There’s plenty support for Belarus in American (I know, have multiple friends there). And not only in America but many other countries as well. When I tell people about the things that have / are happening in Belarus, I get shocked faces everywhere. The main problem with people being blind is that they simply don’t know.

News about Belarus actually barely reaches outside the country itself. And if it does, people dont know what its about. They dont see the big picture and just carry on like nothing happened. Most dont even know where Belarus is(!) Confronting people with the harsh reality is pretty much the only thing I’ve found effective, journalism alone cant do that.

Reading over your words again, probably should tell you I dont consider myself that much western really and perhaps this is why I’m the exception. Does help to have alot of personal ties to Belarus.

Please look here for an example:
http://www.newsdesigner.com/archives/002407.php
Some Americans are discussing on the protest action of Polish newspapers against the censorship in Belarus. They generally consider the action as breaking the rule of press objectivity!

I was shocked reading that.

I think people of the West are so much used to living in a free world that all the contrast between the good and the evil reduces for them to a contrast between “a little better” and “a little worse”. In such a world, all the journalists can do is to present oppinions which are “somewhere in between”.

But those people are so terribly blind that they can’t comprehend there are places in the world (very near…!) where the evil is totally evident. And where the duty of objective journalism is to openly show that.

Lol Ania, guess I’m the exception to the rule then :)

I am realistic. No one in the West will appreciate Polish support to Belarus, I am afraid. Mainly because Russia would not be delighted if any of the large western countries were too enthusiastic about it.

Perhaps — not unrelatedly? — Alexis Miller, head of Russian gas giant Gazprom, informed visiting Belarusian Energy Minister Alexander Aheyew yesterday (30 March 2006) that Belarus would have to start paying the same natural gas prices as the rest of Europe by 2007, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports — a hike from $47 to $230 per 1,000 cubic meters?

RFE/RL also mentioned today unconfirmed reports that Sergius Atroshchanka, a resident of the Hrodna province, died on March 29 from injuries sustained during the police’s violent break-up of the March 25 protests. If this is the case, “вечная памяць” (”viečnaja pamiać”) to this man. May his suffering and death not be in vain.

Ahh.. now that report a few days ago on Euronews makes sense… there was this article about lukashenka posponing something… even after seeing the rerun 3 times I still didnt get WHAT was being posponed. Now I see. Also remember vaguely something about some large transaction in the gas business taking place… altho I fail to remember if this was about Beltransgaz or not.

His dissapearance does come as a surprise, would have expected him to gloat over his “victory” for the next few weeks and talk down on the opposition. Then again he might have gotten warnings from the KGB to stay indoors for now cuz despite constant propaganda… nobody really likes him any more. Not just internationally, the huge protests that started after voting is something that hasn’t been seen for over a decade. Think it’s safe to say that for every protesting person during that event, atleast ten more were sharing the same feelings while being at home, worried for violence by the authorities. So he might be cowering somewhere, since it is possible that he WILL get shot.

“2) Lukashenka got seriously sick. In the past, some psychatrists published articles questioning his mental health based on his public speeches and behaviour patterns. Some of the experts said that he must be bipolar, or downright psychopatic”

Lol I find that rather unlikely… as I saw him sitting looking quite fat and healthy in front of the camera while he made this speech. Altho his mental health being poor, oh I’m quite confident that’s true.

Just my thoughts about it all…

Side note, the constant reports about Belarus have died down… its become rare as usual to pick up anything.