The Times - UK (2020-09-15)

the times | Tuesday September 15 2020 2GM 29

anglers reported seeing a crocodile. A

week ago a woman said she spotted a

2m-long crocodile on the riverbank

with its mouth wide open. She said

nearby horses reared at the sight of it

and that it slipped back into the river

near Schönewerda in Thuringia. So far

the chicken ploy has not worked.

Initially the search was hampered

because the police had only a rubber

dinghy and were reluctant to use it, but

a more stable boat was found. A croco-

dile expert has now joined the search.

There are no reports of anyone miss-

ing a crocodile but it is not uncommon

for reptiles kept as pets to be released

once they become too difficult.

The World at Five

Why the Gulf is

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President Putin threw President Luka-

shenko of Belarus a $1.5 billion lifeline

yesterday, raising fears that the embat-

tled dictator would be forced to give up

his country’s sovereignty in exchange

for Russian help in quashing massive

protests.

The pair held talks in the Russian

Black Sea resort of Sochi, less than 24

hours after 150,000 protesters had

marched in Minsk, the Belarusian capi-

tal, demanding Mr Lukashenko’s resig-

nation. More than 700 people were ar-

rested, often violently, by state security

forces wearing black balaclavas.

Protests erupted last month after Mr

Lukashenko, who has been in power

since 1994, claimed a landslide victory

in elections the opposition said were

rigged. Michelle Bachelet, the UN’s top

human rights official, called on Belarus

to investigate hundreds of allegations

of torture or ill-treatment, including of

children, by security forces.

Belarus is Russia’s closest ally and the

two former Soviet states are technically

part of a union. However, Mr Luka-

shenko, 66, has balked at Russian de-

mands for deeper integration, includ-

ing a common currency. Belarusian op-

position figures are concerned that Mr

Lukashenko could now make massive

concessions to Russia in an attempt to

cling to power. Russia sees Belarus as a

buffer against the West.

“I hope Putin under-

stands that it is Luka-

shenko, and not our

people, who is to re-

pay this loan,”

said Svetlana

Tikhanov-

skaya, who is

widely be-

lieved to have

triumphed in

the election.

The Kremlin

Authorities in Germany trying to find a

crocodile spotted several times in a

river have used a dead chicken hanging

above the water as bait to lure it in front

of a wildlife camera.

The chicken was suspended over the

River Unstrut after dozens of police

officers using a helicopter and drones

failed to locate the crocodile.

The bird has been removed at night

to stop foxes or raccoons stealing it.

A stretch of the river 35 miles west of

Leipzig has been closed to bathers and

boats since the end of last month when

Putin offers cash

but cold comfort to

dictator of Belarus

said part of the loan would be used to

refinance Belarus’s debts to Russia.

The men’s body language was not

hard to read. Mr Lukashenko’s hands

were often clasped in front of him, as if

in prayer, while Mr Putin, 67, appeared

bored, tapping his hands on his chair.

“You find out who your friends are

when you are in trouble,” Mr Luka-

shenko said, leaning toward him.

Mr Putin said last month that he had

set up a reserve security force that he

would deploy to Belarus if protests

“start to get out of control”. The Krem-

lin sent paratroopers to Belarus yester-

day for joint “Slavic Brotherhood” mili-

tary drills, but said they would leave

after the exercises. Hundreds of Rus-

sian state TV propagandists have taken

the places of Belarusian journalists who

quit in protest after the elections.

Mr Lukashenko, who recently de-

scribed the Russian president as his

“older brother”, has portrayed the op-

position protests as being orchestrated

by western “puppet-masters”.

He has warned Mr Putin that if he is

toppled, then the Russian leader will be

next.

Analysts say Mr Putin neither likes

nor trusts Mr Lukashenko, but he is un-

willing to allow him to be brought down

by street protests over fears that it could

embolden Russia’s own opposition.

Nigel Gould-Davies, a former British

ambassador to Belarus, said it was poss-

ible that Mr Lukashenko had flown to

Russia to sign off on a secret deal.

“What is it that could not have been

achieved by phone or

emissary?” he said.

“It’s doubtful Luka-

shenko went to Sochi

just to get

another loan.”

Ms

Tikhanovsk

aya, who is

in exile in

Lithuania,

said any

deals

would be

torn up if

she came to

power.

Belarus

Marc Bennetts Moscow

caught smiling for the camera as it crossed from a watering hole to a forest outpost at Manas National Park, northeast India

of Rwanda is charged with terrorism

Police hang dead chicken over

river to snap German crocodile

Germany

David Crossland

ship after the genocide and became a

resident of the US.

Anaise Kanimba, 28, said a

witness had claimed to have

seen her father carried

from a private jet in Ki-

gali. During a consular

visit by the Belgian

embassy last week, Mr

Rusesabagina had de-

scribed being “asleep”

and waking up only

after landing in Kigali.

“If my father arrived in

Rwanda able to walk and

of his own free will then why

won’t the authorities provide the pic-

tures to prove it?” she told The Times.

During his first court appear-

ance since he was paraded in

handcuffs before the me-

dia two weeks ago, Mr

Rusesabagina denied

charges including ter-

rorism, complicity in

murder and forming a

group of armed rebels.

Ms Kanimba said

pictures from the court

showed “my father did

not look himself”, adding

“he looks weak, sad. We are

worried he has been tortured.”

His allocated lawyers have been dis-

counted as “state-imposed representa-

tion”. Amnesty International called on

the Rwandan authorities to guarantee

Mr Rusesabagina his right to a fair trial.

In 1994 Mr Rusesabagina, then a hotel

manager, sheltered 1,200 people from

blade-wielding mobs during the geno-

cide. He has criticised the Kagame re-

gime since he moved into exile.

Rwandan authorities have accused

Mr Rusesabagina, a Hutu who married

a Tutsi, of being “the leader of violent,

armed terror outfits”.

In a video from 2018, shared by the

Rwandan authorities to illustrate that

he was plotting insurrection, Mr Ruses-

abagina is heard to say: “The time has

come for us to use any means possible

to bring about change in Rwanda.”

The hearing resumes on Thursday.

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SOUMABRATA MOULICK/CATERS NEWS

Presidents

Lukashenko

and Putin in

Sochi yesterday