Belarusian Lukashenko = Ivorian Gbagbo

[Casper]

Thomas Gomart, Valdai Club expert shares his views on Europe's eastern frontier.

The current internal political situation in Belarus is unusual. It was not that long ago that President Lukashenko was re-elected in elections seen as unfair by the international community. Unlike other leaders in a similar position, Laurent Gbagbo for instance in Ivory Coast, Lukashenko has been much more successful: he has managed to remain in office, there has been no intervention. The international community is much less interested in the domestic situation inside Belarus by comparison with that in other countries.

Relations between Belarus and Russia are growing increasingly complicated, in part as a result of President Lukashenko’s personal evolution, but also in the light of the Customs Union project (comprising Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan). Although the Customs Union project has undeniable importance for Moscow, dealing with President Lukashenko is becoming increasingly uncomfortable for Russia. In particular, the way President Lukashenko’s regime has evolved has made it ever more difficult for the Kremlin, and especially for President Medvedev, to continue to deal consistently with this leadership.

Domestically, the terrible terrorist attack in Minsk will certainly be used by the leadership to justify political restrictions and heightened political control. This is a process that can be observed in many countries, it is common for terror threats to be used to justify the introduction of additional security measures, which can have an impact on civil liberties. So from this point of view I do expect the political leadership will use it to justify an increased concentration of power.

Full version of his article was published on valdaiclub.com

 

[jillian]

Could you tell President Lukashenko I want my great grandfather's property back?

Thanks.

 

[waltky]

Gbagbo out inna cold - dey freezin' his assets off...

Swiss freeze $81 million in assets linked to Gbagbo
Thu May 5, 2011 - Switzerland has frozen 70 million Swiss francs ($81 million) linked to former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo and his associates, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Gbagbo had refused to leave power after an election last November that U.N.-certified results showed he had lost. Switzerland ordered his assets seized in January to prevent them being diverted before Ivory Coast could launch domestic criminal proceedings, the ministry's statement said. The election victor, Alassane Ouattara, finally took control in April when his forces, backed by French and U.N. soldiers, captured Gbagbo after days of heavy fighting.

The funds are blocked for up to three years under the Swiss cabinet's order, pending a request from Ivory Coast for legal assistance, on the basis of its own criminal proceedings against Gbagbo. Folco Galli, spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry, said no such request had been received yet. Ouattara's government said on April 27 that it had begun criminal investigations against Gbagbo, his wife and 100 other people in his close circle, but gave no details. In recent years, Switzerland has worked hard to improve its image as a haven for ill-gotten assets.

"It would be a good thing if the nation's money that was looted and frozen can be returned to Ivory Coast," Bertin Kouadio Konan, a senior official from Ouattara's ruling coalition, told Reuters by phone, reacting to the news. "This was a good move by Switzerland. Other countries should follow its example," he said. Gbagbo's supporters were less enthusiastic. "This is his money. He was president of Ivory Coast and therefore he had revenues. Just because he was arrested doesn't mean you should freeze his property," said Florence Gouesse, one of Gbagbo's campaign managers during the election.

On Monday, Switzerland said it had blocked nearly $1 billion linked to three North African strongmen. Some 410 million Swiss francs was traced to former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, 360 million Swiss francs to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and 60 million Swiss francs to ousted Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, it said.

Swiss freeze $81 million in assets linked to Gbagbo | Reuters

 

[Sunni Man]

Could you tell President Lukashenko I want my great grandfather's property back?

Thanks.

No problem.

Soon as you Zionists give the Palestinian people their property back.

 

[editec]

Could you tell President Lukashenko I want my great grandfather's property back?

Thanks.

Could you tell President Obama we'd like our hemiphere back?

The Amerindian people


Could you tell the Germans, Slavs and other Asian interlopers, we'd like Europe back?

The Celts


Could you tell Homo sapiens, we'd like our world back?

The Ghost of Neanderthal.

 

[jillian]

Could you tell President Lukashenko I want my great grandfather's property back?

Thanks.

Could you tell President Obama we'd like our hemiphere back?

The Amerindian people


Could you tell the Germans, Slavs and other Asian interlopers, we'd like Europe back?

The Celts


Could you tell Homo sapiens, we'd like our world back?

The Ghost of Neanderthal.

could you post that to PF and the other terrorist supporters?

