TALLINN: When school started this year for Mikalay in Belarus, the 15-year-old discovered that his teachers and administrators no longer called him by that name. Instead, they referred to him as Nikolai, its Russian equivalent.
What’s more, classes at his school — one of the country’s best — are now taught in Russian, not Belarusian, which he has spoken for most of his life.
Belarusians like Mikalay are experiencing a new wave of Russification as Moscow expands its economic, political and cultural dominance to overtake the identity of its neighbor.
It’s not the first time. Russia under the czars and in the era of the Soviet Union imposed its language, symbols and cultural institutions on Belarus. But with the demise of the USSR in 1991, the country began to assert its identity, and Belarusian briefly became the official language, with the white-red-white national flag replacing a version of the red hammer and sickle.
But all that changed in 1994, after Alexander Lukashenko, a former Soviet collective farm official, came to power. The authoritarian leader made Russian an official language, alongside Belarusian, and did away with the nationalist symbols.
Now, with Lukashenko in control of the country for over three decades, he has allowed Russia to dominate all aspects of life in Belarus, a country of 9.5 million people. Belarusian, which like Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, is hardly heard on the streets of Minsk and other large cities anymore.
Official business is conducted in Russian, which dominates the majority of the media. Lukashenko speaks only Russian, and government officials often don’t use their native tongue.
The country depends on Russian loans and cheap energy and has created a political and military alliance with Moscow, allowing President Vladimir Putin to deploy troops and missiles on its soil, which was used as a staging area for the war in Ukraine.
“I understand that our Belarus is occupied. … And who is the president there? Not Lukashenko. The president is Putin,” said Svetlana Alexievich, who won the 2015 Nobel Prize for literature and lives in Germany in effective exile. “The nation has been humiliated and it will be very difficult for Belarusians to recover from this.”
Belarusian cultural figures have been persecuted and hundreds of its nationalist organizations have been closed. Experts say Moscow is seeking to implement in Belarus what the Kremlin intended to do in neighboring Ukraine when the war there began in 2022.
“It is obvious that our children are being deliberately deprived of their native language, history and Belarusian identity, but parents have been strongly advised not to ask questions about Russification,” said Mikalay’s father, Anatoly, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition his last name not be used, for fear of retribution.
“We were informed about the synchronization of the curriculum with Russia this year and were shown a propaganda film about how the Ukrainian special services are allegedly recruiting our teenagers and forcing them to commit sabotage in Belarus,” he said.
Mikalay’s school was one of the few where paperwork and some courses were conducted in Belarusian. In recent years, however, dozens of teachers were fired and the Belarusian-language section of its website vanished.
Human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski, convicted in 2023 on charges stemming from his Nobel Peace Prize-winning work, demanded his trial be conducted in Belarusian. The court rejected it and sentenced him to 10 years.
Lukashenko derides his native language, saying “nothing great can be expressed in Belarusian. … There are only two great languages in the world: Russian and English.”
Speaking to Russian state media, Lukashenko recounted how Putin once thanked him for making Russian the dominant language in Belarus.
“I said, ‘Wait, what are you thanking me for? ... The Russian language is my language, we were part of one empire, and we’re taking part in (helping) that language develop,’” Lukashenko said.
Belarus was part of the Russian empire for centuries and became one of 15 Soviet republics after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Daily use of the Belarusian language decreased and continued only in the country’s west and north and in rural areas.
In 1994, about 40 percent of students were taught in Belarusian; it’s now down to under 9 percent.
Although Belarusian, like Russian, is an eastern Slavic language, its vocabulary is considerably different. In 1517, Belarusian publisher Francysk Skaryna was one of the first in eastern Europe to translate the Bible into his native language.
Even speaking Belarusian is seen as a show of opposition to Lukashenko and a declaration of national identity. That played a key role in the mass protests after the disputed 2020 election gave the authoritarian leader a sixth term. In the harsh crackdown that followed, a half-million people fled the country.
“The Belarusian language is increasingly perceived as a sign of political disloyalty and is being abandoned in favor of Russian in the public administration, education, culture and the mass media, upon orders from the hierarchy or out of fear of discrimination,” said Anaïs Marin, the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in Belarus.
At the same time, “more people want to speak Belarusian, which has become one of the symbols of freedom, but they’re afraid to do it in public,” said Alina Nahornaja, author of “Language 404,” a book about Belarusians who experienced discrimination for speaking their native language.
