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What’s Happening in Belarus?
Several things to watch here. Belarus is a corrupt authoritarian regime that is largely a leftover from the Soviet era when Belarus was one of the 15 Soviet republics. This is a genuine popular uprising just as the rebellion in Hong Kong against the efforts by China to imposes its own brand of Confucian autocracy on the island has been genuine. But Belarus is also a regime that resists the Washington Consensus (like Iran, Syria, DPRK, etc.). Look for the US imperialists to attempt to hijack the rebellion in Belarus and turn it into a standard color-coded “revolution” that amounts to a US organized coup attempt. This was the US response to the Arab Spring, which generated the Syria civil war, the total destruction of Libya, and the rise of Islamism in Egypt.
By Daniel Victor
New York Times
After the longtime president of Belarus, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, claimed 80 percent of the vote on Sunday in what many Western governments said was a sham election, protesters across the country have been met with a fierce police crackdown as the government tries to maintain its grip on power.
Three nights of violent clashes, which included the spraying of tear gas by the police and thousands of arrests, gave way to smaller demonstrations on Wednesday, as some protesters became fearful of police violence. But other protesters turned more aggressive, at times throwing stones at officers.
