CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
December 6, 2001
read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml
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VIKTAR RAKHMANKOUS DESTINY AWAITS BELARUSBANKS HEAD
A.Lukashenka criticized the head of Belarusbank N.Jarmachuk for the miserable
liquidity of the bank, especially in roubles. Money are wasted for credits
impossible to return in currency, and at the same time they give loans to their
employees, bigger than in private banks, -- Lukashenka said. He compared the
situation in Belarusbank with situation in the Belarusian Railway. Recently the
Belarusian Railway head was charged with power abuse.
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GONCHARIKS TEAM ACTIVISTS FINED
Mogilev court finished hearings of a lawsuit, opened against Vladimir Gonchariks
initiative group members  Viktor Yasukevich and Tamara Levskaya, who are accused
of insubordination to police commands. The jury punished both of them with a
five minimal wage fine. Therefore, the court fully satisfied the demands of the
plaintiffs.
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FILMMAKER PLACED IN PRE-TRIAL CONFINEMENT
Belarusfilm scenarist Ruslan Zgolich was arrested and placed into the pre-trial
confinement in Minsk. The man is charged with stealing the videotape with the
unfinished version of the Guests movie, which he is a director of. The companys
leadership contacted police over the disappearance of the tape. BelaPAN reports
that Zgolich was detained at 3.40p.m. December 5 near the studio and taken to
the Pervomaisky district police station. There they held him in custody for a
few hours. The law-enforcers demanded that he return them the tape and at approximately
9p.m. they began filling out detention documents. Afterwards, Zgolich was delivered
to the pre-trial ward.
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JUSTICE MINISTRY TO KEEP RECORD OF BUSINESSMEN
Belarusian authorities are set to introduce the Unique book of records for legal
entities and entrepreneurs. According to the governments ruling, the Justice
Ministry will be in charge of the initiative, said at todays press-conference
head of the Ministry Viktor Golovanov. The problem of the Unique records book
has been subject of hot disputes in Belarus for a long time. The opponents of
this measure feared the potential repeated re-registration of companies. As you
remember, recently the country has seen numerous such procedures. And each time,
being enforced by Lukashenko, it had a destructive impact on the national economy
development, which was recognized today even by Minister Golovanov: I believe,
the state had enough of re-registrations. They negatively affect the companies.
During the last such campaign one third of businesses failed to pass the procedure.
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GENERAL ACHALOV TO ACT AS WITNESS IN ROKHLINAS CASE, NEXT TO FOLLOW IS LUKASHENKO
Narofominsk city court called a break in the process on general Lev Rokhlins
assassination, which has been caused by his wife Tamara Rokhlinas (key suspect
of murder) heart attack. Meantime, the chairman of the All-Russian officers
assembly Vladislav Achalov declared that he would definitely come to court as
a witness, as soon as he is mailed a subpoena. As you remember, Rokhlina is planning
to invite Lukashenko to give his testimony in court too.
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INNOCENT MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT
BDG
When I prepared this article for publication, I asked one of the deputy chairman
of the Minsk regional Court, if the judges are answerable for accusative verdict
to an innocent person. Yes, they are. They punished by scruples.
On March 29, 1998 in Slutsk men drank. They drank heavily, as it is customary
here. During the booze-up people came and go, different places were changed.
When none of the main characters, V.Maroz, went out to a porch, he saw his acquaintance
A. Nikifarau lying by a neighboring house, where bust took place several hours
earlier.
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JUSTICE MINISTRY COMPLAINS OVER DEFENDANTS POVERTY
Fulfillment of court rulings remains the most vulnerable spot in the whole judiciary
system of Belarus, said at the recent press-conference head of the Justice Ministry
Viktor Golovanov. Such situation, he stressed, is explained by the economic instability.
The activities of the court officers are for the most part hindered by the inability
of both legal and physical entities to pay on the basis of court verdicts.
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BELARUS CURTAILS COMMODITY IMPORT
In January-October 2001 the trade import of the Republic of Belarus fell by 7,6%
and constituted 6,5bln dollars, EXPRESS agency was told in the countrys Foreign
Ministry. Imports from CIS states dropped by 6%. In total there have been imported
from these countries commodity worth 4,6bln dollars, which is 71,2% of the overall
volume of Belarusian import. Russias share reduced by 4,5%, reaching 4,3bln
dollars. Import from the faraway countries suffered the most serious decline,
decreasing by 11,4%. According to the FM data, in January-October 2001 these
countries imported into Belarus commodity, costing 1,9bln dollars.
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DAMAGE FROM ENERGY THEFT AMOUNTS TO BLR 3 MLN
Over 11 months of this year the structural subdivisions of the Belenergo concern
carried out more than 22 thousand raids on the energy thieves. BELTA correspondent
was told by the head of the energy control department Viktor Zhitkevich that
there had been composed over 16 thousand acts on energy misappropriation for
2,9 bln rubles. The stolen heat energy over this period cost around 284 mln rubles.
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HAND GRENADES FOUND IN MOGILEV OUTSKIRTS
A bag full of grenades was found on the verge of Mogilev. Inside the bag there
were twenty F-1 grenades, all in good combat order. This model was in wide use
during the Second World War. The sappers, who arrived at the place of the incident,
destroyed the deadly finding in a safe place. Now the law-enforcers are investigating
into who had brought the thing to Mogilev.
