– Vi vill markera att Belarus är ett självständigt land sedan 1991.
I dag byter Dagens Nyheter namn på landet
Vitryssland till Belarus. DN:s utrikeschef Pia Skagermark svarar på två
frågor om namnbytet.
Varför?
– Vi vill
markera att Belarus är ett självständigt land sedan 1991, säger DN:s
utrikeschef Pia Skagermark. Belarus är det namn som landet självt
använder och vi vill undvika risk för sammanblandning mellan Ryssland
och Vitryssland. Många belarusier anser att de med Vitryssland
påklistras en felaktig nationell identitet. Vi kommer att använda
formerna belarusier och belarusisk.
– I engelskspråkiga länder gäller sedan länge Belarus, och inte
”White Russia”. Tidigare har också Danmark gått över till Belarus. Varför genomför DN namnbytet just nu?
–
Vi har diskuterat frågan länge och den fick förnyad aktualitet i
samband med valet i Belarus i höstas och när Nobelpriset i litteratur
tilldelades Svetlana Aleksijevitj. I dag publicerar vi en längre
recension av Maciej Zaremba på våra kultursidor som bland annat tar upp
Belarus och Förintelsen. Det är ett lämpligt tillfälle att byta namn.
Today is 95 years from the beginning of Slutsk Uprising.
On November 27, 1920 the first encounters between Belarusian and
Soviet forces began. Belarusian patriots celebrate the Hero Day.
Discontinuation
of war between Soviet Russia and Poland made it possible to resume a
fight for independence of Belarus. Local authorities were formed in the
territories abandoned by the Polish army, and not occupied by the
Bolsheviks. Slutsk Rada was established in November 1920. It proclaimed
the restoration of the authority of the Belarusian People's Republic on
the territory of the district. Rada decided to form up military units
among locals. Two regiments – Slutski under command of Pavel Chaika (later Akhrem Haurylavich followed him) – and Grozovoj under Captain Luka Semianyuk were established. They formed the Slutsk brigade. Anton Sokal-Kutylouski carried out an overall command of troops.
Encounters
between units, formed mostly of peasants, and the Bolsheviks continued
for more than a month. Belarusian units of Army of General Stanislau Bulak-Bulakhovich - Bialystok battalion and Smolensk regiment, as well as the partisan units of "Green Oak" joined regiments formed by Rada.
First,
Belarusians managed to deter opponent forces and launch a
counterattack. The Slutsk brigade made some successful attacks near
Kapyl, Tsimkavichy. The Omsk division of the Red Army fought the
Belarusian forces. The Bolsheviks were forced to retreat along all 100
km front (Kopyl-Tsimkavichy-Vyzna). Belarusian units had a good support
among the locals, but they lacked arms and equipment. There were fights
near villages Bystrytsy, Vasilchytsy, Vierabejchycy, Dashkava,
Vasilishki, Lutavichy, Morach. The Slutsk brigade managed to occupy
several villages.
It launched an anti-bolshevik movement. More and more people joined the army of peasants.
Therefore,
Moscow decided to bring in additional units consisting of Buryats and
Chinese to combat the Belarusian units. In late December of 1920 rebels
had to retreat to Polish territory where they were disarmed by Polish
border guards.
Slutsk Uprising became an example to many
inhabitants of the country. Belarusians continued anti-Bolshevik
partisan movement even when the Red Army occupied the territory of
Slutsk district.
(Dagbladet): På grunn av den store asyltilstrømningen til
landet, har UDI sett seg nødt til å losjere asylsøkere på flere steder
enn de ordinære mottakene.
Det Norske Misjonsselskapet
(NMS) driver flere kristne leirsteder, som de ønsker å leie ut til UDI.
UDI sier ja takk, men på en betingelse.
Alle kristne symboler må fjernes før asylsøkerne kan flytte inn. Det skriver avisa Dagen.
Skal være verdinøytralt
- UDI er ikke opptatt av at de som tilbyr overnattingsplasser har en
verdimessig forankring. Derimot er vi opptatt av at selve
overnattingstilbudet er religions- og verdimessig nøytralt, sier Vibeke
Schjem, presserådgiver i UDI til Dagbladet.
Hun
forklarer at dette betyr at stedene ikke bør bære preg av å tilhøre en
spesiell religion eller livssyn, fordi botilbudet må kunne brukes av
mennesker som søker asyl i Norge, uavhengig av opprinnelsesland,
politisk ståsted, religion og livssyn.
NMS har gått med på avtalen og er nå nødt til å ta ned både kors og Jesus-symboler.
- Vi gjør det ikke med glede
- Det er ikke noe vi gjør med glede, men vi har valgt å vise
nestekjærlighet å ta imot de menneskene som kommer. Jeg tror ikke
asylsøkerne nødvendigvis ville reagert på symbolene, men nå forholder vi
oss til UDIs retningslinjer, sier kommunikasjonssjef i NMS til
Dagbladet.
Det kristne leirstedet Tømmerneset i Troms er et av stedene som måtte fjerne alle sine kristne symboler.
-
Det står i retningslinjene fra UDI og det er bestemt av NMS at vi skal
følge dette pålegget. Tømmerneset er et kristent sted, men vi trenger
ikke kristne symboler for å utføre kristne handlinger, sier daglig leder
på Tømmerneset, Rakel Elverum til Dagen.
Fremskrittspartiets Roy Steffensen reagerer på pålegget fra UDI.
-
Jeg har forståelse for at mottak skal være politisk og religiøst
nøytrale, men det tolker jeg som at man ikke skal drive aktiv
forkynnelse, noe som leirstedet selv sier at de vil respektere. Korset
er derimot ikke bare et religiøst symbol, men også en del av vår
kulturarv, og en del av vårt flagg. Jeg vet ikke hva som er bakgrunnen
til regelverket for UDI, men hvis man frykter at folk blir støtt av å
være omgitt av kristne symboler, da har man kanskje søkt om asyl i feil
land, skriver han i en e-post til Dagbladet.
A long-awaited agreement on visa-free movement between Belarus and
Israel has come into effect on November, 26. However, at the present
moment only tourists and visitors who intend to stay in the country for
up to three months are released from the obligation to apply for a visa.
The intergovernmental agreement between Belarus and Israel on the
abolition of visas was signed in Minsk in September, 2014. In accordance
with it, the citizens of Belarus and Israel may enter the territory of
the other state on the basis of a national passport, but the term of
stay should not exceed 90 days within six months starting from the date
of the first entry.
If a citizen of either country is going to spend more than 90 days in
to the territory of the other state, or will be engaged in working or
commercial activity, they will have to apply for an appropriate visa in
advance.
The agreement will be valid within a year. Once this period expires,
it will be automatically extended until any party show its willingness
to annul it.
The opening of an exhibition dedicated to the 25th anniversary of
the association ‘Pahonia’ was overshadowed by a scandal. Artist Henadz Drazdou
has published photos of the paintings which, according to the city
authorities, were too controversial to appear at the the event in Minsk.
Everything that could remind of a white-red-white flag and the conflict
in Ukraine had to be taken away, the artist told belsat.eu.
White-red-white symbols and coat of arms ‘Pahonia’ [Pursuit] are
commonly associated with the Belarusian opposition. In 1995 they were
replaced by those reminiscent of Soviet symbolism.
The exhibition opened on November, 24 at the Palace of Arts in Minsk. But several pictures by Belarusian artists Ales Pushkin, Henadz Drazdou and Viktar Markavets were banned from exposing.
Under his painting ‘In Memory of Belarusians who died for freedom of
Ukraine. 2015’ artist Ales Pushkin placed a a shell splinter brought
from Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
The order to remove the ‘politically unreliable’ pictures from the ehxibition was given by Leanid Khobatau, a representative of the Belarusian Гnion of Artists, and Natallia Barsukova, a deputy director of the gallery.
A warplane of ‘unknown nationality’ crashed Tuesday on the Turkish-Syrian border, cnn.com reported today with reference to Turkey’s semi-official Anadolu Agency.
The warplane shot down by Turkey near the Syrian border on Tuesday was a Russian-made SU-24, Turkish presidential sources said,
adding it was downed in line with Turkey’s rules of engagement after
violating Ankara’s airspace. Turkish F16s warned the jet over the
airspace violations before shooting it down, the military official told
Reuters.
The terrorist attacks in Paris were not stage-managed
professionally, Andrzej Mroczek, a Polish counter-terrorism expert,
believes.