 

[José]

Sunni

I don't know if I'm speaking for both of us or just for myself but anyway:

Since we know now that editec and jillian strongly oppose the dimantlement of the jewish racial dictatorship and the establishment of a democratic state in Palestine that gives the palestinan people the right to move freely in their historical homeland instead of shooting them everytime they try to live Gaza or the WB I FULLY EXPECT TO SEE THEM:

1 - IN FRONT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN EMBASSY IN W. DC, MONDAY MORNING, PROTESTING AGAINST THE DISMANTLEMENT OF THE WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN RACIST STATE, DEMANDING THAT BLACKS BE HERDED INTO BANTUSTANS AND TOWNSHIPS AGAIN.

2 - IN FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE DEMANDING THAT BLACKS LOSE EACH AND EVERY CIVIL RIGHT THEY GOT IN THE 20TH CENTURY AND THAT INDIANS BE HERDED BACK INTO THEIR RESERVATIONS AND SHOT DOWN WITHOUT MERCY IF THEY MAKE THE SLIGHTEST ATTEMPT TO LEAVE THEM AS GENERAL CUSTER WOULD DO.

Come on, jillian!!

Come on, editec!!

Let's show some logical consistency and basic coherence here!!

What's good for Israel must surely be good for America and South Africa too!!

Don't leave for tuesday the pro-racism protest you can make tomorrow morning!!!!

 

[Sunni Man]

The Zionist Jews are the most racist people on the planet.

When there was a world wide embargo against the apartheid government of South Africa.

The only nation that continued to do business with them and sell them weapons was Israel.

 

[waltky]

Lukashenko gonna have to read his comic books by flashlight...

Russia Cuts Off Belarus' Electricity Over Debt
29 June`11 - Russia cut off electricity supplies to Belarus at midnight on Wednesday until Belarus fully repays its 1.2-billion ruble ($43 million) debt, Russia's electricity export monopoly Inter RAO said.

Russia has prolonged until Tuesday evening the deadline for Belarus to pay off its electricity debt for April and May, threatening to cut off supplies if it does not, but no payment has been made. "As of 10.00 p.m. Moscow time (18:00 GMT) no payment for electricity was made...We confirm that from June 29, at 00:00 Moscow time (June 28, 20:00 GMT) we completely cut electricity supplies to Belarus. We are waiting for Belarus to make the next payment in the next few days," an Inter RAO official told RIA Novosti.

Inter RAO halved electricity supplies to Belarus on June 9 as a warning and then threatened to cut off exports on June 22 as Belarus's utility Belenergo continued to run up debts amid an economic crisis in the former Soviet republic. Belenergo transferred 600 million rubles ($21.2 million) on June 15 as debt payment for March. Inter RAO said on June 21 it had delayed cutting off power supplies until June 27 after negotiations, and later extended the deadline until midnight June 29.

Belarus meets about 10 percent of its electricity needs through Inter RAO supplies. The Belarusian electricity debt occurred because of the currency crisis which is hampering all transactions with foreign partners. Belarus says it has enough domestic currency. The problem is converting it into hard-to-find international currency. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said on June 28 that the Belarus electricity supply cuts were not politically motivated and simply reflected the interaction between two companies on a corporate level.

Russia cuts off electricity supply to Belarus over debt | Russia | RIA Novosti

 

[waltky]

"I see" said the blind man, "Yer a liar" said the deaf mute...

In Belarus, one-armed man arrested for clapping
July 8, 2011 : The crackdown in Belarus grew more indiscriminate this week. Among the 400 arrested: a one-armed man charged with taking part in the clapping protests and mute person accused of shouting antigovernment slogans.

The sound of one hand clapping may be one of those proverbial mysteries, but a man was arrested and seriously punished in Minsk this week for allegedly doing it. It's a little whiff of absurdity amid a wave of unrelentingly grim news from Belarus, where "Europe's last dictator" Alexander Lukashenko is digging in against growing public protests over a collapsing economy that's gutted living standards and left hundreds of thousands out of work since January in the little post-Soviet country of 10 million.

In order to evade tough regulations on public rallies, protesters eschew placards and shouted slogans, and merely clap their hands to display their anger at Mr. Lukashenko's policies. Since the weekly flash mob protests began last month, more than 1,700 people have been arrested – 400 this week alone. Most of them were fined heavily or jailed for up to 15 days on police court testimony that they were expressing a political opinion by clapping their hands in public.

