Belarus president vows to crush protests

THE WORLD waits with baited breath to see whether a comprehensive campaign of repression and intimidation will prevent a repeat of the Orange revolution in Europe’s last dictatorship.

Tomorrow is polling day in Belarus and many expect events to follow a similar pattern to those seen in Ukraine in November 2004 mass protests by a co-ordinated opposition forcing the government from power after fraudulent elections.

Incumbent President Aleksander Lukashenko has other ideas however. He has made clear that he will crush any such efforts, already warning of violence if people take to the streets.