Andrzej Mroczek, a representative of Warsaw-based Center for
Terrorism Research at Collegium Civitas and a former police and
intelligence officer, has been an invited guest at Belsat TV program
‘World and Us’. He is a co-author of the book ‘Terror in Poland.
Analysis of Selected Cases’. Belsat: What did the terrorists achieve after the attacks of
November 13? Did they aim at murdering as many people as possible and
sparkling a massive public outcry? Or did they have any other goal?
Andrzej Mroczek: There is no doubt that with the help of these
simultaneous attacks the terrorists were trying to say the following:
despite the fact that you attack us in a place where we have established
a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, you cannot feel safe in any corner of
the world; we will attack you, we will kill everyone who stand in the
way of our ideology of creating the Islamic State. Belsat: Were the attacks deliberately organised? Or something went wrong?
Andrzej Mroczek: When any terrorist attack occurs, and even if there
are no victims, but there are wounded people or some property is
destroyed, one should say that it does have effect. Speaking about
Paris, one can say that it was not a professionally stage-managed
simultaneous attack. It is obvious that it was a concerted series of
terrorist attacks. The gang was organized. But sometimes communication
let them down, as in the case of the events outside the stadium, where a
number of suicide attacks happened. If everything had been
well-prepared, they would not have tried to buy tickets for the match
before the game, but they would have purchased the tickets in advance.
They would not have tried to get to the stadium – they should have born
in mind that sports events attenders are always searched. <…> When
they realised they failed to enter the stadium, why didn’t they wait
until the match was over and a lot of people came out? Or why didn’t
they blow themselves up an hour earlier, when crowds of people were
entering the stadium? Belsat: What does such scenario of terrorist attacks indicate?
Andrzej Mroczek: First of all, the attacks were different in methods
and tools. There were suicide attacks, a hostage-taking in a concert
hall, the use of explosives and the use of automatic weapons. In Paris,
the performers knew from the beginning what they wanted to achieve. They
needed a heavy toll of human lives. Taking hostages was no option, they
needed victims.
Belsat: What is your assessment of the French secret
services’ actions? We know that the terrorists’ black Seat was moving
from one restaurant to another, and no one was detained…
Andrzej Mroczek: In the course of simultaneous attacks, their
performers calculate on the effect of total surprise. Special services
focus on the place where the attack happened, and sometimes there are
elements of disorganisation and chaos. And it may take much time to take
control of this chaos. By the time all services start to act properly,
performers move further, flee or hide. Belsat: Why are we witnessing a series of terrorist attacks
now, e.g. a Russian plane over Sinai, the tragedy in Paris, attacks in
Mali and Beirut? Is it the result of the coalition’s strikes against the
Islamic State?
Andrzej Mroczek: Several years of relative peace in Europe have
passed, and the present-day situation is similar to that after the
September 11 attacks. Then the anti-terrorist coalition conducted a
massive attack against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Now the Islamic State
has begun to act like Al-Qaeda. It is going underground. Using its
network, it is launching a campaign of terror, primarily against the
states involved in anti-terrorist operations in Syria and Iraq. In the
near future, a frequency of attacks is expected to increase. Belsat: Do you share the view that Russia may be tied with the terrorist attacks in Paris in some way?
Andrzej Mroczek: I would not go so far in assumptions, but there is
good reason to mouth the hypothesis saying that special services of the
Russian Federation might have long supported the Islamic State. First of
all, it follows from the fact that Russia’s intelligence has been very
influential in Iraq, in particular, with Ba’ath party. It is to be noted
that the core of Islamic State leadership come from Iraq. And there is
another thing. Earlier, Russia faced a large number of terrorist
attacks, but now, over the last eighteen months, there have been no
serious threats (except for the situation that took place in the run-up
of the Olympics in Sochi).
Damage inflicted to power transmission lines
in the Kherson region may lead to their complete collapse, which in turn
menaces by complete blackout in occupied Crimea.
Censor.NET reports citing the statement by the press service of Ukrenerho SE.
According to the state enterprise, the damage might have been inflicted by a shelling or an explosion.
The
power is currently supplied to Crimea through Kakhovka - Ostrovsk power
transmission line with capacity of 330 kV, and Kakhovka - Dzhankoi
power transmission line with capacity of 330 kV in the amount of up to
650 MW with Crimea's demand of 900-950 MW.
"Both
lines have critical damage which can lead to their failure (e.g. due to
unfavorable weather conditions such as strong wind). This will lead to a
complete blackout in Crimea and a significant reduction of power supply
reliability in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, which receive energy
from the Kakhovka substation," the press service of Ukrenerho noted.
