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Can anyone explain why they implemented this law for those of us with little-no knowledge of Belorussian politics?
by ohashi 15y ago
Can anyone explain why they implemented this law for those of us with little-no knowledge of Belorussian politics?
- goshakkk 15y agoI can describe you actual Belarusian politics (as it is in real life, not in papers): "you're not free". Now it becomes that in _both_ life and papers.
- chalst 15y agoFrom the linked to article: >As stated in an explanatory note published together with the Law, this act was issued to implement the Decree of the Belarusian President of February 1, 2010, on Improvements to the Usage of the National Segment of the Internet. This appears to mean that the official justification for the law is to promote national providers of internet services. The most cogent consequence is that it becomes practicable to control the internet speech of most Belorussians.
- pavelkaroukin 15y agoI bet there were many reasons, but it boils down to being able connect virtual entity to a physical entity. No matter if this is competing business, or this is opposition reporter. Officially they say they use it to prevent illegal activity. But in reality government just want to know who doing what in internet. ps: in this sense it quite similar to all recent USA bills and "this is to protect our children" moto :))
- jstepien 15y agoAccording to some fellow Belorussians of mine, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four should explain it quite accurately.
- tonfa 15y agoBelarus is one of the last authoritarian regime in Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus#Politics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus#Politics
- tomjen3 15y agoBasically the cold war never ended for Belarus. It is the last dictatorship in Europe, the secret police is still called the KGB and they very much oppress their citizens. It is not as closed as North Korea, but it also isn't exactly the kinda place where you would go vacationing. There has been no indication of an Arab Spring situation, but there have been a few widely reported protests (and oppression of the people involved) they may just be widely reported because they were done by women with no tops. As for why they do this? Because if you are a dictator and want to stay that way, you avoid and control everything that can challenge your power.
- wazoox 15y ago> It is the last dictatorship in Europe... I don't know if this qualify as a consolation, but Hungary is making huge strides on the way to dictatorship too.
- guard-of-terra 15y agoOne should also remember that Belarus was the least affected by the collapse or USSR, consistently maintaining the best social and economic conditions: the biggest effective gdp/person after oil-rich Russia, gini, education reach, smallest child mortality, best life span among cis countries. Even while it's a small country with no mineral resources, bad climate and no love from the West. This is going to change, tho, because it was hit hard by the recession and clumsily moving central bank; money inflated 3x in the last year.
- adobriyan 15y agoIt doesn't matter. What matters is that KGB is still called KGB. Our western friends no doubt are going to setup colorful clusterfuck like they did it in Georgia/Ukraine/Egypt/Tunis. Without doubt it will happen if it will pass in Russia.
- geoka9 15y agoThe secret sauce was the cheap oil and natural gas from Russia which had been effectively subsidizing Belorussian economy in exchange for the anti-western rhetoric of its president.
- alexhawket 15y agoI came across an article about the Belarus dictatorship back in November, on Reddit. It's a pretty interesting read: Belarus, the land of no applause (http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/belarus-land-no-applause http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/belarus-land-no-a...)