Belarusian Regime Brokers Arms Deals with Muslim Terrorists :: Charter'97 :: News

German news agency DPA has recently circulated another portion of information, touching upon export supplies of the Belarusian ammunition to countries, that unambiguously relate to terrorism. Belarus is again suspected of supplying weaponry to Islamic terrorist bands. Swedish experts for the former Warsaw pact block Simon Vetseman called Belarus the most mysterious country in the sphere of arms sales. The man added that “everything is done so irresponsibly that one can’t even grasp the way they do it.” The Swedish expert and military Vetseman deems that under the conditions of the totalitarian regime, such arms supplies to the Muslim terrorists are quite plausible. Referring to his own sources in western special services, he claims that behind such contracts with terrorist groups stands Alexander Lukashenko.

According to Vetseman and other European experts, at present a totally devastated Belarusian economy with the average monthly income of under $100, badly needs hard currency for conversion. Clearly, this money is earned through selling stuff that belongs to the state. During Soviet times Belarus used to specialize in the assembling of secret weaponry, - writes DPA: Plants, which manufactured shells and diverse spare parts for military machinery still accumulate great potential. Most observers don’t rule out the possibility for Belarus to be blacklisted among top ten weapon exporters in the world.

In the first half of 2001 alone the supplies of the Belarusian arms to the Arabic and Albanian extremists were evaluated at $600mln. At first, the weapons are transported to Tajikistan, after which they get into the hands of Afghani talibs.

A short while ago popular Polish magazine “WPROST” also wrote that Belarus is one of the main suppliers of weaponry to the criminal regimes worldwide. The magazine also reports that after the breakdown of the USSR Belarus was expected to cut down its ammunition reserves, which well outweighed the defense need of the 10-million country. Following the signing of a 1992 treaty in Tashkent, Belarusian army was supposed to preserve only 1,800 tanks, 2,600 armored transporters, 1,615 artillery units, 260 fighter jets and 80 copters. Out of this amount only 85% could still be operational. The rest needed to be dismantled and annihilated. However, immediately after his victory in 1994 ballot, Lukashenko barred the destruction of the military machinery and ammunition. Instead of disposing of it, he determined to sell it to the rogue states, as well as to the terrorist groups in Southern America, Balkans, Africa and Middle East.

Evading UN sanctions in 1998 Belarus sold to Saddam Hussein another portion of high-tech military devices for the production of optical mechanisms. Developing this fruitful collaboration, Hussein augmented the number of his embassy personnel in Moscow, who are responsible for the relations with Belarus (the deals had been made in Russian capital in order to impede international control). A year later Lukashenko signed another contract on the modernization of the Iraqi Air Defense system and SA-3 missiles. The sales of weaponry to countries, which are subject to the UN embargo sanctions, require a whole chain of intermediaries. Belarusian weapons and equipment for its manufacture had been brought as contraband cargo via the Jordanian port Abadan. In Iraq the Belarusian military specialists installed the equipment, which would then be tested by the Chinese engineers.

In 1998 Peru purchased from Belarus 8 MiG-29 jets. With their help the Peruvan president Alberto Fukhimori planned to put to knees a neighboring Ecuador, with which they had a territorial dispute.

Belarusian arms were feeding most armed conflicts on African continent, reports “WPROST”. Angolan UNITA bought from Belarus tanks and “SMERCH” launchers. Sudan purchased “Grad” missile systems, T-55 tanks and Mi-24B helicopters. Algeria bought MiGs. Belarusian weaponry was widely used during a civil war in Rwanda. 50 T-72 tanks were shipped to Morocco. It was namely due to the trade with African countries, which are waging civil wars, that Lukashenko’s regime became one of the top ten arms exporters on the globe. Israeli and European experts assert that Minsk is the main supplier of weapons to the Muslim guerillas in the Middle East, as well as to the Albanian separatists.

The Polish periodical reports that Belarus gladly brokers the sales of Russian military equipment. Russia, concerned with her positive international image, uses Belarus to deal with the countries, that enjoy poor reputation. Not so long ago Iran addressed Lukashenko, seeking his help in obtaining “certain advanced military technologies”. Iran pretty much realizes that there are no such technologies in Belarus but does that in hope that Lukashenko’s henchmen will find them in Russia.

Over the period of 1997-2000 Belarus earned more than $1bln. on the sales of arms. Former Lukashenko’s aides claim, though, that this figure is lowered. Additional means, gained through illicit transactions, were secretly transferred to the bank accounts in off-shore zones. A few years ago more than a billion dollars was allocated in the fund, which is uncontrollable by any state body… Official Minsk never succumbed to the idea of UN or other international structures’ inspections, although the treaty on the curtailment of conventional weapons, which Belarus is a signatory of, envisages such an opportunity.