Belarus: It's Not Looking Good
Belarussians go to the polls tomorrow, although all the information coming out of the country seems to suggest that no one is actually taking the election seriously. Nor should they; both br23 and the NY Times report that totalitarian dictator Lukashenka has choked off all independent publications, closing the final window yesterday with the seizure of at least 200,000 copies of Narodnaya Volya ("People's Will") arriving from a publisher in Russia. Luka has also outlawed public demonstrations, threatening 25 years in jail or death. The opposition is planning exactly the kind of demonstration that the Belarussian government fears tomorrow night, after the polls close.
If the demonstration tomorrow goes forward, the government has essentially promised a bloodbath, blaming (in advance!) any government reaction, no matter how violent, on the opposition. The EU has counter-promised a "strong international reaction" if there is a crackdown on opposition rallies. I wonder if it will be as strong as the "international reaction" over the past ten years to the disappearances, murders, and crushing of political dissent under Lukashenka?