The
energy company also added that if all three lines that transmit power
from the Kakhovka substation to Crimea were disabled, it would make the
network of the substation extremely unreliable, when the failure of just
one element of the substation could lead to its full failure and,
accordingly, power cutoff in 40% of the territory of the Kherson and
Mykolaiv regions.
At
present, technicians of the Dniprovska and Pivdenna energy systems are
assessing the amount of necessary work as well as teams are created to
carry out restoration work. The delivery of material and equipment for
damaged infrastructure is underway.
It
should be reminded that it was not the first case of intentional damage
of power lines transmitting energy in Crimea. The Melitopol - Dzhankoi
power transmission line of the Dniprovska energy system with capacity of
330 kV was damaged Oct. 20.
"We
emphasize that Chaplynka and Kalanchak districts of the Kherson region
with 65,000 residents are supplied from the Tytan substation located in
the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea," the press service of
Ukrenerho noted.
“The formation of a new Belarusian nation is on its go. And no
one: neither Lukashenka, nor Moscow can do anything about it. This
happened as follows. In the 60s the collective farmers obtained their
passports and got a possibility to leave for the cities. So they left –
the population of Minsk was 600 thousand in the 60s, while 10 years
later it already constituted a million and a half. Everybody left for
the cities and destroyed them because they didn’t feel at home there.
Those people coming to the cities were not free people with their own
property, land, those were slaves. They queued up for flat allotments
for the following 15 years, they adopted Russian language, this culture
of occupation. That was the way the degradation of the nation happened. Then,
their children were born, and now the third generation – these are city
people. They speak Russian, they were not exposed to Belarusian
culture, but they are Belarusians. They turn to their roots, their
culture, Francysk Skaryna, their literature at the cultural level. They
understand everything to the extend that those collective farmers were
unable to understand. The nation and its culture are driven by the city,
not by the village. And the process has been set in motion. The regime
wants to end up this process, but they won’t succeed”, – the politician said. Zyanon Paznyak: New Belarusian Nation Arising – Lukashenka And Moscow Can Do Nothing - Charter'97 :: News from Belarus - Belarusian News - Republic of Belarus - Minsk
By
suspending sanctions against Belarusian officials and a number of
enterprises, the European Union shows that it is ready to start building
a relationship with Belarus with a clean slate. This was stated by the
German Ambassador Peter Dettmar on 18 November at the
conference "Expansion Into New Markets." It is taking place in Minsk
within the framework of the Global Entrepreneurship Week.
According to the diplomat, reported by BelaPAN,
economic problems of recent years have more to do with political
decisions that have been taken in the country rather than with the
effect of the European sanctions.
The ambassador said that the suspension of sanctions is a signal of
the EU that it is "ready to close eyes to the past events in Belarus and
is ready to pay attention to what might be in the future."
By the way, the British Ambassador Bruce Bucknell said that the EU imposed sanctions against Belarus not as a state, but against certain individuals.
On 29 October the European Union suspended for four months sanctions
against representatives of Belarus. The withdrawal of sanctions affected
170 individuals and three companies of Belarus. Under the sanctions
have remained four men who were suspected by the EU of involvement in
the political disappearances in Belarus - Uladzimir Naumau, Viktar Sheiman, Dzmitry Pauliuchenka and Yury Sivakou.
Strasbourg is hosting the World Forum for Democracy.
Belarus is represented by public figures, young politicians and
journalists. Traditionally, the forum focuses on the issues of freedom
and democracy. This year, special attention is being paid to the
problems of migration into Europe, the security of European countries
and the future of liberal democracy and civil society in Europe.
The movie ‘GaraSH’ by film director Andrey Kureychyk is to be shown as part of Belarus’ presentation. The director is a member of the Belarusian delegation.
The Strasbourg World Forum for Democracy
is an annual gathering of leaders, opinion-makers, civil society
activists, representatives of business, academia, media and professional
groups to debate key challenges for democracies worldwide. The insights
gathered during the World Forum meetings inform the work of the Council
of Europe and its numerous partners in the field of democracy and
democratic governance.
