ANTI-DICTATORSHIP COALITION STANDS ITS GROUND.

The 25 parties and groups comprising the coalition "in defense of the constitution against dictatorship" held a congress in Minsk on October 18 and a 20,000-strong rally the following day. Speakers, including parliament vice-chairman Hennadz Karpenka, former National Bank president Stanislau Bahdankevich, Free Trade Unions leader Alyaksandr Bukhvastau, and Popular Front representatives accused Lukashenko and his government of seeking to introduce a dictatorship, rejecting economic reforms, and betraying Belarusan statehood. The speakers warned that Lukashenko could win the referendum only through fraud and his near-monopoly on the electronic media. The parliamentary leaders reaffirmed their offer of a "zero option" whereby both sides would renounce their respective constitutional drafts and abide by the existing constitution. In Washington, the State Department described Lukashenko’s constitutional draft as anti-democratic and asked him to immediately seek a compromise with the parliamentary leadership. (Belaplan, Radio Minsk, Interfax, Itar-Tass, NTV, Western agencies, October 17 through 20)

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