belarus the last dictatorship

Belarus – the last dictatorship in Europe , myth or reality?

I remember 1996. It seemed that Lukashenka couldn't stay the president even for two years. More than 50 thousands people were protesting on the streets of Minsk , police cars were turned over, rocks were thrown to police… seemed that here and now… but…

A. Lukashenka is the president of Belarus for 10 years already…

Referendum 17.10.2004. Officially, more than 80 percent (unofficially – 30-40%) of voters permitted the president to be elected more than twice. In fact, it means, that Lukashenka will be the president for a life term. Independent observers suppose that referendum was totally fictional.

The scale of deception is indeed impressing: tens of thousands election committees' members and official “observers” participated in falsification of elections, thousands “journalists” n arrate about miraculous victory of Lukashenka, finally, millions of people have participated in the voting – and most of them, do not believe in fairness of the results even for a moment, indeed, it's one of the biggest amateur performances in the history. At the same time, the day after referendum only about 3-4 thousands people protested on the streets of Minsk . Is it possible, that there are no honest minded people in the whole country? Why we are so scared? Are we really so stupid like they think we are?

Results of “referendum” confirmed that there are no political opposition in today's Belarus . Only fanatic activists and those for whom opposition is business still stay in political parties.

They take their grants , visit seminars in Western Europe . They became good target for governmental media, commoners don't like, when somebody exists even a little bit better. There are no more then few thousands people who gathered for the last democratic mass-meetings, third of them are agents in civil. At the same time, we can't say that most people are supporting Lukashenka, simply they didn't feel themselves powerful enough to change something. We all accommodated ourselves to this kind of existence, we have everything necessary in shops, we have enough money for food and cheap clothes, it is not too cold in our houses… Who cares , that we have no freedom, who cares that state monopolizes all the spheres of human living?

Today's Belarus is the same corporate neoliberalism, with the only difference, that the state is the main corporation. We have no mafia, because our mafia is corrupt “vertical line” of regime. We have no small business, because it can teach people to be self-dependent and independent from the state. All that we have is – to work for bureaucrats and reach people close to them, and after work – alcoholic drowsiness, s extremely popular in our society. If there was velvet revolution in Serbia , than we have velvet dictatorship in Belarus .

In such conditions, subsistence of any civil initiative, to put it mildly, is not supported by government. Every group, who has more than 100-200 members in it, is automatically turned out under militia and KGB control. Our punk hardcore scene is in the gripe of this system. We declare our political position by word of mouth, but any attempt to do something in practice stops in our mind, or in conversations between each other. I ask myself – why – but I can't find the answer. Maybe we get used to our status of system's captives; maybe we simply lose the art of independent action?

Meanwhile, we have the potential. We are young and full of energy, which we spend in senseless amusement and alcoholic or sober parties, in “kitchen” conversations… We can at least try to do something. But we aren't … W e use as a cover our fear of repressions. But we know that we are in comparative safety. We wouldn't be killed or tortured; we even wouldn't be imprisoned for a long term. Why are we so scared? Why can't we act? Our daily routine kills our faith in possibility of political changes. We are as apathetic as all the Belarus inhabitants. But we still pose as fighters…

But maybe not all is lost for us?

…inaction is a weapon of mass destruction…

FAITHLESS