The Belarusians dressed in vyshyvankas (embroidered blouses) are standing out against participants from other countries, svaboda.org reports.
Vyshyvanka is traditional clothing which contains elements of ethnic
embroidery. Local features are usually represented in the shirt’s
ornamental pattern.
Photos taken from Facebook accounts by Volha Kavalkova, Kasia Markouskaja
Belarus has moved 24 ranks up compared to the previous year.
The five countries ranked at the top are Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria. The Index includes 124 countries.
Our neighbours Ukraine and Russia take 12th and 23rd places correspondently.
32,658 people were killed by terrorism in 2014 compared to 18,111 in 2013: the largest increase (80%) ever recorded.
Boko Haram and ISIL were jointly responsible for 51% of all claimed global fatalities in 2014.
78% of all deaths and 57% of all attacks occurred in just five countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria.
The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a comprehensive study that
accounts for the direct and indirect impact of terrorism in 162
countries in terms of lives lost, injuries, property damage and the
psychological after-effects of terrorism. This study covers 99.6 per
cent of the world’s population.
Et blodbad møtte politiet da de stormet konsertlokalet i sentrum av Paris ved 00.30-tiden natt til lørdag.
Politiet opplyser at rundt 100 personer skal være drept inne i Le Bataclan, hvor gruppen Eagles of Death Metal holdt konsert, ifølge nyhetsbyrået AFP.
Tre mistenkte angripere ble drept da de spesialtrente
franske politifolkene stormet lokalet ved 00.30-tiden natt til lørdag.
Samtidig som aksjonen pågikk ble det varslet om flere «smell» fra
lokalet.
En politikilde sier at angriperne skal ha kastet eksplosiver på gislene inne i lokalet, ifølge nyhetsbyrået AP.
– Det var et blodbad, sier Marc Coupris (57) til The Guardian.
Kroppen til 57-åringen ristet da han snakket med den
britiske avisen. Han hadde da akkurat blitt frigjort fra det
umenneskelige dramaet i konsertlokalet.
– Det var som en slagmark, det var blod overalt, det var
kropper overalt. Jeg var i den andre enden av salen da skytingen
begynte. Det var minst to angripere. De skjøt fra balkongen, sier
Coupris.
Han lå helt stille på gulvet sammen med flere andre. Han sier at det føltes som en evighet.
– Jeg trodde min siste time var kommet, jeg trodde det var
slutten. Jeg tenkte «jeg er ferdig, jeg er ferdig». Vi tenkte nok det
samme alle sammen. Etter en stund så jeg at noen politifolk kom sakte
inn i lokalet. Vi tittet opp, det var blod overalt. Politiet sa at vi
skulle løpe ut, sier Coupris.
I forkant av politiaksjonen kom det grufulle meldinger
sosiale medier fra personer som angivelig befant seg inne i lokalet.
Flere skrev at angriperne drepte én etter én.
Ved 22.30-tiden kom de første meldingene om et angrep mot det populære konsertlokalet Boulevard Voltaire.
AKSJONERTE: Her står tungt bevæpnet politi utenfor konsertlokalet Bataclan. Politiet gikk til aksjon ved 00.30-tiden.
Foto: Kenzo Tribouillard, Afp
Da hadde det allerede vært angrep mot Stade de France, hvor
Frankrike og Tyskland spilte landskamp i fotball, og en restaurant bare
noen hundre meter fra konsertlokalet.
Ifølge vitner på Le Bataclan skal en av angriperne ha ropt
«Allahu akbar» før det ble skutt mot folkemengden. Det ble hørt
skuddsalver og «smell» fra utsiden.
En annen vitneopplysning er at en av angriperne skal ha snakket om Frankrikes militære operasjoner i Syria, ifølge AFP.
Lenge, mens dramaet var pågående og uavklart, ble det meldt om flere titalls døde og at minst 100 personer ble holdt som gisler.
– Det var kaos. Jeg var på høyre side i salen. En låt fra Eagles of
Death Metal var i ferd med å slutte da jeg hørte eksplosjoner som fra
kinaputter.
Det sier et ungt vitne til den franske avisen Le Figaro. PÅ
BÅRE: En skadet person trilles fra konsertlokalet til en ambulanse. Det
er foreløpig ikke noe tall på hvor mange skadede det er etter
massakren.
