Europe's 'last dictator' flexes iron fist

Published: 24 April 2004 y., Saturday
In Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus, this was considered a threatening gathering.Two human-rights lawyers were making tea on an ancient gas stove while Zinaida Gonchar, the wife of a former opposition leader who disappeared without a trace almost five years ago, updated journalists about the search for her husband. "I still don't know what happened to him, and I don't know what to do about it," Ms. Gonchar said, her eyes glowing with deeply embedded anger. No one has seen or heard from Viktor Gonchar, a former chairman of the country's central election commission, since he and a friend were dragged off the streets of Minsk in September, 1999, two months after he declared that Mr. Lukashenko, the President, was illegally clinging to power. It was one of a spate of political "disappearances" that year. Sitting around the bare kitchen table, everyone in the room was aware that the KGB could bang on the door at any minute. The secret police keep an office in an apartment block directly across the courtyard from this tiny law office, which is disobeying a government order to stop its human-rights work.
Šaltinis: theglobeandmail.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

EU continues support for victims of landmines

Every year 10 000 people lose their lives due to landmines. more »

Nuclear disaster cartoon goes viral

Frustrated by the technical explanation of the nuclear crisis in Japan, artist Hachiya Kazuhiko creates cartoon character "Nuclear Boy" for clarification. more »

Chopin death photo possibly uncovered

A Polish collector discovers a photo believed to be of Frederic Chopin taken just after his death in 1849. more »

Satellite service makes air travel even safer (36682)

EGNOS-for-aviation, a satellite navigation service launched on 2 March 2011, will increase flight safety, reduce delays and open up new destinations. more »

Time capsules in Christchurch rubble

Worker finds two time capsules amid earthquake rubble in Christchurch as search and rescue teams continue to comb through debris from the New Zealand earthquake. more »

Running against time

A group of elderly men in Brazil have taken up running as they race disease and old age. more »

Cabbies strike a pose to distress

"Taxi Yoga," a new exercise class for taxi drivers, helps stretch away the stress of driving a cab in New York City. more »

Circus lions head for safe haven

Twenty-five rescued circus lions leave Bolivia for a new life at a U.S. animal sanctuary. more »

Valentine’s roses head to the USA

Colombian flower growers prepare rose exports for Valentine's Day and hope to reap profits despite a strengthening peso. more »

Anti-bullfighting protest in Mexico

Mexican animal rights activists coat their bodies in fake blood to protest bullfighting. more »