Is Belarus next?

[BrainGlutton]

The former Soviet republic of Belarus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus), east of Poland and west of Russia, has been described as the last authoritarian dictatorship in Europe. According to the Wikipedia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are the only countries in Europe barred from membership on the Council of Europe (why Kazakhstan should be considered "in Europe escapes me, but never mind). Since 1994 Belarus has been ruled by President Alexander Lukashenko (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Lukashenka), who has ruthlessly suppressed all opposition. Opposition leader Mikhail Marynich (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Marinich), who ran against Lukashenko in 2001, is currently in jail on charges of stealing computers from the U.S. embassy (which has stated it has no claims against him).

Up to now we haven’t heard any stirrings of popular unrest akin to the recent revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. However, things are starting to heat up on the diplomatic front: According to the Chinese news servive Xinhua, Belarus and Poland have just expelled each other’s diplomats: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/19/content_2974490.htm:

Earlier in the day, Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld said his country’s decision was in response to Belarus’ expulsion of Marek Butcko, first secretary of the Polish Embassy in Belarus.

He also denied Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko's accusation that Poland was working against the president. 

Lukashenko's accusation was "complete paranoia," the minister said, noting that Poland's policy has been to support the Belarussian people. 

But in Minsk, Ruslan Yesin, press secretary of the Belarussian Foreign Ministry, told reporters that Belarus' expulsion of Butcko was in retaliation for the actions of Poland which several weeks ago asked a Belarussian diplomat to leave. 

Yesin said Butcko's personal activities were destabilizing the Belarussian society, noting that the Polish diplomat had been advised to leave Belarus within a month.

What’s going on here? What were these “personal activities” of Butcko? And is this just a minor diplomatic flap, or the start of something that should worry Lukashenko?

[RandomLetters]

@BrainGlutton

According to the Wikipedia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are the only countries in Europe barred from membership on the Council of Europe (why Kazakhstan should be considered "in Europe escapes me, but never mind).

A portion of Kazakhstan is west of the Ural River, which is one of the traditional boundries between Asia and Europe. Thus, part of Kazakhstan is in Europe. This is nifty for trivia questions - you can ask which two European countries also border China.