Foto: Miguel Medina, Afp
– Jeg så at gitaristen hevet sin gitar. Jeg snudde meg og så en fyr
bevæpnet med et automatvåpen. Han skjøt i luften. Alle slang seg på
bakken. Fra det øyeblikket var det instinktet som tok over.
Meldes om rundt 120 drepte
Bilder fra utsiden av Bataclan viste desperate mennesker, noen av dem skadet, som rømte i sikkerhet
Ved 23.30-tiden ankom politiets innsatsstyrker stedet. De reddet folk
bort fra gatene og forsøkte å sperre av området, før de om lag en time
senere gikk til aksjon.
Det er uklart hvor mange som var til stede på konserten i lokalet som skal ha en kapasitet på om lag 1500 publikummere. I DEKNING: Journalister og fotografer i nærheten av konsertlokalet mens dramaet fortsatt pågikk på innsiden.
Foto: Dominique Faget, Afp
Totalt meldes det om rundt 120 drept i alle de syv angrepene i sentrum av Paris, men foreløpig er det nøyaktige tallet på antall drepte uklart.
Hvor mange terrorister som deltok i de angrepene er ikke kjent, men
myndighetene i Paris opplyser natt til lørdag at alle skal være drept.
Samtidig har president Francois Hollande varslet at de vil starte en
intens jakt på eventuelle andre personer som kan ha hatt en rolle i
terrorangrepene.
– Feirer angrepene
Så langt har ingen tatt på seg skylden, men organisasjonen Site intelligente group, som overvåker jihadisme og terrororganisasjoners nettaktivitet, skriver på Twitter at støttespillere til terrorgruppen Den islamske staten (IS) feirer angrepene på nett. Ifølge direktør for organisasjonen, Rita Katz, sier
støttespillerne: «Dette er bare begynnelsen. Vent til istishadis
(selvmorderne) kommer med bil.».
Ifølge henne kommer propagandamagasinet til IS – Dabiq – med følgende beskjed:
«Frankrike sender flyene sine til Syria daglig, bomber og dreper barn og eldre. I dag drikker de fra samme kopp».
«Husk, husk 14. november Paris. De vil aldri glemme denne dagen, slik som 11. september for amerikanerne».
Annexation of Belarus can start with Russia’s resuming military operations in Donbas.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a continuation of the unconscious
struggle between systems and ideas: a free world and concentration
camps, a democracy and a totalitarianism, rotating authorities, changed
in elections, and an unchangeable power of dictators. But this proxy war
against the West on the Ukrainian territory Vladimir Putin is
inevitably to break all those economic, social and cultural ties with
Ukraine the Russian Federation had after the collapse of the Soviet
Union. It is written on the website of the Ukrainian service of Radio
Svaboda by a Ukrainian political analyst Viktor Kaspruk.
The
super-idea of Putin is to maintain his power over Russians at any
costs. Though he is trying to demonstrate his “might” and determination
with a vengeance, when one takes a closer look at his limp figure and
his eyes which are no longer glowing, one can see reflections of Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Miloŝeviç, August Pinochet and Muammar Gaddafi’s lives instead of him.
Putin
has created a rigid hierarchical structure with its inherent cult of a
kind tsar and evil court nobility, which naturally emerges in any closed
human system. The greater isolation is, the greater is the cult, and
vice versa. It’s a law of nature. The problem is, with such a system a
modern economy could never be built.
And the most important thing
is that the absence of moral principles not only in Putin, but in his
entourage, could not be substituted by demonstration of pretend faith.
In Russia yesterday’s atheists, and now priests, have replaced
individual morals and have become rulers of men’s minds. Genetically Russians have inherited morals of Golden Horde’s population
Putin
is out of sync with the international ethics of the 21st century. And
this gap means a total rejection of international law and norms.
Over
the years of the foreign yoke, Russians have internalized morals of the
Golden Horde’s occupiers genetically. That is why Putin lives by morals
of a medieval khan.
It’s a khan precisely, as kings of Europe
were predominantly defenders of their nationals, and in Asian khanates
people were an expendable material for “gods-emperors.”
The power
of Putin has become possible due to a too high and unjustified trust of
the West in the former Empire. After all, Russia has been acting in the
same way as now for no less than the last 100 years – at least since the
times of the Bolshevik coup in 1917.
