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Belarus President Lukashenko takes oath for new term
 MINSK: Belaruss President Alexander Lukashenko, his re-election contested in the West, took the oath of office on Saturday for a new term and told critics to stop trying to impose a coloured malaise in his ex-Soviet state. With his right hand on the Belarussian constitution, Lukashenko looked resolute, if a bit pale, in vowing to serve the Belarussian people and uphold their rights during a ceremony in the imposing Palace of Republic in central Minsk. In a short, emotional speech after taking the oath, the 51-year-old leader vowed to maintain the policies which have drawn such stinging criticism from the European Union and United States. And he launched a fierce new attack on both Belaruss liberal opposition and the West, saying that his state of 10 million had rejected the coloured revolutions that helped sweep leaders from power in ex-Soviet Georgia and Ukraine. Posted by: Fred 2006-04-09 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=147808 |