As to be expected, the elections in belarus were falsified, anti-lukashenko protests faced direct police violence, massive arrests and other forms of state terror. It is no question that the dictator lukashenko tries to continue his power in a very confrontative way of state violence and uses methods that are not (very) common in other european countries. Even mainstream media (in germany) write very direct against his regime (like the Spiegel and Frankfurter Rundschau) naming him dictator and writing details about secret service and police behaviour.

But to read articles like “The Stalin era of 30-s has come back to Belarus” on a blog of a belarussian liberal journalist, makes me to disagree to the “free world”. The article is interesting and important to read, but there are at least two problems i have:

First it is written, people were treatened like “criminals”. What does it mean to be “a criminal”, does it mean you do not have the right to be treaten like a human if you are “criminal”? How can someone not be “criminal” in a system which is based on the structural crime of “right of the strongest”?

The second critic on the text i have is the picture of the western countries. Of course it is more comfortable to have a society which is at least trying to keep the image of a “rule of law” for the ones who have the privilege to have property and the right passport. But to name this “free world” is just not acceptable. There is no free world until everyone is free!

But in general, i think it is also not a solution to just say “this is how the system looks like”. The situation in belarus is showing how the situation of strong police and leader state looks like for opposing people. To call the western politicians for starting pressure sounds like these people would not know about conditions in other countries. The only solution to make these people to act is to make them to do. And more important is the question how we can break ignorance of political close people and groups in more privileged, western countries and to make active people here aware, that this conflicts are our conflicts as well.

How can a change be internationally supported? For shure only parallel on variouse levels and not to forget to support our anarchist and libertarian comrades in the region first of all. Keep on supporting the prisoners: http://belarus.indymedia.org/blog/minsksolidarity

Exchange with comrades from the region, go to visit them and invite them to let the fucking visa regime not to seperate us from each other…

The only good system is a sound system!