There have been calm periods
certainly, when it was helped and there were hopes about it. But later
this assistance was always used against those who had helped Russia.
There
have been easing in the end of the 1980-ies – beginning of the
1990-ies, when independent business was given a breathing spell.
However, then the process of seizing business from “aliens” started.
Then
the post-Soviet establishment, using bandits which were close to them
socially, decided that they had understood everything and could do the
same independently, started a cruel clean-up of the business field
against the people who were alien to the system.
And it lasted
until the next disappointment. Then there was an illusion of
democratization and involvement of new naïve people to teach how to
overcome another lag.
The West certainly has its own interests,
but also its clear principles. And Putin has no principles at all, only
interests (and notably only his own self-interest), that is why he is
losing. The tactics of a hardcore street tough is not working now.
The
Russian nation, which got hooked on “Horde-style cheap booze” hundreds
of years ago, could not be cured simply by an intravenous democracy,
freedom of speech and freedom in general treatment, as it is not just an
excessive drinking, but an addiction to cheap booze, alcohol
dependence.
And alcoholism is a serious disease, which results in
irreparable changes in the mental state, which could not be recovered,
and destroys personality. It could not be treated in fact.
It
needs regular doses of the booze, for this Russian organism not to die
amid absence of new ways of treatment, and specific symptoms of delirium
tremens. Geopolitical “delirium tremens” of Moscow
This geopolitical “delirium tremens” is fed by Moscow even more. Though Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov they state for the whole world to hear that support of the “Russian world” is a priority of the Russian foreign policy.
That
is, first the Kremlin had been replacing the local population in
Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, the Baltic States and Central Asia by
Russians from other regions and by local “janissaries”, and now it is
going to defend them from possible processes of de-Russification with
all ones might.
Putin understands that the key to the Russia’s
future, or to be more exact, to the future of the new Russian Empire, as
he sees it, is in Ukraine.
That is why, having stumbled in
Ukraine, next year he is could switch his aggression to Belarus as an
important foothold for a new attack against the Ukrainian state.
The
“morals” of Putin are: everything is allowed as long as he personally
finds it expedient. Lukashenka won’t be able to do anything, if the
Kremlin decides to transform Belarus into “the Western Federal District”
of Russia.
And as long as Lukashenka has started flirting with
the West, it could be a serious pretext for removal from power of the
Belarusian dictator, who looks as if he does not understand how
saturated by Moscow cadres the Belarusian KGB is. And these cadres are
just waiting for a signal from the Kremlin.
Anschluss of Belarus could start in the beginning of 2016, alongside with resuming of military operations of Russia in Donbas.
The
lull in fighting in the “Ukrainian front” should alarm Western analysts
and decision-makers. It looks very much like an ebb tide before a
powerful destructive tsunami. Belarus endangered
And here against attention should be paid to the words of Lavrov should: “As
before, we are going to defend the rights of compatriots with energy,
using the full range of tools we have under the international law.”
We
have already witnessed how Russia “observes” the international law by
the example of annexation of Ukrainian Crimea and occupation of a part
of Donbas.
But if Putin wants to open the second front in order to
attack Ukraine, there is no better foothold for that than an occupied
Belarus.
On the wave of patriotism, “standing from knees”
euphoria, and PR-bombing in Syria, the conscience of Russians have
atrophied completely. That is why they are to support another Putin’s
reckless political undertaking – return of Belarus “back home” to
Russia.
As soon as we notice that Russian mass media start an
intensive informational campaign against Lukashenka, when from an ally
he is to turn into a parasite and enemy, it would be possible to speak
about an imminent Russia’s invasion of Belarus.
And “the green
men” have already infiltrated Belarus. Under the guise of guards at
Russian military installations they are planning to take under control
state institutions and strategic facilities in Minsk and the key
industrial cities of the country.
Now Putin is preparing to use
spetsnaz in the fight on terrorists in Syria. It is known by the fact
that it is allowed to fight against enemies using any methods –including
the terrorist ones, taking hostages from families of their adversaries.
Now
who could guarantee that Putin, deprived of any moral checks, would not
use these spetsnaz forces to subjugate Belarus? And after that he would
not send these cutthroats to defiant Kyiv, which does not want to join
“the Russian world” voluntarily?
