BelGazeta: Global crisis is no good for ordinary Belarusians

Sovietskaya Belorussia, the largest-circulation official newspaper, maintained its usual intonations when running a story about even such a serious topic like the world financial crunch. The author of the article titled “Business by Stanislavski”, playing the role of a theater critic in economics, advises the clients of Western banks not to believe that the $700bn bailout plan approved by the US Congress, will bring relief.

“Stock indices behave like theater prima donnas who lack high salaries. For creative inspiration, they also need a hot love of ordinary spectators which is lacking. To all the financial games played by big players like the US Congress and EU leaders, ordinary consumers around the world answer: “I don’t believe!”

The sharks of the official propaganda are pleased with the bitter fate of the fired top-managers of banks. They also suggest that the rescue does not mean billions of dollars, it requires a certain idea. However, it is unclear what idea they are writing about.

“It is a timely measure to stop issuing lavish compensations to top managers who caused the bankruptcy of their clients. But it can hardly be described as a new economic idea in the world scale, capable of injecting a fresh blood to the world economy. Without an idea, even banknotes turn into an empty paper”.

Perhaps, journalists and the editor-in-chief of Sovietskaya Belorussia are going to take dollars into their hands, but the president of the country disagrees with their approach towards the foreign currency. Moreover, he is worried that the crisis will affect the export of Belarusian goods. Correspondingly, currency revenues for the national budget will be reduced. The head of the state expressed his concerns but praised himself on October 7 when visiting the State Security Committee (KGB), Belapan reported.

“I want to ask pro-market democrats. Who was right: Lukashenka with his policy of protecting the economy and orienting on a normal model of development or those politicians who call themselves market liberals?” he asked the security agency officers.

He also reminded that KGB should play an important role in fighting the world economic crisis. It remains unclear security agents can implement his proposal.

While the president hopes to shield off the world crisis with the help of domestic security services and thus save our economy, Prime Minister Siarhei Sidorski sees the way out in a joint Belarus-Russian resistance to the virus from the West. In case Russia does not fear much this crisis, he reminded other reasons for such an alliance.

“The Belarusian side believes that the change of situation, caused by a number of factors, including the world financial crisis, the deployment of the US missile shield in Europe and Russia’s new priorities regarding its membership in the WTO, requires that Belarus and Russia coordinate their actions”, Belarus Prime Minister Siarhei Sidorski said on October 6 in Minsk when meeting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, naviny.by reported.

Sidorski proposed the Supreme State Council of the Belarus-Russia Union State to discuss a number of issues on November 3. “No doubt, I would like those issues of concrete nature”, SIdorski asked his Russian counterpart. But when recalling the value of what the “union state” has done in the recent years, secret services seem to be a more reliable means to fight the crisis.

The non-state press offers a more pessimistic view on the world crisis. Nasha Niva newspaper warns that Belarus has already been affected by the turmoil.

“Belarus’s gold and currency reserves, calculated by IMF standards, were reduced by $460 million in September. As of October 1, they amounted to $4, 120 million, according to the National Bank of Belarus. This is the first statistical sign that the world financial crisis can affect Belarus dramatically, especially its financial sector”.

Economist Yaraslau Ramanchuk warned on the pages of BelGazeta that ordinary Belarusians would also be affected by the crisis.

“The global crisis means nothing good to an ordinary Belarusian. There are no reliable saving instruments. Household loans will be stopped. Banks will start feeling the liquidity deficit. They will be busy with a hard task of providing loans to state enterprises and maintaining the stability of deposits”.

On the opposite, Belarusy I Rynok (Belarusians and Market) newspaper maintains that Belarus has not been affected by the crisis. Iryna Kurylovich writes “that’s due to the minimal integration of the Belarusian economic model into the world’s financial system”.

Anyway, the European Radio for Belarus has found no advice in any of publications what ordinary Belarusians should do today in connection with the crisis. Perhaps, we should do nothing. Will thing settle just like that with the help of security services…


Photo — mediabistro.com