Belarus: To Democracy through Neo-Communism
2003; George Washington University; Volume: 11; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1940-4603
Autores Tópico(s)European Politics and Security
ResumoStanislau Shushkevich was chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus, 1991-1994. He is still active as an opposition figure and democracy activist in Belarus.Since the Belarus presidential elections of 1994, there have been numerous attempts to impose on the Belarusian public the notion that only strengthened and centralized rule will make acceleration of the progressive reforms possible. The obvious inconsistencies of the chosen ruler's actions have been justified by citing the difficulties of finding acceptable means for reform and the notorious complexities of the transition period in this former Soviet republic that only recently was relatively prosperous. The difficulties have been further exacerbated in Belarus by a significantly higher concentration (than in the other CIS states) of military and retirees, the majority of whom are opposed to any transformation.Seasoned Western diplomats and various emissaries of parliaments and governments of the democratic states, as well as of the all-European institutions, have insistently advised the Belarusian opposition to search for ways of tactful influence over the insufficiently enlightened president, assuming that even he can be convinced of the necessity of following the path of transformation to a lawful democratic state respecting values common to all humankind.However, the chosen leader's lust for power and his desire to reign (as opposed to govern) have only grown stronger. His sentiments have been accepted and supported by the old nomenklatura of both Belarus and Russia, as it became clear that, thanks to his purely Soviet-style education (Department of History of a provincial pedagogic institute and a military school of political instructors), Alexander Lukashenka would indeed resurrect the Soviet communist kind of order.The regime in Belarus has become increasingly authoritarian and (to the degree allowed by an open border with Russia and a rather transparent one with the Ukraine) quite totalitarian, crudely imposing on and regulating every public realm, without exception.A number of opposition politicians have had to leave the country, among them the chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front, Zianon Pazniak, and the chairman of the Supreme Council, Semyon Sharetsky. Members of Parliament Andrei Klimov and Vladimir Kudinov, former chairman of the Council of Ministers Mikhail Chigir, former member of Parliament Vasily Leonov, and many others have been thrown in jail on charges that were clearly trumped up.In the sovereign state of Belarus, several former secretaries of the regional and city party committees have publicly denounced the Soviet ideology, declaring themselves avid supporters of democracy, rule of law, human rights, and the country's path of nonnuclear neutrality. They subsequently have assumed high positions in the new state structures of independent Belarus. However, it appears to have been difficult for them to learn new ways of functioning. With Lukashenka's rise to power, the same people have just as readily denounced the market economy, democracy, rule of law, and the constitutionally guaranteed policy of non-nuclear neutrality. They considered it more profitable to demonstrate their loyalty to the regime and the old principle of bureaucratic self-preservation: You are the boss, and I am the fool.The most outstanding members of that cohort are former deputy chairman of the Supreme Council Vasily Novikov and former minister of foreign affairs Pyotr Kravchenko. They rather quickly substituted for their democratic and market incantations ones proclaiming their devotion to the regime, striving to please their ruler with the same zeal with which they once propagated the ideas of the Communist Party.In addition, most appalling things have been taking place. Following the mysterious disappearance of several well-known criminal figures, the brightest and most charismatic politicians, such as Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council Viktor Gonchar and former minister of internal affairs Yuri Zakharenko, also vanished. …
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