Government News: Top Stories

Belarus KGB gets new powers amid growing anger

The Associated Press Translate This Article
14 October 2011

MINSK, Belarus (AP) - Belarus' authoritarian president is trying to tighten his grip on the ex-Soviet nation with new legislation that boosts the already sweeping powers of the secret police, still known as the KGB.

As well as lifting restrictions on the KGB's use of weapons, the legislation also makes it even easier for President Alexander Lukashenko to put his political opponents behind bars. A new ban on receiving foreign funds carries a two-year prison sentence, while simply calling for an anti-government protest can send someone to prison for three years.

Ominously, the government is also expanding the definition of treason in such a way as to cast possible suspicion on anyone working for a foreign organization.

Rights activists and opposition politicians said Friday the move reflected Lukashenko's fear of rising public anger over the country's worst financial crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. The national currency, the ruble, has collapsed and inflation is running at a staggering 60 percent.

The economic meltdown has shaken the power of Lukashenko, whose iron-fisted rule over more than 17 years has led western nations to describe Belarus as the last dictatorship in Europe. A recent poll showed that Lukashenko's approval rating has plummeted to an all-time low of 20 percent.

'Lukashenko has run out of money and he is now selling fear to an angry and hungry population,' Belarus' first post-Soviet leader, Stanislav Shushkevich, told The Associated Press on Friday.

The poll from Independent Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Research indicated that support for Lukashenko was falling among farmers, blue collar workers and retirees - the social groups that have previously backed him most thanks to his efforts to preserve a Soviet-style social safety net and maintain relative economic stability.

'Lukashenko has had a social pact with society for the past 17 years that assumes he provides pay and the public stays away from politics,' said Valery Karbalevich, an analyst with Strategia, an independent think tank. 'Lukashenko now has no money to pay, and the pact is broken. The threat of economic collapse is now prompting Lukashenko to use an iron fist.'

The past summer saw a wave of demonstrations against Lukashenko's regime. Initially caught by surprise, police quickly started rounding up those taking part in the silent protests even though the actions did not violate any law.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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