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The dictatorial regime in Belarus in recent weeks has boosted its preparations to fight against any attempt to remove it from power. All the means from the old Soviet times are suitable to fight the opposition. The notorious KGB and control over the information for a propaganda war not only inside the country but also over its borders will be used by Lukashenko's regime. It has also one ally left, who sincerely wishes to assist this regime to survive...
Basically, using old Soviet experience there are several directions Lukashenko's regime needs to cover for efficient counter-revolutionary activity. The first one is the sphere of information. As the Soviets said, “the one who rules the information shapes the reality”. That is why several days ago the authorities organized a huge "information workshop" for the representatives of governmental bodies on different levels and local businessmen. The regime plans to combine their efforts for a propaganda war both inside and abroad, and also to collect intelligence information on the activities of the forces supporting Belarus’ democratic opposition. The pretext of bringing together officials and businessmen was "the popularization of Belarussian products abroad" with the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Belarus state structures, departments and agencies, spokesmen of which attended the two-day workshop.
But as the opposition sources in Belarus reported, at the very beginning of the workshop the Foreign Ministry representatives crossed all of the t's, stating that Belarus must have "an aggressive information policy" and the attending businessmen should assist in this effort. Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Gerasimenko, who headed the workshop, stated that the Ministry will control the implementation of this policy. The script is simple – the businessmen working in the neighboring state and in Europe, would turn into some kind of non-official representatives of the country, presenting the "good side" of the Belarus regime, thus fighting the true, terrible image of Lukashenko's government. Gerasimenko stated that all of the "Black PR against Belarus and its leader is just a farce", but still the support of the local manufacturers and companies-exporters is needed to oppose it.
Also, often having connections with the Belarus diaspora , they will transfer all the information about preparations or support of anti-governmental activities in the country by foreign forces to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will repay them in a certain way. “One point is to make products, that create a favorable investment climate in a region and to reach lofty results in the sphere of social development, and the other point is to present these products effectively and show them to the world,” Alexander Gerasimenko noted, pointing out that at present foreign representative offices of Belarus function in 46 countries. Twenty embassies have their own web-sites and the viewership of the Belarus-TV Channel grew six times during the first quarter of this year. That is why every business should cooperate actively with the Foreign Ministry, which has wide possibilities for distributing information, the Deputy Minister stressed.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Gerasimenko |
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This is actually a revival of the old Soviet method. Or it is better to say, its modernization. In the Soviet times all of the exporting-importing companies and firms were state owned and their employees often conducted spying activity abroad, not only in the sphere of technological espionage but in other branches, including the military. They were also used as a channel of bribing foreign officials and businessmen, who could "assist" the Soviet secret services.
Alexander Gerasimenko seems to have good experience in organizing such structures. Well, as the Belarus opposition sources in one of the Baltic capitals noted to the AIA, that is no wonder for this man definitely had connections with the Soviet KGB in the past.
Before becoming the Deputy Minister of independent Belarus, he occupied at least three posts during the Soviet rule, which were unattainable without close relations within the Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosty of the USSR. Gerasimenko was a lecturer at the Party School of the Belarus Soviet Republic, the first secretary of the regional Communist party committee in one of the central areas of Minsk – the capital of Belarus republic and the second secretary of the Communist party committee of the city of Minsk. This last post even gave him the authority to control certain spheres of the republican KGB branch activity. But that is enough about him, and the past Soviet KGB. The Belarus KGB, the true and proud successor of the Soviet one, came out with another initiative to block any activity of the opposition.
The First Deputy head of the KGB, Major-General, Vasily Dementei, presented a draft law on counteracting extremism, which was immediately approved by the Chamber of Representatives of Belarus at the first reading.
Dementei noted that according to the analysis of the current public-political situation, it is shown that a tendency of spreading anti-public manifestations including ones of an extremist nature is observed today in the republic. "Such manifestations can be seen in the activity of several Belarus political and public organizations as well as of some foreign non-profit agencies and mass media outlets. There are facts showing the financing in the Belarus political departments of extremist views by foreign organizations and of distributing information on provocative products that destabilize the public-political situation in the republic," the Major-General said, quoted by the official Belta agency.
"The draft law defines the concept of “extremism”, and legal and organization grounds to counteract this phenomenon and the subjects of this counteraction – the interior ministry, the State Security Committee and the Public Prosecutor’s Office," he added, noting that the provisions of the draft law are similar to ones in the analogous law of the Russian Federation.
But the most interesting part is that Dementei stated in introducing the draft that the secret services of the foreign states are going to try to destabilize Belarus and would undertake various steps, even so far as intervention and terrorism. "The facts testify that the main target of the aspirations of the special services of foreign states is destabilization of the political situation in our country. They have clear tactics, up to and including direct intervention. We have seen full mobilization, including the creation of groups which, when required, can engage in activity to overthrow the constitutional order by all means of extremist activity which, in the most extreme case, means terrorism," he added. The KGB official gave information that in the neighboring states, in particular Lithuania and Poland, "bases of influence on Belarus", and also points of observation have been created. "They try to involve the Ukraine in this," - he said.
So, apparently, the new law would assist in "preventing" extremism, by "planting" the opposition activists behind bars.
Let us quote the retired KGB officer, lieutenant colonel Valery Kostka: " The bill “On Counteraction to Extremism” adopted by the “chamber of representatives” in the first reading on October 27 puts the opponents of today’s Belarus regime under extremely harsh conditions. In fact any of their actions could be qualified as violating the new law. I would understand if the law would be adopted in a country where extremism is widespread. Even more severe measures would be needed there. But Belarus is a tolerant country.
That is why I understand that the new law is related to the presidential elections in 2006. The opponents of the regime are discriminated against and put in such severe conditions that a question arises whether they would be able to do any actions at all? Any protest meeting, for instance, against rigged results, could be embraced by this law. All these actions could be interpreted as extremism. Judges and prosecutors would have a juridical base: you have gathered at the square, and it means that you are extremists.
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Presidents Putin (L) and Lukashenko |
In Belarus, where no extremism exists, these laws seem to be exceptionally unnatural. We do not have any grounds for that; we have a normal peaceful situation. I think that the matter does not concern extremism, but the aim is to make everybody keep quiet,” Valery Kostka said to the Radio Svoboda.
Summing up, it is important to note that the propaganda war abroad, collecting intelligence data by Belarus businessmen abroad and the new "anti-extremist" law, combine together to represent a formidable triple weapon of Lukashenko's regime against anyone who would throw down a challenge to it at the upcoming July 2006 presidential elections.
But this is not all. The Kremlin approved, along with the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, the nomination of the new Russian ambassador in Minsk - the former Governor of the Altai Region, and currently the aide of the Special Presidential Envoy in the Siberian Federal District, Alexander Surikov. Being close to the Kremlin, Surikov is a good friend of Lukashenko. As the Russian daily Kommersant notes, he already demonstrated that he can say the right things to the Belarus President, which are well received by Lukashenko. For instance, while commenting on the re-election of Lukashenko in 2001, the Altai Governor then said, "The republic and its president are on the right path."
But Surikov is not going to be just an ambassador. As Kommersant rightfully noted, he is the "New Governor" of Belarus on behalf of Moscow, sent to observe and to support the local native regime, for the Russian authority considers Belarus the last bastion against the way of the wave of Orange and Velvet revolutions. If the Belarus regime falls, Russian is next …
Related items:
Lukashenko's War on Poles (04.08.2005)
Belarus Weapons Versus American Army (16.07.2005)
Europe's Black Hole (03.07.2005)
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