Taking Aim

Belarus Presidential candidate attacked

March 3rd, 2006 by andy

Very alarming developments in the Belarussian Presidential election, as an opposition candidate is violently assaulted by the President’s bodyguards.

In the morning, an opposition presidential candidate Alexander Kazulin (Kozulin) came to register as a participant in the so called All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, a Soviet-style “party congress” staged by president Lukashenka (which he uses to show in front of the TV cameras “massive people’s support”, in a Soviet way). Lukashenka and all his gang was there.

Alexander Kazulin entered the building, requesting to be registered as a participant because his party (Hramada) has nominated him for this. Almost immediately, Lukashenka’s guards attacked him. They knocked him down to the ground and started kicking him with army boots. Among the people beating him was Dmitry Pavlichenko, a special force policeman who most probably killed two opposition politicians several years ago (at least, he’s the main suspect according to those who tried to investigate the disappearances of the famous politicians in Belarus).

This report came from br23 blog, who also notes that there was also some trouble at a rally in Minsk city centre by supporters of another opposition candidate - Alexander Milinkevich.

The BBC reported the story on their website, but only briefly. As the BBC’s correspondent notes:

I can only watch the spectacle on TV.

Like all foreign journalists in Minsk - except Russian media - I’ve been banned from attending. “Sorry,” Mr Lukashenko’s press secretary had informed me over the phone, “There’s no room!”

Which presumably means there will be no film evidence of the assault, and no major coverage by on the tv news.