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FLOOD OF REPRESSIONS AGAINST BANKERS EXPECTED
A.Lukashenka expressed his extreme dissatisfaction with the work of the bank
system of the country, RIA Novosti correspondent informs. At a consultation on
the bank system improvement Lukashenka said that about $300 mln today are problematical
credits without any prospect of return. Hence he demanded law-enforcing agencies
of Belarus to take measures against those who gave and received such credits.
The major part of the credits, according to Lukashenka, sank abroad. The money
should be returned to the country, -- Lukashenka emphasized. The purpose of
the consultation was to consider the Conception of bank system improvement for
2002-2010. However, Lukashenka observed, to begin with, order should be established
in concrete banks, including the National Bank. Todays meeting is a prelude
to a serious consultation with bankers, which is scheduled for this year, --
concluded Lukashenka.
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NIKOLAI BUSEL: BATE FALLS IN DISFAVOR
Narodnaya Volya
Criminal proceedings were initiated against ex-director of the joint stock company
BATE (Borisov plant of electrical equipment) Nikolai BUSEL. As one of the Borisov
newspapers reported Hes indicted for the abuse of power and large-scale embezzlement
(16mln rubles over the period December 1991  March 2001). In March this year,
when mass inspections rocked the company, Nikolai Busel filed in his resignation.
He learnt about the criminal proceedings, instituted against him, only from the
newspaper pages.
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REPRESSIONS AGAINST NOMENCLATURE PICK UP SPEED
Yesterday the prosecutor general of Belarus Viktor Sheiman reported to Alexander
Lukashenko about the results of work, accomplished by the procuracy during the
last week. Viktor Sheiman informed Lukashenko about the fulfillment of his directives
on strengthening the oversight over the protection of property and financial
discipline at the companies that are part of the Belptizeprom concern. According
to the state inspection, carried out by the procuracy and other law-enforcement
and controlling bodies, there have been instituted 122 criminal actions, opened
34 lawsuits, 8 people were dismissed from the occupied posts. The Minister of
agriculture and foodstuff and director general of the Belptizeprom were notified
on the matter.
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POLAND RECOGNIZES POLITICAL PERSECUTION IN BELARUS
Polish authorities officially registered the public organization The Union of
the Belarusian political refugees in Poland. According to the Union members
in Poland, registration of such an organization testifies to the fact that the
Polish authorities officially recognize that theres a politically motivated
persecution in Belarus. The Union of fugitives was set up in Poland in February
this year and unites Belarusian nationals, who had to leave the country and plead
for political asylum in Poland. Today there are 20 people in the organization.
These are mostly young activists of the Belarusian political parties in opposition.
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CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS INSTITUTED ON VANDALISM IN KURAPATY
Investigators of the Minsk region started interrogations of the witnesses on
criminal case instituted in connection with destruction of a memorial sign, a
so-called Clintons bench in Kurapaty. They came to the Belarusian Popular
Front headquarters and questioned Paval Sevyarynets, the Youth Front leader,
and several Popular Front members. The police was interested in the opinion of
the Kurapaty defenders about the barbaric action. It is worth mentioning that
the action was brought three months after the destruction of the memorial.
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TRIAL FOR DECREE#8 VIOLATION
Zheleznodorozhny district court of Gomel opened hearings on the decree#8 violation
(on some measures, regulating foreign aid use) by the chair of the local youth
organization Gart Sergei Odinets. According to the district tax inspection,
which ruled to consider Odinets case, his computers contained information on
preparations for the presidential elections, in particular, on the independent
observation, on running the agitation campaign and ZUBR movements activities.
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ZUBRS MEET POLISH YOUTH
ZUBR
A meeting of the Polish young people with the leaders of Belarusian youth parties
and non-state organizations was held in Warsaw. ZUBR and the Youth Front leaders
participated as well. The audience, mostly Polish students, were interested in
the modern political situation in Belarus and asked about the influence of the
youth oppositional organizations. According to Belarusian guests, their organizations
popularity grows, meaning that the existing regime has no chances for support
of the young.
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AUTHORITIES SET TO TURN KUROPATY INTO A SWAMP
The leadership ordered the builders to lay pipes under the surface in the direction
of the Kuropaty memorial. Earlier the workers and the activists agreed that the
drain-pipe system must be installed in a way that the sewage waters flow towards
the Tsna lake, rather than to the Kuropaty. However, yesterday evening the workers
leadership arrived at the place and commanded to lay another piece of a pipe
in the direction of the Kuropaty camp. The volunteers are now readying for an
action of protest and claim that they wont allow to make a swamp out of Kuropaty.
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TRIAL OVER PAHONYAS EDITOR PUT OFF, COURT LOSES FILES
The editor of the recently closed independent newspaper from Grodno Pahonya
Nikolai Markevich was summoned to the court of the Leninsky district of Grodno
on December 5. There they were supposed to hold hearings of his administrative
case  for running an unsanctioned picket in this regional center Nov.19  against
the closure of Pahonya (art.167-1 part 2). Previously two newspaper correspondents
Pavel Mozheiko and Andrei Pisalnik were administratively reprimanded for picketing.
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"UNION" DISPUTES
The editorial board of the newspaper of the Belarus-Russia Parliamentary Assembly
Soyuznoye Veche, being a legal entity of the Russian Federations, intends to
file a lawsuit against the Standing Committee of the Unions Cabinet for the
lack of budget resources, earmarked for the paper, reports RIA Novosti with
a reference to the press-service of the PA secretariat. This may lead to both
the administrative and criminal responsibility of the official,  replied the
press-service people.
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
December 6, 2001
read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml