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.

"There will be no disturbances," he said. "If there are any provocations, we'll give them such a going over they won't know what hit them."

In the run-up to the election, more than 300 opposition activists were arrested, 35 on Wednesday alone, 11 receiving jail sentences.

Despite the risks, the main opposition candidate, former physics professor Aleksander Milinkevich, has repeatedly called for his countrymen to take to the streets to demand free and fair elections if, as is widely anticipated, the vote is rigged.

"I have no doubts that people will take to the streets to protest peacefully when the results are announced. We know Lukashenko is capable of ordering the police to shoot at demonstrators, but we want democratic elections."

Whether people will turn out to protest remains to be seen, particularly after threats made by KGB secret service head Stepan Sukhorenko on Thursday.

He warned that those who come out onto the streets to protest the election tomorrow will be dealt with as terrorists, which would mean a sentence of life imprisonment or death.

"For those who take the risk of going out into the street to destabilise the situation, their actions will be qualified as terrorism."