BELARUS: PROTESTS AGAINST COOPERATION TREATY SIGNED WITH RUSSIA

Описание: (2 Apr 1997) Natural Sound

Demonstrators protesting against the union treaty between Russia and Belarus have clashed with police in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

The Belarusian Popular Front says more than 200 people were detained during the clashes Wednesday, and most of them were beaten.

Belarusian opponents of the accord fear their country of 10 (m) million people will lose its independence to much larger Russia, with a population of 148 (m) million.

The demonstration against the union treaty between Russia and Belarus began peacefully, with a crowd of about five-thousand gathering in the Belarus capital, Minsk, on Wednesday.

As the demonstration gathered momentum, however, riot police appeared and violence erupted.

The Belarusian Popular Front and a human rights group - the Belarusian Helsinki Committee - says more than 200 people were detained and most of them were beaten.

Belarusian state television, quoting the interior ministry, said at least 70 people were detained and three police officers were hospitalised.

The union treaty, signed by Russia and Belarus Wednesday, is meant to bring their people, economies and armies closer together.

It is the biggest step toward reintegration by any of the former Soviet republics.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who signed the accord with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, stressed that the two Slavic nations will remain sovereign and separate.

No other ex-Soviet republics has shown a real desire for reunification since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, creating 15 separate states.

The two countries plan to coordinate economic reforms and military activities, create joint energy and transportation systems and possibly introduce a common currency.

They will set up a Supreme Council, including top leaders from both countries, to outline joint policies.

The treaty appears to have solid support in both Russia and Belarus, though its critics argue that integrating the two struggling countries will only create more problems for both.

Belarusian opponents fear their country of 10 (m) million people will lose its independence to much larger Russia, with a population of 148 (m) million.

Protesters here in Minsk waved banners reading "The Russians are coming", and other anti-union slogans.

Neither government presented the treaty to the public before the signing ceremony, and critics say its secrecy was also cause for concern.

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