BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

08/04/2006

Ceremonies, military parade for Belarus leader's inauguration

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko is due to be sworn in at a ceremony that is expected to underline his international isolation, following criticism by both the West and opposition groups of his re-election for a third term.

Lukashenko, 51, was to take the oath of office at a ceremony in Minsk's Palace of the Republic scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT), before attending a reception and military parade on the city's main street, Independence Avenue.

The event was to be attended by Belarussian dignitaries but no foreign heads of state.

"We haven't invited heads of state. It is not our usual practice... Each state has its traditions and rules," presidential spokesman Pavel Lyogkhy told €F.

State-controlled media here has portrayed Lukashenko's March 19 re-election for a five-year term as an event warmly greeted around the world.

But the absence of even close allies such as Russian President Vladimir Putin underlines Lukashenko's reduced international standing following an election that the West said was rigged.

In power since 1994, Lukashenko was officially said to have won 83 percent of the March 19 vote, with his nearest rival, Alexander Milinkevich, getting 6.1 percent.

Overnight, authorities freed several people who had completed jail terms of up to 15 days for taking part in a week of protests following the election.

Among those released were Canadian journalist Frederic Lavoie and a number of Russian citizens who had joined in a days-long protest camp on Minsk's October Square.

Nonetheless about 100 activists assembled on October Square late Friday with flags and banners reading "No to Fascism, no to Lukashism", before they were dispersed by police.

The inauguration was expected to be followed on Monday by a decision by European Union foreign ministers to slap a travel ban on 31 Belarussian politicians and top officials including Lukashenko, EU officials said earlier.

The West accuses Lukashenko's leadership of suppressing opposition groups and independent media as well as being involved in the disappearance of several political figures in recent years.

The United States has also said it plans to strengthen sanctions against the Belarussian leadership, having dubbed the country "Europe's last dictatorship".

It was unclear whether more demonstrations would take place on Saturday, as Milinkevich has called for protests to resume on April 26, the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which badly affected Belarus.

Milinkevich on Friday completed a European tour that included a visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg and meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

Source:

http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=19138