Blogging the Belorus Elections
As the BBC reports that thousands of Belarussian opposition supporters have gathered in the central square in Minsk to protest the presidential elections, it’s worth keeping an eye out on Global Voices’ Belorus page summarizing and linking to Belorussian blogs. In particular, GV reports that Andrei Khrapavitski is blogging events as they unfold.
Interestingly, I met a young photographer, Andrei Liankevich, from the Belorussian opposition press last year when he was studying at the Caucasus Media Institute in Yerevan. Standards of living there sound a lot higher than in Armenia with GNI per capita standing at $2,120 as opposed to $1,120 here, but politically, the situation sounds terrible.
As probably everyone knows, Lukashenko has been described as the last dictator in Europe. Even so, the BBC says that Lukashenko has “genuine popular support,” but to be honest, I don’t know much about the situation in the country.
Belarus ballot ’severely flawed’
Opposition supporters protest in Minsk, Belarus
The opposition has called for further protests
European election monitors have said the re-election of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was flawed and failed to meet international standards.
An EU commissioner said it was “very likely” the EU would impose sanctions.
Mr Lukashenko - branded “Europe’s last dictator” by the US - said the vote was fair and denounced “foreign pressure”.
The main opposition candidate, Alexander Milinkevich, called for a re-run, and for street protests against an “illegal, illegitimate president”.
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4824642.stm
Comment by Onnik — March 20, 2006 @ 6:19 pm
I am more interested in the Armenian diaspora that live in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. I heard that alot of skinheads attack Armenians over there. I would like to see an article about the overseas Armenians in the former USSR. I would also like to learn their survival techniques on dealing with racists, skinheads, and police harassment.
I also want to know more about Georgia. Are Georgians the enemies of Armenians? What are the relations between Armenia and Georgia? DO they get along? Can Georgians understand spoken Armenian? Are the languages and culture similar?
Comment by amanda — March 21, 2006 @ 10:14 am
Amanda, you could always start your on blog on the subjects you mention. As just one person I cannot cover every issue that I hope my readers are interested in. However, I can link to other blogs that deal with such issues.
Comment by Onnik — March 21, 2006 @ 10:33 am