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From: Transitions Online <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: New at TOL
Date: 29 January 2001 22:06
Transitions Online (TOL) (http://www.tol.cz) is the leading Internet
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NEW AT TOL:
OUR TAKE: Oh, Right. Belarus.
On Belarus's beleaguered press.
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=16&NrArticle=550
The full text of this article appears below
WEEK IN REVIEW January 22-January 28 2001
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Pummeling the Press
Proposed measures on information security could deal a further blow to
the already beleaguered Belarusian independent media.
By Alex Znatkevich
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Political Romance Ends
The conviction of a famous opposition leader adds to the growing
political tension in Kyrgyzstan.
by Alisher Khamidov
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Poisonous Anniversary
A second cyanide spill threatens both human life and foreign relations
in Romania.
by Zsolt Istvan Mato
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
The Chechnya Shuffle
Putin announces partial troop withdrawal and an imposition of federal
rule in the breakaway republic.
by Sophia Kornienko
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
No Warm Welcomes
Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte gets few greetings and makes little
headway in Belgrade.
by Dragan Stojkovic
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
More Week in Review:
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Amnesty International Apologizes in Hungary for Controversial Ad
New Polish Party Receives Popular Support
Typhoid Threatens Thousands in Tajikistan
Croatian Pipeline Explosion Prompts Criminal Investigation
Minorities in Romania Granted Language Rights
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MEDIA: Color TV
by Jeremy Druker
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=4&NrArticle=548
Sometimes it's not an election or a corruption scandal or even an EU
accession report that provides the clearest benchmark for how far a
country has progressed. It can be something as unexpected as a TV
revolt, as has taken place in the Czech Republic over the past month.
During such crises, nations show their true colors.
BOOK REVIEW: Boast Writer
by Gabriel Sipos
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=5&NrArticle=542
"Slovenske tabu (The Slovak Taboo) by Vladimir Meciar with Dana Podracka
and Luba Sajdova. Silentium: 2000; 379 pages; in Slovak."
Shameless self-promotion has never been one of Vladimir Meciar's
weaknesses. The three-time Slovak prime minister, now out of office for
a record two years, recalls in his latest book a time during his tenure
when he was sent to the hospital for examination and put to sleep with a
narcotic. "I woke up, finding myself alone in the room, took my clothes,
changed, left the hospital, and walked to work. Moments later a
horrified team of doctors started searching for me, asking where did
their prime minister go. And I was already sitting at my work desk." If
you're looking for critical analysis of Slovak politics, don't read
Vladimir Meciar's new book.
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SPECIAL REPORT: The Bush World Order
ANALYSIS: No Pettiness on the Periphery
by Chris Walker
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=3&NrArticle=540
One of the key pieces of the security puzzle in Northeastern
Europe--NATO expansion--will move onto the international agenda very
quickly. A NATO summit will take place next year in the Czech Republic,
and expansion will be the topic of the day. Among the many foreign
policy issues the incoming U.S. presidential administration will need to
take up in the next weeks and months will be sensitive questions
relating to security issues in the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania,
and Latvia.A real test of Bush's leadership abroad will be whether he
pushes for NATO enlargement in the Baltics.
OPINION: Cold Shower
by Elena Chinyaeva
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=3&NrArticle=539
Over the course of the U.S. presidential campaign, Russian analysts
often openly wished for George W. Bush to win, reflecting a prevailing
public opinion that Russia generally finds it easier to do business with
Republican administrations. On 13 January, a few days before his
inauguration as the 43rd president of the United States, Bush made a
declaration that some have already dubbed a "cold shower" on Russian
expectations: The United States will no longer extend a financial
helping hand--except for funds earmarked for dismantling nuclear
weapons, of course--to a country that never seems to meet its
obligations. Newly elected U.S. President George Bush says no more aid
to Russia--but no matter. Western aid hasn't helped Russia much anyway.
ANALYSIS: The Challenges of a Changing World
by Tanya Domi
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=3&NrArticle=541
When the foreign policy team of newly elected U.S. President George W.
Bush gave their testimonies before the Senate confirmation a few weeks
ago, the message that emerged was somewhat mixed. The new president's
advisors seem to possess differing opinions on a whole range of policies
and--while bold--are giving off contradictory signals.
*** TOL in Russian! *********************************
TOL has published another selection of past articles translated into
Russian.
