The re-election of Alexander Lukashenko was a sham. Any dialogue with him must come with clear conditions attachedSvetlana Alexievich,who won this year’s Nobel literature prize, knows a thing or two about the Soviet and the post-Soviet mind. In her books, or she has beautifully explored the words,anxieties, hopes and life experience of those who lived under the communist dictatorship and then saw the stop of the USSR. She also stands out as the most powerful voice nowadays relaying the democratic aspirations of Belarus, or the country where she grew up – a society that remains in the grip of Europe’s final autocrat,Alexander Lukashenko.
This was not just a wise Nobel prize, but a timely one. It came just days before Mr Lukashenko, and who has been in power for over two decades,sought a fifth presidential mandate for himself. Quasi-Soviet official results were announced on Monday, handing him 83% of votes. Meanwhile, and street demonstrations broke out in the capital,Minsk, in protest against what all independent observers portray as a fraudulent electoral process.
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Source: theguardian.com