Red-Brown Plans of Lukashenka

It is aimed at the IMF, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, private banks, foreign investors.

Under the guise of talks about liberalization and democratization and flirting with the West, Lukashenka is preparing to introduce a commune-fascism under the control of his criminal group in Belarus.

Is this exaggeration?

No way.

It has the reason why the Belarusian society faces "new" law on spongers, amendments to the law on mass media and future amendments to the Constitution.

As in any dictatorship, the regime cynically justifies the need to change the legislation, but no one believes it.

Amendments to the law on mass media are designed to destroy the freedom of speech on the Internet. Lukashenka constantly talks about his loathing for the Internet. After mass protests last year, people's wrath and the Internet have become one for him.

Fear and instinct immediately took the wheel: to forbid all this disorder, to put under control, and in the meantime to identify all yet unidentified. And then the economy will flourish again with the help of state propaganda and again he can turn to promises of $500 salaries for other ten years.

It was ordered to block the Charter, to intimidate bloggers and to abandon comments.

There are draft amendments which bind everyone over registration. It regards Internet editions, journalists, and even users. If you want to speak out, you must be registered first, because positive opinions about the regime usually given by those fed by the authorities.

If registered Internet media dare to make a sound, they will be blocked without any warnings, trials and grounds. To be unblocked, one should prove an increased loyalty.

Having worked the blocking on websites of the Belarusian National Congress, Belarusian Partisan and Charter, the regime has decided to legislate lawlessness.

Now obedient officials will play public discussions, consultations with public organizations. "MPs" will play some hearings and stand up for benefits of amendments. But the decision has already been made: no freedom of speech is allowed in Belarus. If it's necessary, Chinese comrades will be engaged. There is some time for it; it should be done before the law on spongers is exercised.

By the way, some creative officials called it "the decree on employment promotion". But the very sense of it remains. It has few things in common with the employment. He aims at a complete control over the population, loyalty to the authorities and new ways to rob the people.

The decree, like any document of this kind, gives the floor for arbitrariness in determining "spongers" and exactions for them.

And the creation of special commissions which consist of punitive bodies, local Lukashenka administrations and public Lukashenka organizations which decided who is subject to new repressions is the climax. In general, they create a kind of "troika", which decide the fate of at least hundreds of thousands of people without due process of law.

The new decree will, among other things, allow to:

- Strengthen the system of blackmailing workers in addition to the contract system. Workers will find themselves even more dependent on employers, because dismissal would threaten with huge expenses for housing and communal services.

- Evict people for failure to cover rent bills. In fact, this is the mechanism to deprive people of their property.

- Strengthen repressions against the opposition and civic activists. Amid actual "ban on a profession" for dissidents, many of them will be enlisted "spongers" or "persons living an antisocial life."

- Put people in Medical-Labour Centres without due process of law, if Lukashenka "troika" recognize them "antisocial".

- Create the blackmail system for temporary or even permanent emigrants working or living abroad. According to the decree, they will be obliged to prove they work and pay taxes. And what if they do not work, and got married and moved abroad, and they still have parents and a house in the country? Will it mean they are subject to payments under "sponger" tariff rates? Such an "employment promotion" for Belarusians living somewhere in the USA and Germany. There are thousands or even a million of Belarusians who seek better life abroad. The regime will teach them how to "love their homeland".

- Create the database of those living abroad and write down their address and the place of work. special services will have unlimited opportunities to recruit citizens abroad, as well as their relatives in Belarus. Considering the poor state of Russian agents and close ties between Putin and Lukashenka special services, the Kremlin will take advantage of it.

- Give access to database of citizens of Belarus for "troika" commissions. New opportunities for criminals will be available.

The new decree keeps lots of surprises, but its purpose is clear.

Amendments to the Constitution are the pinnacle of all this legislative mess. It does not make much sense to reason about upcoming changes. They will suit only Lukashenka: to tighten control over the society, to dispatch dissidence, to ensure lush life for owners of houses in Drazdy, to strengthen his own power.

Lukashenka came to believe he could fool everyone and he will certainly beg the West for money, to saddle Belarusians with all this commune-fascism. Putin may give some money, if he has time, and Lukashenka has no resources.

The dictator will try to sell the West his plans under the guise of necessary reforms to prolong this very long dream after which Belarus should wake up democratic. He figures on the fact that the West being concerned about Putin will allow to cheat itself once again. He hopes that Brussels will still try to see Lukashenka as a potential mean aimed against Putin.

Would it be enough for the West to be naive? The one and the most loyal military ally of Putin in Europe has begun to implement his insane plans, which threaten both us and you. With the help of the West Lukashenka wants to continue robbing the people who hate him, to further strengthen the power of his criminal group.

Perhaps, it's time to show firmness and commitment to principles in relation to the dictator, isn't it? After all, it works with Putin. And what a macho he was presented.

No one can flirt with dictators, regardless of their size.

Andrei Sannikov, coordinator of the European Belarus campaign, specially for Charter97.org