Belarus: pre-election oppression

Belarus goes to the polls in two weeks, and dictator Alexander Lukashenko has stepped up his campaign. In civilised democracies, this would mean a policy launch, photo-op, or maybe an advertising blitz. In Belarus, it means mass-arrests and beatings. In Minsk, opposition candidate Alexander Kozulin was dragged into a van and beaten by plain-clothes security men. He was then arrested and charged with "hooliganism". Supporters who gathered outside the police station where he was being held were beaten, arrested, and shot at, and several were hospitalised. The details (and photos) are on the Charter '97 website.

With tactics like this, you have to wonder why Belarus is even bothering to have a vote. But elections are such powerful signifiers of legitimacy that even dictators like Saddam had to go through the motions (while ensuring that the result was never in doubt). Lukashenko is no different. He needs to be seen to win. The job of the opposition is to make that as difficult as possible, and to leave the public in no doubt that the whole process was a sham from start to finish.