Mailing List Service Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE December 17, 2001 read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml ---------------------------------------------------------------- NEW CAMPAIGN AGAINST INDEPENDENT MEDIA TO BE UNLEASHED Having recently listened to the rapport of the head of the Ministry of information Mikhail Podgainy, Alexander Lukashenko stressed that the Information Ministry was specially opened in order to enhance the effectiveness of the information delivery to the population and it will therefore play a crucial role in the renewed image of domestic media. In political sense, deems Lukashenko, the Ministry will mostly deal with those, who use media tools to slander others. As an example he recalled the articles by opposition media, claiming that Belarus is selling arms to terrorist organizations. Alexander Lukashenko blamed both the state media and the ministries over the lack of effective response to such allegations. ---------------------------------------------------------------- COURT REFUSES TO SUMMON WITNESSES ABLE UNCOVER ZAVADSKYS ABDUCTION At the proceedings on the case of the former officer of the Ministry of the Interior special squadron Almaz, Valery Ignatovich in the Minsk regional court, an appeal about summoning Vasil Lyavonau, former Agriculture Minister, as a witness, was rejected. As BelaPAN found out, the appeal was from the victims side. They believe that Vasil Lyavonau, who during the pre-election campaign met ex-Prosecutor General of Belarus Aleh Bazhelka, could verify the evidence of Pavel Sharamet, Russian TV reporter. ---------------------------------------------------------------- MINSK COURTS PLAY TABLE TENNIS The investigation committee of the Minsk city court returned files on the so-called picket in Viktor Gonchars memory case for a forth revision to the Moskovsky district court of Minsk, reports Izvestia. As you remember, the case consideration started in early September last year. In particular, member of the United Civil Party Vladimir Romanovsky submitted his complaint over the Minsk city halls decision, which banned to hold picket on Gonchar and Krasovskys disappearance anniversary on the approximate place of their abduction. ---------------------------------------------------------------- VITEBSK MACHINES SHIPPED TO IRAQ Representatives of the Iraqi car-building factory Mohre Sazan, who have recently visited the Vitebsk plant Komintern, announced their intentions to purchase three machines from their Belarusian counterparts. The newspaper Vitbichi reports that this year alone the Belarusian plant sold its machine-tools to Brazil, Turkey and Syria. Five machines, equipped with digital control systems, were dispatched to the Indian affiliate of the popular Suzuki company. At the moment the plant is working on the orders from Latvia and Estonia. ---------------------------------------------------------------- CONSUMER PRICE INDEX SOARS BY 38,5% Consumer price index rose over the January-November this year, as compared with the analogous last years period, by 38,5%. BELTA correspondent was told in the Ministry for statistics and analysis that the average monthly growth since early this year constituted 3%. ---------------------------------------------------------------- HOLIDAYS WITHOUT WARMTH A kindergarten, a school and a few blocks of the residential area of the Ermina village (Gomel district) were left without electricity and hot water. The reason for that was the breakdown of the equipment at the station, which is heating the village. The collapse occurred on December 11. The village council ruled to close the kindergarten and forbade the junior schoolchildren to attend their classes. The senior pupils come to studies in upper clothes and sit in the classrooms with their gloves on. ---------------------------------------------------------------- TWO AMBULANCE CARS PER DISTRICT Vesna HRC There are only two first aid vehicles, catering for the needs of 15 thousand residents in Krasnopolye (Mogilev region). Needless to say that one can never cope with such a huge chunk of work having only two ambulance cars at his disposal. Those, in need of urgent healthcare assistance, have to wait for the doctor for 1,5-2 hours. The problem lies within the acute shortage of fuel for vehicles. No money for gas had been allocated in more than 2 months period. According to another version, the money simply never reached the addressee. ---------------------------------------------------------------- TRAVELS TO LITHUANIA MADE EASIER The border crossing point Kamenny Log, based on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, will be put in operation after the technical repair works in May 2002. Our correspondent reports that the customs offices daily capacity