Teddy Bears Invade Belarus

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Teddy Bears Invade Belarus"

Valerie Baldwin
5 years ago
Views:

1 In News Focus #16, we visit Belarus, a landlocked country bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president, has ruled since 1994, keeping the nation of 10 million under very close control with a security force / secret police called the KGB. He strictly limits what the newspapers, TV stations and opposition groups are allowed to do and say. Not surprisingly, many call him a dictator. In July this year, three Swedish citizens hired a small plane and flew over Minsk, the capital city of Belarus. They dropped hundreds of teddy bears carrying a simple message asking Lukashenko to respect people s right to freedom of speech. This simple message of peace resulted in a major political battle between Belarus and Sweden with the president ordering Swedish diplomats out of the country. If you are interested in finding out more, then click here. August 5, 2012 Teddy Bears Invade Belarus The Belarusian government has charged two citizens and three Swedish nationals over an illegal teddy bear parachute drop. The stunt, carried out on July 4, was organized by Swedish advertising company Studio Total, and was intended to promote democracy and human rights in Belarus. But instead of reaching out with a message of peace, the event has caused a major political fallout between Sweden and Belarus. According to Swedish media, the mission was carried out by a single aircraft that flew into Belarus from Lithuania. It dropped around 800 teddy bears from parachutes, each holding the message Support Freedom of Speech, near the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The pilots then flew out of the country on an unauthorized flight path into Sweden. The two Belarusian citizens charged as part of the conspiracy are a young blogger named Anton Suryapin who publicized the teddy bear drop shortly after witnessing it and a man named Sergey Bashamirov, whose only involvement was to rent an apartment to the Swedes when they visited Minsk to plan the operation. Hannah Frey, Tomas Mazetti and Per Cromwell from the Swedish advertising agency have beencharged by the KGB, though they currently remain safe in Sweden. The Swedish nationals who organized and carried out the operation are invited to Minsk to take part in the investigation, the KGB press service said on Tuesday. They stressed that the Swedes failure to attend will affect the court s decision on Suryapin and Bashamirov. These young people are just pawns, said Victor Demidov, a political scientist in Belarus. If the Swedes do not turn up for the interview, these two students will get jail terms. Though everyone knows that they have nothing to do with the incident.

2 Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus authoritarian president, is not known for his tolerance, especially when it comes to anything pro-democracy. He has ruled Belarus since 1994, keeping the nation of 10 million under close control with his KGB security force and arigid repression of independent media and opposition groups. In the wake of the teddy bear invasion Lukashenko fired two of his top generals, and called for any unauthorized aircraft to be shot down. Though the bears weren t mentioned, it seems likely that this stunt is what prompted Lukashenka to withdraw permission for Sweden s ambassador to remain in the country. This in turn led to Sweden expelling a pair of Belarusian diplomats. In retaliation Lukashenko ordered his embassy to pack up and leave Stockholm, then demanding that Sweden take its diplomatic staff out of Minsk by the end of the month. The response to this strange incident emphasizes why Lukashenko has earned the nickname Europe s last dictator and why Belarus continues to be politically isolated, especially from its Swedish neighbors. [A] READING CHECK Are these sentences correct (C) or incorrect (I)? 1. The Swedish government dropped the teddy bears from an airplane. 2. The 800 teddy bears carried a peaceful message. 3. The Belarusian KGBis not happy with the illegal parachute drop. 4. Three young Belarusian students have been charged with helping the Swedes with the pro-human rights message. 5. The three Swedish citizens who carried out the operation have been ordered to travel to Belarus and face punishment. 6. Following the stunt, the Swedish ambassador was forced to leave Belarus. 7. The Swedish government responded by expelling all the staff from the Belarusian embassy in Stockholm. 8. The president of the country does not support democracy and is known as the last dictator. 9. The president uses the army to tightly control the media and political groups 10. Belarus has few political friends due to the president s authoritarian way of running the country.

