English

Official sounds alarm over Internet use by opposition youth groups

More than 10 "radical" youth groups are operating in Belarus and increasingly turning to the Internet to gain support from young people, the chief aide to the Security Council's State Secretariat has warned in an article published by the Belaruskaya Dumka magazine.

Ihar Paddubski mentions Malady Front, the youth wing of the Belarusian Popular Front, Maladaya Belarus, the Young Democrats and the Young Social Democrats among the "radical" groups.

"Radical youths are increasingly getting involved in initiatives concerning important spheres of society's life," the official writes. "It's noteworthy that some activists of radical youths groups gradually switch from sharp criticism of the authorities to more delicate techniques, for instance by declaring support for certain steps by the country's leadership in the social and economic sphere."

Mr. Paddubski accuses pro-opposition youth groups of using the Internet to discuss plans for street protests and law enforcement agencies' actions and "encourage discussions on the social and political situation and look for like-minded people."

He sounds an alarm over opposition youth groups' increasing use of web-based social networks, which he describes as a unique tool for uniting unfamiliar people.

"It's important to remember that despite their weakness, radical youth groups should not be underestimated. Nearly all of them are advocates of 'color revolutions' and their ambitions to a big extent are connected with changing the constitutional system and replacing it with a regime similar to 'Western democracies.' In other words, their goal is not a reform but a revolution aimed at solving 'all at once'," the article says. //BelaPAN