Languages: Most of the population speak either Belarusian or Russian or both. There is very little
difference between the two languages. Both are official languages.
When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, Belarus, the most loyal of the Soviet republics, quite unexpectedly found itself independent. An attempt was made to establish a democratic system, but the nationalist and democratic forces in the republic, such as the Belarusian Popular Front, were too weak to sustain it. In 1994 the maverick populist Alexander Lukashenka was elected as Belarus's first president. Lukashenka has established an authoritarian regime run along Soviet lines, and has a policy of re-uniting Belarus and Russia, although no concrete steps have been taken in this direction. There is little press freedom and Soviet-style repression is visited on opponents. Belarus is now the only country in Europe which cannot be classified as even semi-democratic, and the only one in which the government is actively opposing movement towards greater democracy and human rights. Belarus has no real party system. President Lukashenka claims to be above party, and 90% of the members of the legislature are "independents" who support the President. The Communist Party of Belarus and the Agrarian Party of Belarus also support Lukashenka. Human Rights Watch's 2002 Report on Belarus noted that: "Belarusian government policies in 2002 aimed to crush the political opposition and served to further isolate the country internationally. The government continued its crackdown on the opposition, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the independent media, and religious groups. "The September 9, 2001 presidential elections, in which incumbent President Alexander Lukashenka was the victor, received widespread criticism and briefly made the poor human rights situation in Belarus a focal point of international concern. But when the events of September 11 and their aftermath again pushed Belarus far from the international spotlight, Lukashenka did not miss the opportunity to repress civil society without fear of diplomatic consequences. "Throughout the year, Lukashenka sought retribution against those who challenged him during the election, and their supporters. Vladimir Goncharik, the united opposition candidate in the presidential elections, had to leave his post as leader of the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) in December 2001 after it received credible reports that Lukashenka would sign a decree nationalizing the FTU's property unless Goncharik resigned. Goncharik subsequently moved to Russia." Amnesty International's 2002 Report on Belarus suggsted that Lukashenka's regime was responsible for the deaths of prominent opponents: "No progress was made in determining who was responsible for the abduction and apparent killing in 1999 of several prominent political opponents of President Lukashenka. The former Minister of the Interior, Yury Zakharenko; the first secretary chairman of the dissolved parliament, the 13th Supreme Soviet Viktor Gonchar; and his companion, Anatoly Krasovsky, apparently ''disappeared'' in May and September 1999. The investigations conducted by the Belarusian authorities into the possible ''disappearances'' repeatedly drew domestic and international criticism for their lack of impartiality and transparency." A useful source of news and opinions about politics in Belarus is the Belarus Review, published by Belarusian opposition groups in the United States. |