3 [B] WORD FOCUS Underline two answers that can be usedin complete each blank below. The Belarusian government has (1) two citizens and three Swedish nationals over an illegal teddy bear parachute drop. The (2), carried out on July 4, was organized by Swedish advertising company Studio Total, and was intended to promote democracy and human rights in Belarus. But instead of reaching out with a message of peace, the event has caused a major political (3) between Sweden and Belarus. According to Swedish media the mission was carried out by a single aircraft that flew into Belarus from Lithuania. It dropped around 800 teddy bears from parachutes, each holding the message Support Freedom of Speech, near the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The pilots then flew out of the country on (4) flight path into Sweden. The two Belarusian citizens charged as part of the conspiracy are a young blogger named Anton Suryapin - who (5) the teddy bear drop shortly after witnessing it - and a man named Sergey Bashamirov, whose only involvement was to rent an apartment to the Swedes when they visited Minsk to plan the operation. Hannah Frey, Tomas Mazetti and Per Cromwell from the Swedish advertising agency have been charged by the KGB, though they currently remain safe in Sweden. The Swedish nationals who organized and carried out the operation are invited to Minsk to take part in the investigation, the KGB press service said on Tuesday. They (6) that the Swedes failure to attend will affect the court s decision on Suryapin and Bashamirov. These young people are just pawns, said Victor Demidov, a political scientist in Belarus. If the Swedes do not turn up for the interview, these two students will get (7). Though everyone knows that they have nothing to do with the incident. Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus authoritarian president, is not known for his tolerance, especially when it comes to anything pro-democracy. He has ruled Belarus since 1994, keeping the nation of 10 million under close control with his KGB security force and a rigid repression of independent media and opposition groups. In the (8) the teddy bear invasion Lukashenko fired two of his top generals, and called for any unauthorized aircraft to be shot down. Though the bears weren t mentioned, it seems likely that this stunt is what (9) Lukashenka to withdraw permission for Sweden s ambassador to remain in the country. This in turn led to Sweden expelling a pair of Belarusian diplomats. (10) In retaliation Lukashenko ordered his embassy to pack up and leave Stockholm, and demanding that Sweden take its diplomatic staff out of Minsk by the end of the month. The response to this strange incident emphasizes why Lukashenko has earned the nickname Europe s last dictator and why Belarus continues to be politically isolated, especially from its Swedish neighbors.

4 1 (a) charged (b) invited (c) accused 2 (a) act (b) stunt (c) show 3 (a) harmony (b) consequences (c) fallout 4 (a) an unauthorized (b) an unofficial (c) a legitimate 5 (a) wrote about (b) advertized (c) publicized 6 (a) emphasized (b) stressed (c) worried 7 (a) prison sentences (b) time in court (c) jail terms 8 (a) in the wake of (b) following (c) subsequent 9 (a) provoked (b) promoted (c) prompted 10 (a) resulting (b) in response (c) in retaliation [C] KEY PHRASES Complete these key phrases by matching words in column A and B. column A column B 1 The Belarusian government has charged two citizens a for Sweden s ambassador to remain in the country. 2 The stunt was intended to b especially when it comes to anything pro-democracy. 3 According to Swedish media the mission was carried out c diplomatic staff out of Minsk by the end of the month. 4 The authoritarian president, is not known for his tolerance, d promote democracy and human rights in Belarus. 5 Lukashenko called for any e especially from its Swedish neighbors. 6 The stunt prompted Lukashenka to withdraw permission f unauthorized aircraft to be shot down. 7 The president demanded that Sweden take its. g over an illegal teddy bear parachute drop. 8 Belarus continues to be politically isolated, h by a single aircraft that flew from Lithuania. [D] SUMMARY Complete the summary by putting the sentences in the correct time order. a The president ordered all his embassy staff to leave Sweden. b The Swedish government asked two Belarusian diplomats to leave the country. c Anton Suryapin witnessed the event and wrote a blog about it. d 1. Three Swedish nationals from an advertizing agency visited Belarus and stayed in an apartment. e The president withdrew the ambassador s permission to stay in Belarus. f The plane dropped hundreds of teddy bears over the capital of Belarus. g The aircraft then crossed the border into Sweden. h A small aircraft flew from Lithuania carrying the Swedish nationals. i The KGB charged the Swedish nationals and demanded that they return to Belarus.

