Belarus: Where even clapping is illegal

Nicola Lombardozzi

La Repubblica (Rome)

Alexander Lukashenko has clinched his spot in “the despots’ hall of fame,” said Nicola Lombardozzi. The Belarusian dictator has actually made it a crime to applaud him, his troops, and his security services. It has evidently dawned on him that the beaming, clapping crowds that have begun appearing recently, seemingly expressing approval of his government, are actually “being sarcastic.” Smiling and clapping have become the only ways that Belarusians can express their opposition to the “oppressive police state.” Demonstrations are forbidden, and any criticism of the regime can prompt a visit from the secret police.

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Since the fraudulent presidential election last December, when Luka­shenko won a fourth term, more than a thousand political activists have been jailed. So protesters have resorted to organizing laugh-ins, where they gather in front of the presidential palace and applaud and smile. Waves of laughter break out—“and sometimes, even the police join in.” The regime, of course, finds this infuriating. For the Independence Day celebrations, it has announced that anyone caught clapping will be arrested. One would assume “that it also wants to impose a ban on smiling”—the next logical step for a regime that “could have been made up by George Orwell.”