Like Ukraine, Belarusians had a desire for rapprochement with Europe that accompanied their nationalist sentiment, said Belarusian analyst Valery Karbalevich.
“But the Kremlin quickly realized the danger and began the process of creeping Russification in Belarus,” he added.
That prompted pro-Russian organizations, joint educational programs and cultural projects to spring up “like mushrooms after the rain — against the backdrop of harsh repressions against everything Belarusian,” Karbalevich said.
Censorship and bans affect not only contemporary Belarusian literature but also its classics. In 2023, the prosecutor’s office declared as extremist the 19th-century poems of Vincent Dunin-Martsinkyevich, who opposed the Russian Empire.
When the Kremlin began supporting Lukashenko against the anti-government protests in 2020, it ensured his loyalty and received carte blanche in Belarus.
“Today, Lukashenko is paying Putin with our sovereignty,” said exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. “Belarusian national identity, cultures and language are our strongest weapons against the Russian world and Russification.”
Four cities in Belarus now host a “Russia House” to promote its culture and influence, offering seminars, film clubs, exhibitions and competitions.
“The goal is to plant Russian narratives so that as many Belarusians as possible view Russian as their own,” said analyst Alexander Friedman. “The Kremlin spares no expense and acts on a grand scale, which could be especially effective and dangerous in a situation where Belarus has found itself in information isolation, and there is almost no one left inside the country to resist the Russian world.”
Almost the entire troupe of the Yanka Kupala Theater, the country’s oldest, fled Belarus amid the political crackdown. Its former director, Pavel Latushka, now an opposition figure abroad, said the new management couldn’t recruit enough new actors, and had to invite Russians, “but it turned out that no one knew the Belarusian language.”
“Putin published an article denying the existence of an independent Ukraine back in 2021, and even then we understood perfectly well that he was pursuing similar goals in Belarus,” Latushka said.
“The main course was supposed to be Ukraine,” he added, with a Russified Belarus “as a dessert.”
In Belarus, the native language is vanishing as Russian takes prominence
https://arab.news/vc2zu
In Belarus, the native language is vanishing as Russian takes prominence
- Belarusian cultural figures are being persecuted and hundreds of institutions are being closed
- One prominent secondary school has switched from teaching classes in Belarussian in favor of Russian
Trump: No plans to fire Fed Chair Powell, but wants lower rates
- “I have no intention of firing him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but said he wants interest rates to be lower, remarks that could defuse tensions over the central bank chief’s future that have rattled investors.
“I have no intention of firing him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates,” he added.
Trump’s statement was the first de-escalation after days of withering criticisms he has lobbed at Powell for not further cutting interest rates since Trump resumed office in January.
The broadsides were often accompanied by threatening remarks, such as last week’s social media posting that Powell’s termination as Fed chair “cannot come fast enough,” that spooked financial markets that view the Fed’s independence as underpinning its credibility on the global financial stage.
But while he seems to have set aside those threats for now, his criticisms of Fed rate policy remain just as pointed.
“We think that it’s a perfect time to lower the rate, and we’d like to see our chairman be early or on time, as opposed to late,” Trump said.
Musk says he’ll dedicate more time to Tesla starting in May as company sees big drop in Q1 profit
- Tesla’ stock has fallen more than 40 percent this year but rose more than 3 percent in after-hours trading
NEW YORK: Elon Musk says he’ll dedicate more time to Tesla starting in May after the company reported a big drop in first-quarter profit. The company has faced angry protests over Musk’s leadership of a federal government jobs-cutting group that has divided the country.
Tesla, based in Austin, Texas, said Tuesday that quarterly profits fell by 71 percent to to $409 million, or 12 cents a share. That’s far below analyst estimates. Tesla’s revenue fell 9 percent to $19.3 billion in the January through March period, below Wall Street’s forecast.
The disappointing results come as the company struggles to sell cars to consumers angry over Musk’s role in the Trump administration. Musk also has publicly supported far-right politicians in Europe and alienated potential buyers there, too.
Some Tesla investors have complained that Musk has been too distracted by his role at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to effectively run Tesla.
“This is a big step in the right direction,” said Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives, referring to Musk’s time commitment. “Investors wanted to see him recommit to Tesla.”
Tesla’ stock has fallen more than 40 percent this year but rose more than 3 percent in after-hours trading.
Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein said earlier reports of plunging sales that had tanked the stock made the results almost predictable.
“They’re not particularly surprising given that deliveries were down,” Goldstein said, adding that the company is still generating cash. “It was good to see positive cash flow.”
The company generated $2.2 billion in operating cash versus $242 million a year earlier.
Tesla investors will be listening closely for updates on several strategic initiatives. The company is expected to roll out a cheaper version of its best-selling vehicle, the Model Y SUV later in the year. Tesla has also said it plans to start a paid driverless robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June.
Its closely watched gross margins, a measure of earnings for each dollar of revenue, fell to 16.3 percent from 17.4 percent.
The company that once dominated EVs is also facing fierce competition for the first time.
Earlier this year, Chinese EV maker BYD announced it had developed an electric battery charging system that can fully power up a vehicle within minutes. And Tesla’s European rivals have begun offering new models with advanced technology that is making them real alternatives, just as popular opinion in Europe has turned against Musk.
Investors expect Tesla will be hurt less by the Trump administration’s tariffs than most US car companies because it makes most of its US cars domestically. But Tesla won’t be completely unscathed. It sources some materials for its vehicles from abroad that will now face import taxes.
Tesla warned that tariffs will hit its energy storage business, too.
“While the current tariff landscape will have a relatively larger impact on our Energy business compared to automotive,” the company said, “we are taking actions to stabilize the business in the medium to long-term and focus on maintaining its health.”
Retaliation from China will also hurt Tesla. The company was forced earlier this month to stop taking orders from mainland customers for two models, its Model S and Model X. It makes the Model Y and Model 3 for the Chinese market at its factory in Shanghai.
The company side business of selling “regulatory credits” to other automakers that fall short of emission standards boosted results for the quarter.
The company generated $595 million from credit sales, up from $442 million a year ago.
VOA wins round with court against Trump shutdown
- "Every day they're off the air is a gift to authoritarian regimes that forbid the free press, like China and Iran," he said
WASHINGTON: A judge on Tuesday ordered President Donald Trump's administration to restore funding to Voice of America and other US-funded media, saying its abrupt shutdown of the outlets broke the law.
The federal judge in Washington agreed to a request led by the outlets' employees for a preliminary injunction, a temporary order as a court examines the legal challenge in greater depth.
Trump, who has long jostled with the press and questioned the editorial rules that prohibit interference in government-funded media, on March 14 issued an executive order to eliminate the outlets.
The following day, Kari Lake, his firebrand supporter turned advisor, began issuing notices to terminate all funding, which was appropriated by Congress.
Lake and other Trump officials are "likely in direct violation of numerous federal laws," wrote Royce Lamberth, a judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
The US Agency for Global Media, which supervises taxpayer-funded media, is allowed by law to redirect funds among its different programming by five percent or less, he wrote.
"Certainly, no law gives the agency the power to cut funding to the drastic degree that is alleged," he wrote.
Lamberth wrote that Voice of America's congressionally established charter states that the outlet will "'serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news (that is) accurate, objective, and comprehensive' but the defendants have silenced VOA for the first time."
Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders USA, said the media rights group was "very pleased" with the decision on VOA and other outlets.
"Every day they're off the air is a gift to authoritarian regimes that forbid the free press, like China and Iran," he said.
The judge called on the Trump administration to return all employees and contractors to their jobs and to provide monthly status reports on compliance.
It remains to be seen if the order is enough to put the outlets back on air.
The Trump administration, in a break with precedent, has shown defiance toward court orders, notably a Supreme Court demand that it facilitate the return of a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to a crowded high-security prison in his native El Salvador.
The judge's order affects employees of Voice of America as well as Radio Free Asia -- created to report on China, North Korea and other countries without free media -- and Arabic-language network Alhurra.
The judge rejected a request for similar action on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as the Trump administration already rescinded its decision to withdraw funding following a separate court decision, although the network says it still has not received money for April.
Arab Americans mourn Francis, a pope who had great sympathy for Palestinian and Arab suffering
- Pope Francis expressed more concern for suffering of Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians and Iraqis than previous popes, says Rev. Samer Al-Sawalha of Good Shepherd Arab Catholic church in California
- Imad Hamad, head of American Human Rights Council says the pope ‘championed social justice, migrants’ rights and global peace’ and stood in ‘solidarity with the poor and marginalized’
CHICAGO: Leaders of the Arab American Catholic community are this week mourning the death of Pope Francis who, to them, was an outspoken champion of Arab and Palestinian rights.
Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, died at the age of 88 on Monday in the Vatican after a long illness, the day after Christians around the world celebrated a rare convergence of both the traditional and Orthodox Easter holidays.
During his 12-year papacy, he was vocal in his support of all those suffering in the world, and maintained a special place in his sermons and public remarks for addressing the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza in particular, Arab American Catholic leaders said.
Rev. Samer Al-Sawalha of the Good Shepherd Arab Catholic church, a growing Arab parish in California, told Arab News: “Pope Francis was against war, especially in the Middle East, and all the conflicts in the world.
“He always supported the Christian community, especially in the Holy Land. When he visited the Middle East, he visited different areas and always showed that the Catholic Church cared about Arab Christians, who are unfortunately now a minority in the Middle East.”
Popes might not wield “political power” but they have “a powerful moral power” that can influence world events, he added.
“Pope Francis was always in contact with the Catholic Church in Gaza,” he said. “He spoke every day with priests in the Gaza Strip to make sure that the Christian community there is good, and they have what they need.
“That is unusual, for a pope to be close to the Christian community in the Middle East and to have a strong position against Israel’s policies, the Gaza war, and also all the conflicts in the region.”
During Israel’s siege of Gaza, Al-Sawalha said, Pope Francis would often call the pastor of the Church of the Holy Family, a small Roman Catholic congregation in Gaza City, “just to check in.”
He said the pope had expressed more concern about the suffering of Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians and Iraqis than was often the case among his predecessors, who also preached the need for peace and an end to war and suffering.
“Popes in the past have always expressed hope for peace but Pope Francis seemed to show more than others,” Al-Sawalha said. “He kind of stepped it up a little bit, at times when it was needed, and it helped.
“It’s unusual for a pope to video call one of our priests from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem every day to check up on him, to make sure that the parish there had everything they needed.
“And even sometimes he asked them, ‘What did you eat today?’ That showed how Pope Francis really cared, not just in terms of politics and all the fancy words, but that he really cared for the people and what they were experiencing.”
Al-Sawalha said the pope was very popular among the congregation of his parish in San Jose, which consists of about 120 mainly Jordanian and Palestinian families, along with Syrian, Lebanese, Egyptian and Sudanese immigrants.
“His concern for the Palestinians of Gaza left a huge impact on the Christian community in general,” he added. “It shows that the Catholic Church is concerned about them, and a struggle that sometimes we are not able to speak about because of the sensitivities of the situation in the Middle East, and because Christians are minority in the Middle East.
“The support of the Catholic Church, through Pope Francis, strengthened the voice of the Arab Christian community”
During his final public appearance, on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis called for a ceasefire in Gaza, Father Al-Sawalha noted, adding: “That was powerful.”
Catholic cardinals from around the world have begun to gather at the Vatican for a conclave during which they will select a new pope to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. After each round of voting, the ballot cards used by the cardinals will be burned and Christians around the world will watch the chimney at the Vatican to see the color of the resulting smoke: black smoke signals that the vote was not decisive and another will be held following further deliberation, while white announces a successor has been chosen.
Only a few of the 120 cardinals who will choose the new pope are of Arab heritage, Al-Sawalha said, and he does not expect an Arab will be chosen to succeed Francis.
“But it is very important for them to show that the new pope will be someone who is close to all Christians, not just in Europe or the Middle East,” he added.
“I would like to see a new pope whose teachings are clear and who holds to traditions, the traditions of the Church, and someone who has clear vision about the teachings of the Church with a firm position on the traditions of the church.
“I also would like to see a new pope who has also the characteristics of Pope Francis, who cared about the poor, the marginalized and for social justice. That is our hope.”
Francis — born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Dec. 17, 1936 — was the first Pope from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first Jesuit.
His death was mourned not only by Catholics and Christians but by the wider Arab American and Muslim communities, too.
Imad Hamad, executive director of the American Human Rights Council, based in Dearborn, Michigan, wrote in a tribute: “Pope Francis was more than a spiritual leader; he was a humanitarian whose actions spoke louder than words. He championed social justice, migrants’ rights and global peace, living a life of profound humility and solidarity with the poor and marginalized.
