Kez
24th May 2002, 22:33
Time Europe
Thursday, May 23, 2002
Stop NATO Now
While NATO and Russia were making history in Reykjavik with a new
partnership, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka urged the creation of
a group to counter NATO's strength
BY MIKHAIL VANYASHKIN MINSK
Wednesday, May 22, 2002
Lukashenka - who has called himself and his nation Russia's most faithful
friend - was among the leaders of six ex-Soviet republics who met at
Moscow's Kremlin to discuss cooperation under the so-called Collective
Security Treaty signed 10 years before. Officials from the Collective
Security Treaty group - which consists of Russia, Belarus, Armenia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan - said that the unstable situation in
Afghanistan requires closer security cooperation in the region. As a result
of the meeting, the leaders agreed to upgrade the status of the group to a
full-fledged regional military and political organization. A working group
will be formed by 1 July to draw up documents regarding the organization and
its agencies before 1 November.
Dissatisfied with the narrow anti-terrorist emphasis of the talks,
Lukashenka made a desperate but vain effort to arrange for a Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that would become a powerful military
alliance. He could not hide his disappointment at the final news conference
on 14 May, saying that the organization should be so strong that NATO and
others would have to cooperate with it. "I hope it will be a powerful
military and political organization, a mighty center of force in the
post-Soviet space. We must ensure not only protection from terrorists'
attacks and international terrorist groups' actions but also the defense of
our states and people in the military sense," Lukashenka said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin downplayed his Belarusian counterpart's
statement. Speaking at the same news conference, he said that the member
nations should not plan "to work against [other countries and organizations]
but to combat challenges." Putin added that the CSTO should work together
"with other organizations in the area of security in the world, primarily
the UN and the UN Security Council."
Lukashenka has long been known for his anti-NATO statements and protests
against the alliance's enlargement. He has repeatedly suggested a bipolar
world to effectively oppose what he calls the will of the United States.
Official propaganda has persistently created an image of NATO as an enemy.
"The ghost of NATO has approached the borders of 'blue-eyed [an expression
relating to the country's many lakes] Belarus,'" Lukashenka has said in
public.
This article was edited and adapted from Transitions Online's Balkan
Reconstruction Report. A longer version is available at: www.tol.cz
http://www.time.com/time/europe/eu/printou...,241319,00.html (http://www.time.com/time/europe/eu/printout/0,9869,241319,00.html)
Comrade Kamo
Thursday, May 23, 2002
Stop NATO Now
While NATO and Russia were making history in Reykjavik with a new
partnership, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka urged the creation of
a group to counter NATO's strength
BY MIKHAIL VANYASHKIN MINSK
Wednesday, May 22, 2002
Lukashenka - who has called himself and his nation Russia's most faithful
friend - was among the leaders of six ex-Soviet republics who met at
Moscow's Kremlin to discuss cooperation under the so-called Collective
Security Treaty signed 10 years before. Officials from the Collective
Security Treaty group - which consists of Russia, Belarus, Armenia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan - said that the unstable situation in
Afghanistan requires closer security cooperation in the region. As a result
of the meeting, the leaders agreed to upgrade the status of the group to a
full-fledged regional military and political organization. A working group
will be formed by 1 July to draw up documents regarding the organization and
its agencies before 1 November.
Dissatisfied with the narrow anti-terrorist emphasis of the talks,
Lukashenka made a desperate but vain effort to arrange for a Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that would become a powerful military
alliance. He could not hide his disappointment at the final news conference
on 14 May, saying that the organization should be so strong that NATO and
others would have to cooperate with it. "I hope it will be a powerful
military and political organization, a mighty center of force in the
post-Soviet space. We must ensure not only protection from terrorists'
attacks and international terrorist groups' actions but also the defense of
our states and people in the military sense," Lukashenka said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin downplayed his Belarusian counterpart's
statement. Speaking at the same news conference, he said that the member
nations should not plan "to work against [other countries and organizations]
but to combat challenges." Putin added that the CSTO should work together
"with other organizations in the area of security in the world, primarily
the UN and the UN Security Council."
Lukashenka has long been known for his anti-NATO statements and protests
against the alliance's enlargement. He has repeatedly suggested a bipolar
world to effectively oppose what he calls the will of the United States.
Official propaganda has persistently created an image of NATO as an enemy.
"The ghost of NATO has approached the borders of 'blue-eyed [an expression
relating to the country's many lakes] Belarus,'" Lukashenka has said in
public.
This article was edited and adapted from Transitions Online's Balkan
Reconstruction Report. A longer version is available at: www.tol.cz
http://www.time.com/time/europe/eu/printou...,241319,00.html (http://www.time.com/time/europe/eu/printout/0,9869,241319,00.html)
Comrade Kamo