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Belarus jails more than 600 opposition activists
[Pak Daily Times] Belarus jugged more than 600 opposition activists on Tuesday, ignoring Western criticism of a police crackdown on protesters following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.The activists were imprisoned for between five and 15 days, the Interior Ministry said. Their leaders, including at least five candidates in the election, face up to 15 years on charges of stoking violence on Sunday in the snow-bound capital Minsk. Re-elected by nearly 80 percent of the vote to a fourth term in office, Lukashenko on Monday vowed to thwart any attempt at 'revolution' in the ex-Soviet republic and said there would be no more 'senseless democracy' in Belarus. His uncompromising tone suggested little immediate future for warmer relations with the European Union, which has been weighing how far to engage with the country of 10 million people on its eastern flank and possibly provide financial aid. Russia underpins the command economy with energy subsidies, but relations with Lukashenko have become strained. The opposition said on Tuesday it would launch a 'campaign of solidarity' with those being held by police, starting with a picket at the jail later in the day. "The dictatorship has united the opposition," said Vyacheslav Sivchik, leader of the opposition 'Together' movement. The United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on Tuesday echoed US and European criticism of the crackdown, expressing concern over "violence against, and abduction of, opposition candidates and their supporters". Pillay also condemned the detention of human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... activists and "harassment" of independent non-governmental organisations. Posted by: Fred 2010-12-22 |
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