Michael Batiukov

It should be noted that Iran is second only after China in the number of capital punishments: in 2008, 226 people were executed. Public executions are very popular in the country, among them previously used stoning. In January 2008, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi imposed a ban on public executions, expect for those approved by him "in case of social need".

The vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights comments on the arrests in Minsk at 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights proclamation. "It is an unpleasant and disappointing fact, that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is banned for distribution in the c...

The office the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations informed Iryna and Valerya Krasouskaya that their claim had been registered in the UN Commission on Human Rights on November 16. As the press service of CIWR.ORG reports, Krasouskayas' claim was prepared by a Dutch law firm a...

Lech Kaczyński, the President of the Republic of Poland, has made several statements on the subject on air of Radio Bialystok on September 29. Polish president has stated that he does not believe transparency and democratic nature of the "parliamentary elections" in Belarus. L. Kaczyński noted that the "election" was a step in a right direction for Belarus, however, "A ballot is democratic only when the regime has no possibilities to control the process [of voting]. "When there are possibilities for control, it always signalize about danger, and means that there is no democracy," the Polish president said. To his mind, a process of changing ruling elites should take place in Belarus. "In other words, Lukashenko should be a person who understands that loss of power is not a failure, but it is normal," L. Kaczyński said. "But there are no signs that Lukashenko finds loss of power a normal process". The results of the "election" in 110 constituencies show none of the opposition figures has got to the "house of representatives".

Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by people under a free and fair electoral system. What happens if there is no free and fair electoral system? And what happens if the whole electoral system is controlled by the government. Who is controlling the government? Nobody! The main thing is when there is no democracy - there is no control by the people over the government's actions. Ask the people of Zimbabwe do they want to live with no food, no water and 2000000% inflation. Probably, they don't. And, probably, that's what can happen when people loose control over their government. So, when there is no control, there is no balance of power, there is no law, there is no opposition, no freedoms, no human rights, because two main principles of democracy are purposely destroyed by the government. The first principle is: all members of the society have equal access to power. And the second one is: all members of the society enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties. So, when people are separated from voting, or when they can vote for the government's candidates only, they are abused by the "tyranny" of the undemocratic dictatorial government. They are misinformed by the government's mass media and are not able to vote in their own personal interests. So, the dictatorial government does not care about people, and their votes, and their personal interests. The dictatorial government is pursuing their own personal interests and can easily falsify the results of any elections in the interests of so called president, his pocket ministers and bureaucratic representatives (in short, president's gang members).

Aleksandr Kozulin, who has challenged the authoritarian "president" of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko in presidential elections of 2006, was released from jail on August 16, 2008 after being over there for 875 days. A former candidate for presidency in the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Kozulin was hurled into prison for staging protest rallies against rigging of presidential elections on Freedom day March 25, 2006. On July 12th, 2006 Minsk city court sentenced Aleksandr Kozulin to 5.5 years of imprisonment. In prison Aleksandr Kozulin announced a hunger strike, demanding to consider the Belarusian problem in the UN Security Council. The political prisoner was on hunger strike for 53 days and lost more than 40 kilograms of his weight. His health has been irreparably damaged. "I welcome the release of Alexander Kozulin. He and his family have shown incredible resilience, defending their rights and views on life", - said the leader of the civil campaign "European Belarus" Andrei Sannikov. "It is now necessary to release all political prisoners in Belarus. Next on the agenda is ending the repression against the opposition and the holding of genuinely free and democratic elections. It may be necessary to talk about postponement of the parliamentary elections at a later date. Because after mass non-inclusion of opposition representatives in the precinct commission, September 28, 2008 could be held only electoral farce ", - said the leader of the civil campaign "European Belarus".

- How does a new strategy of the opposition could look like in Belarus 2008? - The new strategy today is a severe resistance to dictatorship in all directions. In the situation when no liberalization is taking place, we cannot hope that the upcoming election to the "parliament" would be democratic and free, that is why slogans "Boycott to electoral farce!", "Boycott to Lukashenko's regime!", "Boycott to dictatorship!" are appearing on the agenda. The regime itself has pushed the opposition to change the approaches.

The president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, has urged the Belarusian government to immediately release the people arrested during a police crackdown on a demonstration staged in Minsk on March 25 on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Belarusian National Republic. "The use of violence by the Belarusian authorities against peaceful demonstrators and the harassment of independent journalists are in contradiction to the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression and is not compatible with democratic fundamental rights," Mr. Poettering says in a statement issued on March 27, 2008.

Aleksandr Lukashenko admitted on 2/15/2008 that he knew well about bad health of political prisoner Aleksandr Kazulin´s wife and tried to use that situation for bargaining with the West and European Union. Irina Kazulina is seriously ill, while her husband has been kept in prison for 2 years o...

--$1.5 billion? $2.0 billion? $3.5 billion? Going once. Going twice. Sold to a gentleman in the front raw – “Time” magazine Person of the Year 2007 – Future Czar of Russia & Belarus, Mr. Putin. On December 20th, 2007 in Moscow, Belarus and Russia has signed an agreement on granting Belarus a st...

