Poland revives cold-war tactic: democracy via radio

But Belarussian Embassy spokesman in Warsaw Dmitrij Wybornyj contends that his countrymen have plenty of choices when it comes to media, and is skeptical of outlets such as Radio Racja. "The aim of these stations is just to spend money given by the EU or the Polish government," he says.

Yet Polish analysts and Radio Racja staffers say such broadcasts are often the only way Belarussians hear from opposition politicians, who rarely get coverage in state media.

While Radio Racja isn't the only foreign station that reaches Belarus - others include broadcasts by Radio Free Europe and Germany's Deutsche Welle - it's the only one focused on Belarussian politics and news.

For Poles, the radio is also the continuation of a legacy. "When communism was in Eastern Europe, we had five or six stations," says Jan Malicki, head of the University of Warsaw's East European Studies Center. "The citizens of Belarus deserve more sources of information than just Belarussian state TV."

When thousands of people protested in Minsk around the March elections, Belarussian state TV described them as drug addicts and degenerate troublemakers. Mr. Minchonak, the rock-music fan, says he was one of the few journalists interviewing the protesters for a Belarussian audience.

"People interested in Belarussian politics want alternative information. My friends in Minsk listen to the station," says the 22-year-old, in Bialystok for a two-week visit before heading back to Belarus. "Young people and not very young people listen."

But reporting from Belarus can be tricky for Radio Racja staffers. Michal Androsiuk, who helps coordinate the reporters, says that because of government pressure, correspondents often use pseudonyms and have trouble getting press accreditation. And reporters are often arrested on public obscenity charges.

Calling a reporter recently, Mr. Androsiuk was surprised to learn he was answering from the back of a police van. "He had been arrested just before he was to go on air, but the police forgot to take his phone away," Androsiuk recalls. "So he did the report from the back of the truck" - on his way to a week in jail.

Radio Racja and Poland's active role in supporting Belarussian opposition figures and media has put it at odds with Moscow, which has been a strong supporter of Lukashenko's regime.

Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately endorsed the results of the March elections, and has warned the European Union and the US not to interfere in Belarus. US Vice President Dick Cheney told a gathering of European leaders in Lithuania recently, "There's no place in a Europe whole and free for a regime of this kind."

Poland is also at odds with some of its neighbors, who prefer to work with Moscow when it comes to political change in ex-Soviet states.

"It's a big mistake to think that we need to talk to Russia first when it comes to Belarus and Ukraine," says Malicki. "Are these places part of Russia? No - they haven't been for 15 years."

Though Radio Racja is still in its early days, its staffers say they're in it for as long as it takes to bring democracy to Belarus. "I'm a simple person, and I can't do much. But what I can do, I should," says Androsiuk. "There's no room in Europe for a dictatorship."

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