5 Answers [A] READING CHECK Are these sentences correct (C) or incorrect (I)? 1. The Swedish government dropped the teddy bears from an airplane. (I) [The illegal political protest was organized privately by three Swedish nationals who work for an advertizing agency.] 2. The 800 teddy bears carried a peaceful message. (C) 3. The Belarusian KGB is not happy with the illegal parachute drop. (C) 4. Three young Belarusian students have been charged with helping the Swedes with the pro-human rights message. (I) [Two young Belarusian students have been charged even though everyone knows that they had nothing to do with the operation.] 5. The three Swedish citizens who carried out the operation have been ordered to travel to Belarus and face punishment. (C) 6. Following the stunt, the Swedish ambassador was forced to leave Belarus. (C) [His permission to remain in the country was withdrawn.] 7. The Swedish government responded by expelling all the staff from the Belarusian embassy in Stockholm. (I) [The Swedes expelled two of the staff. It was the Belarusian government s decision (i.e. the president s decision) to withdraw the embassy staff.] 8. The president of the country does not support democracy and is known as the last dictator. (C) 9. The president uses the army to tightly control the media and political groups. (I) [He uses the army to control the media and opposition groups.] 10. Belarus has few political friends due to the president s authoritarian way of running the country. (C) [The article implies that Belarus has no political friends, but it is not stated directly.] [B] WORD FOCUS Underline two answers that can be used in complete each blank below. 1 (a) charged (b) invited (c) accused 2 (a) act (b) stunt (c) show 3 (a) harmony (b) consequences (c) fallout 4 (a) an unauthorized (b) an unofficial (c) a legitimate 5 (a) wrote about (b) advertized (c) publicized 6 (a) emphasized (b) stressed (c) worried 7 (a) prison sentences (b) time in court (c) jail terms 8 (a) in the wake of (b) following (c) subsequent [subsequently] 9 (a) provoked (b) promoted (c) prompted 10 (a) resulting [as a result] (b) in response (c) in retaliation [C] KEY PHRASES Complete these key phrases by matching words in column A and B. column A 1 The Belarusian government has charged two citizens g column B over an illegal teddy bear parachute drop.

6 2 The stunt was intended to d promote democracy and human rights in Belarus. 3 According to Swedish media the mission was carried out. c by a single aircraft that flew from Lithuania 4 The authoritarian president, is not known for his tolerance, b especially when it comes to anything pro-democracy. 5 Lukashenko called for any f unauthorized aircraft to be shot down. 6 The stunt prompted Lukashenka to withdraw permission a for Sweden s ambassador to remain in the country 7 The president demanded that Sweden take its. c diplomatic staff out of Minsk by the end of the month 8 Belarus continues to be politically isolated, e especially from its Swedish neighbors [D] SUMMARY Complete the summary by putting the sentences in the correct time order. a 9 The president ordered all his embassy staff to leave Sweden. b 8 The Swedish government asked two Belarusian diplomats to leave the country. c 4 Anton Suryapin witnessed the event and wrote a blog about it. d 1. Three Swedish nationals from an advertizing agency visited Belarus and stayed in an apartment. e 7 The president withdrew the ambassador s permission to stay in Belarus. f 3 The plane dropped hundreds of teddy bears over the capital of Belarus. g 5 The aircraft then crossed the border into Sweden. h 2 A small aircraft flew from Lithuania carrying the Swedish nationals. i 6 The KGB charged the Swedish nationals and demanded that they return to Belarus. 1. Three Swedish nationals from an advertizing agency visited Belarus and stayed in an apartment. 2. A small aircraft flew from Lithuania carrying the Swedish nationals. 3. The plane dropped hundreds of teddy bears over the capital of Belarus. 4. Anton Suryapin witnessed the event and wrote a blog about it. 5. The aircraft then crossed the border into Sweden. 6. The KGB charged the Swedish nationals and demanded that they return to Belarus. 7. The president withdrew the ambassador s permission to stay in Belarus. 8. The Swedish government asked two Belarusian diplomats to leave the country. 9. The president ordered all his embassy staff to leave Sweden.

Belarus. Media Freedom, Attacks on Journalists JANUARY 2014

Belarus. Media Freedom, Attacks on Journalists JANUARY 2014 JANUARY 2014 COUNTRY SUMMARY Belarus The human rights situation in Belarus saw little improvement in 2013. The state suppresses virtually all forms of dissent and uses restrictive legislation and abusive