In 1994 one of the basic items of an electoral program of Alexandr Lukashenko was "indemnification of the lost monetary contributions of the population at the rate of Rouble-Dollar for 1985" (that is when 1 Soviet Rouble was 1 US dollar). Back in 1998 when Lukashenko already became the President of ...

The memorial rally and meeting dedicated to Dziady - the day of commemoration the ancestors - took place in Minsk on October 28, 2007. From 1.500 to 2.000 people participated in this rally. The column of demonstrants under the white-red-white national flags went along Nezalezhnasti Avenue and commem...

Almost 21 years have passed since a tragic date for Belarus - 26 April, 1986. The largest anthropogenic catastrophe in the history of humanity has inflicted an irretrievable harm to this country. About 2/3 of the radioactive wastes landed on the territory of Belarus and polluted about 1/5 of it, whe...

2007 New Year oil and gas conflict with Russia could cost Aleksandr Lukashenko more than simply a budget deficit. Belarusian Economy Ministry has prepared a vast program of state enterprises privatization. Talks with investors have started on some of enterprises. Belarus is getting ready for conside...

Minsk, Belarus Dear Alexander Grigorievich, It’s not easy for me to address you but I do understand that I have no right not to use all chances for the future of our Belarus. I do agree with your view that the situation in economy may become catastrophic. This must not be allowed. You alw...

This week, on Monday, January 22, 2007 President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has met Leonid Maltsev, the Defense Minister of Belarus. During the meeting, Ahmadinejad said that the two states share identical views about regional and global issues, and voiced Tehran’s support for the expansion and dev...

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) is observing the elections for local soviets that began on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007. Members of the human rights group are expected to monitor the poll at the early voting stage and on the main voting day, January 14th, 2007 both in Minsk and in the province...

Russian President Vladimir Putin likes to play karate (Japanese style of fighting). Belarusian “President” Aleksandr Lukashenko likes to play hockey. So, both of them are using very different means to resolve Russia-Belarus gas conflict. Another round of gas talks between Russia and Belarus broke...

(Is it Time For the UN Security Council Finally To Get Involved?) Today on December 5th, 2006 Irina Kazulina has visited the colony No.3 in Vitsebsk, where her husband, a former Candidiate for Presidency Aleksandr Kazulin, is continuing a hunger strike for the 47th day. He has lost 40 kg over the...

11/15/2006 The president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed hope, that this year (on the Iranian calendar year comes to the end on March 21, 2007) the Islamic Republic becomes a new Nuclear Power. "Time works for Iran in a situation around its nuclear program. Today the nuclear problem - m...

Minsk, Belarus - The Israeli Embassy has made a statement in the connection with two anti-Semitic acts of vandalism committed in Minsk and has conveyed all the information about those acts to the Foreign Ministry of Belarus. The Israeli Embassy hopes that Belarusian mass media would launch a wide ca...

October 31, 2006 Minsk, Belarus New arrests have taken place in close proximity to the court of Kastrychnitski district of Minsk, where the trial over Zmitser Dashkevich continues on Tuesday, October 31, 2006. People in plainclothes who had been watching outside the court building since morning,...

Last week Alexander Lukashenko has signed the Decree which radically changes all criminally-remedial system in the Republic of Belarus. Henceforth all government officials who made crimes against a state ownership, including deputies of National Assembly, Prime-Minister and Vice-Premiers, Minsk and ...

Belarusian Human Rights Center "Vyasna" has presented the report "President of Belarus Elections Campaign Repressions, 2006" in which shows the number of people, who were arrested days before elections, during mass protest actions against falsifications of the results of the elections and after ele...

On July, 21st this year Anton Taras (23 year-old, has 2-year old daughter Vera) - the translator, a member of the Belarus Association of Journalists has disappeared. That night he spoke with his parents on the phone and has told, that he was going a business-trip. Since then nobody knows where Anton...

After the death of Lenin in 1924 a new pseudomorph took charge of a pseudo-socialist state. His pseudonim was Stalin, former Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili (1879-1953), russian revolutionary born in Georgia, the son of a shoemaker, the second theoretician of pseudo-socialism, the second leader of...

So, what "pseudo" means? It is a prefix with the meaning "false". Pseudo-socialism means false socialism. To have a pseudonym means to have a false or invented name. Who is a pseud? Pseud is a short for pseudo-intellectual, a person who pretends to be an intellectual, but he is not really as he pr...

Letters I have received Michael, Thank you for your provocative submission. Unfortunately, this is not the type of article that the Journal is looking to publish in the near future. Sincerely,A. W., Editor-in-Chief ?Georgetown Journal of International Affairs? Dear Michael, Thank you ...

On August 22nd, 2007 at about 22:30 pm in Minsk, Belarus, belarussian militia have rushed into the private house in area of Bangalor where a premier performance of Edward Bonda's play "11 shirts" by "Free Theatre" was taking place. More than 50 people were taken to the Soviet District Militia Statio...