Latest translated articles:
Civil Society: Central Asia's First Casualty
Counterinsurgency threatens the region's embryonic civil society. A TOL
partner post.
by Gregory Gleason
Translated by Yevgenia Avetisova
12 January 2001
http://archive.tol.cz/russian/civilsoc.html
'A Ukraine Without Kuchma'
Ukrainians take to the streets in what could well turn out to be the
Central European scandal of the decade:
"Kuchmagate."
by Oleg Varfolomeyev
Translated by Elena Ivanova
5 January 2001
http://archive.tol.cz/russian/kuchma.html
The EU and Enlargement at a Glance
by Andrea Mrozek
Translated by Larisa
7 December 2000
http://archive.tol.cz/russian/euglance.html
Those Pesky Polls
Slovak political parties haven't yet learned to take opinion polls
seriously
by Gabriel Sipos
Translated by Katie Rasmussen
6 December 2000
http://archive.tol.cz/russian/peskypolls.html
Is That Europe With an 'E,' Miss?
Bulgaria's plans to implement EU-integration courses in high schools not
only increase Euro-awareness but also butter up
the EU.
by Polia Tchakarova
Translated by Albina Egorova
10 January 2001
http://archive.tol.cz/russian/isthateurope.html
>From the TOL Archive:
The Exiles Return
After centuries of persecution, Crimean Tatars find that going home is
far from easy.
by Tomas Vlach and Sarka Kuchtova
Translated by Veronica Khokhlova
30 March 2000
http://archive.tol.cz/russian/exiles.html
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OUR TAKE: Oh, Right. Belarus.
Last year, political commentators spoke in a triumphalist vein about
Milosevic's downfall in Yugoslavia being the last domino in Eastern
Europe to fall. As always, everyone forgot Lukashenka's Belarus--the
Soviet theme park where the ride never ends. The West has no particular
interests in this former Soviet satellite--no real foreign investors to
protect, for example. And of course, geo-strategically, the country lies
too deep in Russia's backyard for even a "humanitarian intervention."
As a result, Belarus tends to stew in its own juices, and it's usually
enough to let the OSCE file its reports on bogus elections and for
various international lending institutions to put the kaibash on
handouts to a corrupt government. That goes for press freedom as
well--NGOs pay attention to attacks on the independent media, naturally,
but rarely does the news make the front page of a major Western
newspaper. Lack of press freedom is simply an accepted given.
But 2001 will undoubtedly be the year to pay special attention to
Belarus--it will be the year of the fire-breathing, anti-information
dragon. It's election year.
In 1996, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka forced through a
referendum that effectively established one-man rule and extended his
term in power by two years until 2001. The Belarusian opposition,
several European Union countries, and the United States refused to
recognize the referendum. Today, in order to secure himself another
term, Lukashenka is seeking to destroy what few of his country's
independent voices remain--a move he probably finds necessary amid
growing dissatisfaction with his brand of autocracy.
Last week, Lukashenka's initial attempt at solidifying upcoming
electoral victory was leaked to the press in the form of a draft bill
"On Information Security" LINK submitted to the upper house of
parliament. To counter Western "information pressure"--for instance,
reports that elections were rigged or that human rights are being
seriously violated--the draft law suggested establishing a national
information security body that would have full power over the flow of
all information to the public. That body would be comprised of such
notable institutions as the State Security Council and the KGB--and even
regular citizen-informers.
Furthermore, the draft law leaves the determination of "harmful
information" solely up to the Belarusian president. The bill is to be
voted on in April and could be easily approved, as the body is limited
in power and is unlikely to offer any serious resistance.
Not far away, Belarus' big brother Russia is another not-so-safe haven
for independent journalism these days. Though President Vladimir Putin's
Russia covers its tracks in a more clever way, the signs there are
virtually the same and also herald a bad year for a free press. From the
recent raids of the country's only independent media group, MediaMOST,
and the charges brought against its owner, Vladimir Gusinsky, to the
Russian parliament's late January suggestions for amendments to the
country's information policy--a law that has been a cornerstone for
Russian press freedom since the Gorbachev days--the outlook is bleak.
There is discussion now, in the lower house, of revising the procedure
for issuing broadcasting licenses to give that power to federal
executive organs--a move that could wipe out opposition voices. There is
also talk of redefining just who can be considered a journalist by
profession, which would mean that only those officially accredited via
the Russian Foreign Ministry could legally obtain and disseminate
information.
Belarusians have for some time talked about a "Yugoslav scenario"--a
reference to last October's dramatic ousting of Milosevic through a
popular revolution. Like his Serbian counterpart before him, Lukashenka
has undoubtedly seen that the key to maintaining his vice grip on power
lies with the media. At the same time, his latest actions signal to the
public that he's uncertain of victory. In the first half of 2000, the
Yugoslav leader intensified his clampdown on the press amid growing
voices of opposition. Yugoslavs were outraged, protested his efforts,
and rallied around independent media. The protests played a significant
role in unifying the Yugoslav opposition, which like Belarus' was
fragmented, lacking innovation, and thoroughly fed up.
With any luck, Lukashenka's own intensified crackdown on the press will
have a galvanizing effect on the opposition, and Belarus will finally
see the back of Eastern Europe's last dictator.
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