But Konstantin Kaplin, an unemployed man from the western town of Grodno, says he was convicted this week of applauding in public and fined the equivalent of $200, despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence: He is officially registered as a disabled person and has only one arm. Mr. Kaplin insists that he was only standing nearby and attempting to photograph demonstrators with his cell phone when plainclothes police grabbed him.

"The judge read out the charges, the police affirmed that I was applauding, and the fine was levied," Kaplin says. There was no examination of evidence at all, he adds. "The judge looked ashamed of herself, and I sympathize with her. She was probably under orders. But this is a huge sum for me to pay, more than twice my monthly pension, and I'm having to ask all my family and friends to help me raise it," he says.

Absurdity amid the crackdown

 

[council]

As I know, France was preparing military intervention in Cote d'Ivoire in case Gbagbo won't resign.

Why not shut down this... Lukashenko... !
Just imagine the beauty of Europe without this mega-freak, supporting iranian Nejad, venezuelian Chavez and Hitler(in one of his speeches !)

He should answer for unlawful arrests and tortures of masses of people.
He shouldn't rule for decades, preparing his "prince" to succeed to the crown.
He should be just crushed DOWN.

 

[waltky]

Gbagbo bagged...

Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo On Way to ICC in Hague
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 - Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo has left his country for The Hague after the International Criminal Court there issued a warrant for his arrest.

Mr. Gbagbo's representatives in Abijan confirmed Tuesday that the former ruler had left the country on a special flight headed for the Netherlands. The arrest warrant was delivered to the former Ivorian president earlier Tuesday. He had been under house arrest in a remote village in the country's north after being ousted by international forces seven months ago.

The international court is investigating killings, rapes and other abuses committed during five months of post-election fighting in Ivory Coast. The violence started after Mr. Gbagbo refused to give up power after losing a November 2010 presidential election to opponent Alassane Ouattara. The international court's top prosecutor launched a probe in October to determine Mr. Gbagbo's possible role in war crimes.

At least 3,000 people were killed during the power struggle that ended with Mr. Gbagbo's arrest in April of this year, and the swearing in of Mr. Ouattara as president. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has said there is evidence that both Ouattara and Gbagbo supporters committed war crimes. Mr. Ouattara has created a reconciliation panel aimed at unifying Ivory Coast. He has also vowed to hold accountable anyone who committed crimes during the unrest.

Source

 

[waltky]

Laurent Gbagbo made no comment during the hearing...

Ivory Coast ex-President Laurent Gbagbo at ICC court
19 February 2013 - Ivorian ex-President Laurent Gbagbo has appeared at the International Criminal Court to hear whether he could be tried on charges of crimes against humanity.

He is the first former head of state to have appeared at The Hague-based court. He faces four charges, including murder and rape, in the wake of Ivory Coast's disputed presidential poll in 2010. Some 3,000 people were killed in violence after Mr Gbagbo refused to accept defeat in the polls. The 67-year-old insists he is innocent.

'Inadmissible' case

Tuesday saw presiding judge Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi open the confirmation of charges hearing, which will decide whether there is enough evidence to try Mr Gbagbo. The judge stressed that the hearing would not be ruling whether the former president was guilty or innocent. Mr Gbagbo's defence lawyers argued that he was already under investigation in his own country and that the authorities there must be the ones to try him - not The Hague court. They urged the judges to "declare this case inadmissible". Mr Gbagbo, a former history professor, sat silently in the courtroom listening to the proceedings. He made no comments. Outside the court, some 300 supporters of Mr Gbagbo held a rally, demanding his immediate release.

'French plot'

The court earlier decided to hold shorter than usual sessions because of Mr Gbagbo's poor health. The hearings are scheduled to last until 28 February. The charges against him relate to the violence after the 2010 election when he refused to accept defeat by current Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. Mr Gbagbo - who was arrested in Ivory Coast in April 2011 and later extradited to The Hague - accuses former colonial power France of plotting to topple him from power in the world's biggest cocoa producer.

The ICC began operating in 2002 to bring to justice those responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in countries that accept its jurisdiction, or when the UN Security Council refers a case to it. Mr Gbagbo is the first former head of state to go on trial there, although Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia and Liberia's Charles Taylor were tried by special courts in The Hague.

BBC News - Ivory Coast ex-President Laurent Gbagbo at ICC court