Quotable notes

"What struck me most was how precisely parallel are the means being utilized by the Castro and Lukashenka regimes to control their own people. Apart from the names of the victims, the descriptions of human rights violations in each country are often almost identical. Likewise, the rhetoric of President [Alyaksandr] Lukashenka, accusing NATO and the United States of harboring intentions to invade Belarus, reflects a vintage theme of Fidel Castro."

- The newly nominated U.S. ambassador to Belarus, Michael Kozak, during his confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as quoted by RFE/RL on June 6. Prior to his new nomination, Mr. Kozak served as U.S. ambassador to Cuba.

* * *

"I do not separate my Belarus from my Russia - from our Russia. We are one whole, indeed, and I have made an unambiguous conclusion that there is no other such great nation - if one may say so about us and the Russians - in the world. These are unique people. When I say a Russian man, I have in mind a Soviet man. This is a sort of generalized notion, it has taken root among us."

- President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus, speaking at a cardiovascular surgery clinic in Moscow, as quoted by Belarusian Television on June 24 (reported by RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report).

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 16, 2000, No. 29, Vol. LXVIII

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