Frankfurter Rundschau:
”Lukaschenko, der gnadenlose Barbar”

Lukashenko, the
ruthless barbarian

Photo/motto: http://president.gov.by/en/

German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau calls Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a ruthless barbarian after the execution of two young men convicted of a bomb attack at Minsk subway’s most crowded station on April 11, 2011

"The question of whether the guilty of the convicted has been proven is not decisive. The president, who believes that the death of people can be repaid by the death of others, makes a killer of himself. Disregard for human life makes them indistinguishable,” writes the newspaper.

“In addition,” says the newspaper, “the method of the execution in Minsk - a shot in the head - is a symbol of terror in itself. For example, that was the way of killing of thousands of Stalin's victims by monstrous hangman Vasili Blokhin. The memory of this is embodied in the collective consciousness in the former Soviet space deeper than it’s portrayed in the West."

Last November, Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalyov were convicted of a bomb attack at Minsk
subway’s most crowded station on April 11, 2011, which killed 15 people and wounded hundreds of others.
Last Friday they were both executed, shot in their necks.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung goes on with the subject, saying:

"The death sentence was most likely decided just two days after the attack, when Lukashenko announced that the criminals had been detained. The president decides, not the courts. The same thing is happening in Belarus in all other aspects - the “truth” of the president is what counts. If the reality dares to deviate from this truth, there are always other people to blame and they should pay for it.

Nobody knows who is really behind the explosion in Minsk subway, as it’s been poorly investigated, and, obviously, will remain a mystery forever. One thing is clear, however; the dictatorship, not knowing the difference between the establishment of the truth in court and violence is a danger to society."

The newspaper Tageszeitung writes:

"Tamara Chikunova from Uzbekistan and Lubov Kovalevs from Belarus suffered a lot: their sons were executed by a dictatorial regime. Both have fought and continue to fight for the honour of their sons and against the death penalty. Seven years after the execution of Chikunova’s son Uzbek government abolished the death penalty. This is a success, which would have been impossible without the efforts of the mother of the executed.

In Belarus, more and more people are rejecting the death penalty. Many residents of Minsk not only commemorated the victims of terrorist attacks last week, but also demanded the abolition of the capital punishment in Belarus. It’s time for civil society to act. One should support the forces that are fighting in the country against the death penalty.

But politicians must take certain steps, too. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the second largest trade partner of Belarus, after Russia, Uri Rosenthal demanded the expansion of sanctions "against Europe's last dictator" in connection with the recent executions. Let’s hope that the suggestion of Rosenthal will be supported among colleagues."

The paper Die Welt analyzes the relationship of Moscow to Minsk and sees the penalty as a slap on the ear of the West.

Russia plays a murky role in this story: it is distancing itself from the Belarus regime, which is considered “bad” but is unwilling to let Belarus drift toward the West. The fact, that Lukashenko is burning bridges with the West, is not considered a great loss in Moscow. The country is now dependent on Russian aid because of its post-Soviet mismanagement.

The West tried to make a deal - dollars and euros in exchange for democratic reforms. It all was in vain: the dictator is only concerned about his own and his minions’ well-being. The lives of his nine million countrymen are of less importance.