“In his final Easter address, Pope Francis reaffirmed his call for peace, urging a ceasefire in Gaza and Ukraine. He condemned the violence in Gaza, describing it as ‘war’ and ‘terrorism,’ and appealed for an end to the cycle of suffering in the Holy Land. His words were a plea for humanity to rise above division and embrace compassion.”
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee praised the pope for his “concern and commitment” to the challenges facing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“Unfortunately, Arab Christians, along with other religious minorities in the Middle East, are targeted for how they worship or who they are,” officials from the organization told Arab News.
“In what should be a time of celebration in Palestine, the birthplace of Christianity, Arab Christians are under constant bombardment from Israel. The historic Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City — one of the world’s oldest Christian churches — was bombed on Oct. 19, 2023, killing 18 displaced civilians sheltering inside. Many Christians have sought refuge in the few remaining churches, relying on them for basic necessities and a measure of safety.
“Before the genocide, Gaza’s Christian population numbered around 2,000, mostly Greek Orthodox. Sadly, that number continues to dwindle as deaths and displacement mount.
“Israel has destroyed over 200 cultural and historical sites, and more than 340 mosques — among them the iconic 700-year-old Great Omari Mosque. At least three churches have also been severely damaged, including Saint Porphyrius Church itself. At least 16 cemeteries have been desecrated. And Christians across the Middle East face similar threats, with key sites damaged in attacks that further endanger this small yet longstanding community.”
In his final days, Pope Francis consistently and forcefully called for a ceasefire in Gaza, condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in the territory, and expressed his concern for the suffering of all people in the region.
Indonesia food plan risks ‘world’s largest’ deforestation
- Keen to end its reliance on rice imports, Indonesia wants to plant vast tracts of the crop, along with sugar cane for biofuel, in the restive eastern region
- Environmentalists warn it could become the world’s largest deforestation project, threatening endangered species and Jakarta’s climate commitments
JAKARTA: An Indonesian soldier gives a thumbs up as he crosses a rice field on a combine harvester in remote Papua, where a government food security megaproject has raised fears of mass deforestation.
Keen to end its reliance on rice imports, Indonesia wants to plant vast tracts of the crop, along with sugar cane for biofuel, in the restive eastern region.
But environmentalists warn it could become the world’s largest deforestation project, threatening endangered species and Jakarta’s climate commitments.
And activists fear the scheme will fuel rights violations in a region long plagued by alleged military abuses as a separatist insurgency rumbles on.
The project’s true scale is hard to ascertain; even government statements vary.
At a minimum, however, it aims to plant several million hectares of rice and sugar cane across South Papua province’s Merauke. One million hectares is around the size of Lebanon.
Deforestation linked to the plan is already under way.
By late last year, more than 11,000 hectares had been cleared — an area larger than Paris — according to Franky Samperante of environmental and Indigenous rights NGO Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat.
That figure has only increased, according to analysis by campaign group Mighty Earth and conservation start-up The TreeMap.
Their work shows areas cleared include primary and secondary natural dryland and swamp forest, as well as secondary mangrove forest, savanna and bush.
“Usually, deforestation is a product of government not doing its job,” said Mighty Earth chief executive Glenn Hurowitz.
“But in this case, it’s actually the state saying we want to clear some of our last remaining forests, carbon-rich peatlands, habitat for rare animals,” he told AFP.
Indonesia’s government says the land targeted is degraded, already cultivated or in need of “optimization,” dismissing some areas as little more than swamps.
Environmentalists argue that misunderstands the local ecosystem.
“In South Papua, the landscape and the ecosystem is lowland forest,” said Samperante.
“There are often misconceptions or even belittling” of these ecosystems, he added.
Mapping done by Mighty Earth shows the project threatens a broader ecosystem range — including peatlands and forests the group says should be protected by a government moratorium on clearing.
“The tragedy in this project,” said Hurowitz, “is that Indonesia has made so much progress in breaking the link between agricultural expansion and deforestation.”
“Unfortunately, this single project threatens to undermine all progress.”
Indonesia has some of the world’s highest deforestation rates and Papua retains some of the largest remaining untouched tracts.
Indonesian think tank CELIOS says cutting down so much forest could derail Jakarta’s plan to reach net-zero by 2050.
For President Prabowo Subianto’s government, criticism of the project ignores Indonesia’s agricultural and economic realities.
He has made the scheme a priority, visiting soon after taking office.
In January, he said the country was on track to end rice imports by late 2025, and reiterated its energy independence needs.
