http://www.gazeta.ru/print/2003/03/17/Jewishplotag.shtml
Jewish plot against Russo-Belarusian union
?????: Anatoly Goldovsky ????: ?????????? ???????
On Saturday Russian and Belarusian communists gathered at the Izmailovo Hotel in eastern Moscow to exchange opinions on the future of the two states and on the prospects of establishing the Russo-Belarusian Union State. The delegates addressed their comrades with emotional speeches, urging the peoples of Russia and Belarus to unite in the face of the threat of US imperialism and a Jewish plot.
Especially popular proved a statement by the staunch anti-Semite and member of the Russian upper house Nikolai Kondratenko. The senator informed Belarusian comrades that each morning he wakes up in hope that one day Vladimir Putin, too, will become an anti-Semite.
On Saturday the communists of the two neighbouring post-Soviet states held the first congress of peoples of the Russo-Belarusian Union State. Everything about the event was very serious. Traffic police officers checked all cars driving up to the hotel, and to get inside the building one had to pass a thorough security check.
The session opened to the sounds of the national anthems of the two states, first of Belarus, then of Russia. The first to take the floor in the packed hall was the leader of the Russian Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov. ''There are over 1,000 people in this hall representing over 40 organizations and trade unions,'' he announced, and then became absorbed in history. He began by recounting the role played by the eastern Slavs in the formation of Russia and gradually reached the Iraq issue.
According to Zyuganov, the Iraq issue is Europe's main problem that ''has already split up the apocalyptic building of the super-empire [USA]. The only thing that can save Europe is the union state of Russia and Belarus that will become a powerful riposte to the imperialists''.
Zyuganov suggested that the referendum on unification of the two states be held as early as possible. ''We must make it clear to the citizens of Belarus that Russia has no intention of absorbing their republic,'' the Communist leader explained.
Then Zyuganov spoke of the economic benefits the merger would bring to both nations. Belarus will enjoy Russian gas supplies and railway transport at domestic prices; Russia will be able to export gas cheaply.
At that point Zyuganov, perhaps realizing that he was rejoicing at the benefits for Russia's business oligarchs, added: ''Just imagine, today 83 per cent of industry is in private hands, and only 17 per cent belongs to the state.''
''The Kremlin has no sincere feeling towards the union state. Putin acts not on behalf of the Russian people, but on behalf of the oligarchic clans,'' Zyuganov said.
In summing up, the Communist leader recalled that it is the chief of Russia's power monopoly, Unified Energy Systems, Anatoly Chubais who is to blame for all economic woes. ''Chubais still lives in Russia, since he has not destroyed the energy system completely. We must expose the true position of the government,'' Zyuganov concluded. ''Long live the union state of Russia and Belarus!''
The next to take the floor was the Belarusian ambassador to Moscow Vladimir Grigoryev. He read out the address of Alexander Lukashenko to the participants of the congress, in which the Belarusian leader expressed hope that Russia and Belarus would, after all, unite. Then it was the turn of the first secretary of the Belarusian Communist Party Valery Zakharchenko to speak. Like Zyuganov, Zakharchenko dwelt on the important role of the Belarusian people in the Soviet state, and concluded that Russia and Belarus are eternal brothers.
As the leading Belarusian communist was making his speech, two delegates entered the conference hall. They were communist hardliner Vassily Shandybin and Gennady Seleznyov, expelled from Zyuganov's party last year for his reluctance to give up the Duma speaker's post. Seleznyov took a seat in the presiding council after coldly shaking hands with Zyuganov.
Seleznyov was about to make his speech, when suddenly some of the delegates protested, and he was compelled to wait until Sergei Kalashnikov, the member of the executive committee of Russia-Belarus Union State read out the address of the State Secretary Pavel Borodin to the congress. The address, dedicated mostly to the fraternal friendship between the two peoples, was followed by statements from several more delegates, and only then was Seleznyov given the floor. After all, they could not ignore Seleznyov completely, because he is not only the independent speaker of the State Duma, but also the chairman of the union parliament.
Seleznyov spoke of a bright future. ''We have seen the light at the end of the tunnel,'' he said. ''On March 31 we will forward the document [the draft constitution of Russia-Belarus Union State] to the higher state council for discussion.''
As soon as the union constitution is endorsed, the single currency, as well as other signs of unification will emerge. The delegates, though, seemed bored by what he had to say until his closing comments shook them up somewhat. ''In Ukraine, for instance, there are no forces for unification,'' he said, before wishing them all good health and returning to his seat.
Other participants of the conference objected. ''There are such forces in Ukraine,'' one of the communists, who took the floor after Seleznyov, said. ''I disagree with Seleznyov.''
The most popular speech at the congress was that made by the former governor of the Krasnodar Region, Nikolai Kondratenko, known for his undisguised ultranationalist stance. Having ceded the post to the young Alexander Tkachyov and being appointed a member of the Federation Council, Kondratenko, nonetheless, has not lost his revolutionary zeal.
''Let me, my Belarusian brother, confess to you. We, Russians, in our lands are like Palestinians in Israel,'' Senator Kondratenko began and the hall immediately burst into applause. ''Is it normal that there is not a single ethnic Russian in the government, nor in the financial organs, even on TV there is hardly a single Russian face?''
The senator said he had shared his apprehensions with Vladimir Putin. ''I assured Putin that Kuban [the Krasnodar Region] will support him if he acts in the interests of the Russian and indigenous peoples. So each morning I wake up in hope that he will act [in their interests],'' Kondratenko finished.
The hall exulted and gave Kondratenko a standing ovation. ''After Kondarenko's speech one can only sing,'' one of the delegates noted. But they did not sing. Instead all the participants were invited to lunch. Zyuganov and Seleznyov never showed up there, obviously, unwilling to ruin each other's appetite. But numerous Communist faction members genuinely enjoyed the lunch, exchanging anti-Semitic jokes, much to the displeasure of our correspondent.
The news conference, which the organizers of the event had promised to hold, was cancelled, apparently, so the journalists could not demand more explanations from the delegates concerning the role of the Jewish population in the creation of the Russo-Belarusian union.
17 ????? 16:41
_____
Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop!