Hitler admirer Alexander Lukashenko fools European leaders

French President Hollande, Germany’s Angela Merkel, Ukraine’s Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin met in Minsk and reached an agreement Thursday aimed at halting violence between Ukraine and Russian-supplied rebels in eastern provinces of that country.

However, few media outlets focused on the fact that Belarussian dictator Alexander Lukashenko hosted the talks – giving the impression that the two Western leaders view his Soviet-style police state as legitimate.

Recently, reports surfaced suggesting Belarus may sever economic ties with Moscow and possibly even join the EU, thus making Minsk an appropriate venue.

But Hollande and Merkel’s willingness to shake hands with Lukashenko and dignify the Belarussian dictator with their presence is an insult to those who have suffered under his regime.

Lukashenko, a former collective farm manager who is largely unknown to most Westerners, worked his way up the Communist party ladder in the Soviet Union before becoming president of newly independent Belarus in 1994.

Unlike his contemporaries in other former Soviet republics, Lukashenko presides over a nation desperately clinging to Communist ideals.

Marxism is still prevalent and much of the economy is under state control, including a vast network of collective farms where brainwashed peasants in part captivated by Lukashenko’s personality cult are grateful to their leader for sparing them rigors associated with free-market capitalism.

Lukashenko often boasts that Belarussians enjoy freedom of speech and expression, but in reality-neither is true.

The state’s internal security service is still called the KGB and continues to crack down on those who threaten the status quo.

Prison is the mostly likely destination for opponents of the regime, but execution by firing squads has also been known to take place.

Perhaps this is why Belarus is often referred to as “Europe’s last dictatorship,” a phrase attributed to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Many Western leaders view Lukashenko’s successive victories at the ballot box with skepticism since he is arguably the sole arbiter of power in Belarus, and is continually re-elected with approximately 80 percent of the vote.

In 2010, seeking what would become his fourth term in office; Lukashenko unleashed state-security personnel on demonstrators demanding his removal.

This event garnered international attention as militia forces brutally attacked protestors and several presidential candidates were imprisoned on dubious charges as Lukashenko cruised to victory by an overwhelming margin.

Ironically, Europe’s last dictator is now trying to portray himself as an honest broker-an image he may have successfully conveyed to Hollande and Merkel.

But the writing on the wall is clear.

And when Lukashenko concedes that he admires qualities shared by both Hitler and Stalin; we should take him at his word.

Bryan Renbaum

Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.

His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.

His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.