Women, who wanted to meet with Lukashenka in order to
present a petition “Against lawlessness in courts and prosecutor’s
office”, were detained at the railway station in Minsk.
As “Salidarnasts” has learnt, the leader of the civil initiative “Against lawlessness in courts and prosecutor’s office” Tamara Siarhei
was detained at the railway station. Several other women, activists of
the initiative, were together with the lawyer. The women planned to
arrive to the place of Lukashenka’s inauguration ceremony, in order to
present him a petition, which they had been trying to bring to his
administration since 2007. - I arrived to the railway station
in order to meet my fellow-thinkers from provinces. As soon as I entered
the building from the central entrance, two policemen and a girl came
up to me. The girl said that allegedly I had stolen her purse. These
law-enforcers, Police Lieutenant Colonel Siarhei Harkovy and Senior Warrant Officer Siarhei Makhnach,
refused for the girl to give her name, and they tried to take us to the
police department at the railway station, – the lawyer Tamara Siarjei
said in the moment of detention. – I think that our telephone
conversations are eavesdropped, the authorities knew about our
intentions, and it was a provocation. It’s horrible! What’s next –
Kurapaty?
At the moment Tamara Siarhei is interrogated at the police department.
Since
2007 the women had been trying to obtain justice, protesting “Against
lawlessness in courts and at the prosecutor’s office.” The day before
they once again tried to present their petition to Lukashenka’s
administration (it was a reception day), but they were denied. That is
why in the noon of Friday they decided to come up to the new residence
of the ruler, where the swearing-in ceremony is to take place, in order
to try to meet Lukashenka personally.
A version of a terrorist attack has emerged after British secret
services intercepted communications between militants in the Sinai
Peninsula, bbc.com reports.
New intelligence was received on Wednesday and the UK government’s
Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has spent the past few days assessing
what caused the plane to come down.
It is still not certain what led to the crash.
The BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says that
although British officials have not ruled out the possibility of a
technical fault bringing the plane down, they think that is increasingly
unlikely.
UK investigators believe a bomb was put in the hold prior to
take-off. According to them, someone with access to the aircraft’s
baggage compartment might have inserted an explosive device inside or on
top of the luggage just before the plane took off, a BBC correspondent
adds.
The Kremlin calls the version ‘speculations’.
On October 31, a Russian Metrojet plane crash-landed shortly after
take-off from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheik resort. The plane had been en route
to St Petersburg when it crashed 23 minutes into its journey,
scattering bodies and fragments of the planes over a wide area in the
Sinai Province.
The plane was carrying 217 passengers, including 25 children, there
were seven crew members on board. All 224 people on the Airbus 321 –
most of them Russians – died.
Belsat.eu, following the BBC
The Belarusian ruble will be redenominated on 1 July 2016.
Lukashenka signed decree No. 450 “Concerning the redenomination of
the official currency of the Republic of Belarus” on 4 November.
The
document specifies that the official currency of the Republic of
Belarus will be redenominated on 1 July 2016. As a result, all banknotes
designed in 2000 will be replaced by banknotes and coins designed in
2009 in the following ratio: Br10,000 will become Br1. Starting from 1
July 2016, memorable banknotes issued by the National Bank shall be
accepted in all kinds of payments without restriction in the
abovementioned ratio, memorable and bullion (investment) coins issued by
the National Bank will be accepted in all kinds of payments without
restriction depending on their notional value.
The decree envisages that Br1 of the 2009 design will be equal to 100
Belarusian coins of the 2009 design. From 1 July 2016 to 31 December
2016 monetary units of the 2000 design and monetary units of the 2009
design will be used simultaneously and will be accepted in all kinds of
payments without restriction in the abovementioned ratio. Banknotes
designed in 2000 can be replaced by banknotes designed in 2009 without
restrictions and additional fees in the period from 1 January 2017 to 31
December 2019 at the National Bank, banks and non-bank credit and
financial institutions of the Republic of Belarus. In the period from 1
January 2020 to 31 December 2021 they can be replaced at the National
Bank. From 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2016, manufacturers, traders,
suppliers, executives and their representatives will have to provide
information about the prices and tariffs on their goods (works,
services) calculated both in the new and old design Belarusian rubles.
The National Bank has been instructed to ensure the issue of monetary
units of the 2009 design and withdraw monetary units of the 2000 design
in line with the provisions of the decree.
