guarantee Russia will be forced to step in, they have 2 large
military bases on Belarussian soil.
Considering the UN mandated the NFZ in Libya, which turned into a bloodbath or NATO planes droppping bombs and killing innocent civilians, due to the
mistreatment (as deemed by the UN) of
protesters/
rebels within the country, shouldn't the UN step in on this issue in Belarus as well? IMO, no. BUT, sadly, I beleive that the
NWO/UN/NATO agenda feels unstoppable and would love to get their hands on the sovereign nation who is obviously not playing by the 'rules'.
I beleive that we should keep an eye on Belarus as it could be the '
Franz
Ferdinand' of a serious escalation into WW3 or whatever you want to call the next large world conflict. I believe that it is just a matter of
time before TPTB get into a spitting match with some sort of opposition (Russia/China/?) due to their greedy imperialistic nature over territory. As
it stands right now, it could be a variety of countries;
Syria, Yemen, Belarus, etc etc etc Keep your eyes on it folks!
And, if you made it this far through the thread, thanks for reading
edit on 7/9/2011 by Nspekta because: title