provides for the transit of 2000 vehicles (including 1000 cars and 1000 trucks). They already built special offices where the cars will be searched and the documents examined. As you may already know, the re-equipment of this border crossing point is carried out within the TASIS program framework and the European Union earmarked $1mln344thsd for its reconstruction. ---------------------------------------------------------------- HIV-INFECTED RISE IN NUMBER Over 11 months of this year there have been registered 561 incident of HIV infection, which is 4% more than in the year 2000. In total, by December 1 the number of the HIV-infected Belarusians reached 3840, BELTA quotes chief physician of the national center of AIDS prophylactics Lilia Meleshko. The woman also noted that the lead in the number of dangerously infected belongs to the Gomel region and Minsk city. The overwhelming majority of sick patients 97,3% are adults under 40. ---------------------------------------------------------------- DEMAND FOR MINSK APARTMENT ON THE RISE This week saw a 23,9% increase in the demand for Minsk flats, while the supplys growth amounted to only 4,2%. BELTA was told by the president of the public association Belarusian society of evaluators Nikolai Trifinov, in charge of the markets examination, that the prices on living quarters rest on pretty much the same level as last week. Theres also an increasing demand for one-room and two-room apartments, while that for the three and four rooms ones remains way lower. This discrepancy finds expression in the price level, concluded the specialist. ---------------------------------------------------------------- FORMER ATLANT DIRECTOR WONT BE RELEASED UNTIL COURT The head of the investigation group on the case of the former General executive of the Minsk production association Atlant, Leanid Kaluhin, declined the petition about change or of the cancellation of the measure of accused up-keep. Kaluhin was detained on November 21 and since that time was held in the pre-trial detention center in Minsk. ---------------------------------------------------------------- PARLIAMENT VOTES AGAINST ALLOTTING MONEY FOR KUROPATY MEMORIAL Deputies of the house of representatives voted against the inclusion into the budget-2002 of a provision, envisaging the financial support of the Kuropaty memorial construction. Out of 81 MPs, present at the session, only 15 voted in favor of the idea. The rest either voted against or abstained. ---------------------------------------------------------------- NO CHANGES OCCUR AT BPF Another BPF Congress, assembled to approve of the tactical plans of the party, voted to re-elect Vintsuk Vyachorka as the organizations leader. The delegates also discussed such issues as the elections into the local bodies, BPFs participation in democratic coalitions, along with the boycott of the possible elections into the unions parliament. BPF didnt split up in two, as some expected, while Vyachestal Sivchik, defeated by Vyachorka with a serious vote difference, never showed up at the Sunday session. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 20 MINIMAL WAGES FOR DESIRE TO KNOW TRUTH Judge of the Vileika town court Vladimir Emelyanovich ruled to fine chair of the local UCP branch Vladimir Malyarchuk 20 minimal wages. Same verdict faced Aleksei Sudak for his desire to learn truth about Lukashenkos missing opponents. ---------------------------------------------------------------- EVERY FORTH RUBLE GOES TO SECRET SERVICES POCKET Chair of the Gomel regional council Alexander Yakobson is set to learn how the department of the interior affairs is using the budget funds. The official gave concomitant instructions at the meeting of the coordination council for crimes prophylactics, held on December 15. ---------------------------------------------------------------- AUTHORITIES - TRADE UNIONS CONFRONTATION IN BELARUS ESCALATES Belarusian government passed a ruling Measures for Trade Union Rights Protection that forbids centralized funding of membership fees for trade unions through accounts departments of state enterprises. According to the representative of the Ministers Council, this ruling will have positive influence on the economy of an enterprise, as trade-union dues remittance slow down the work of accounts departments and increase the quantity of papers. At the same time these dues do not have any economical significance, it is just transfer of money to non-state organization, and the question of their funding is a personal matter for every worker, member of the trade union, -- he said. ---------------------------------------------------------------- RUSSIANS LIQUIDATE BELARUSIAN TRADE CENTERS Belarusian trade centers, which where established during numerous visits of A.Lukashenka in different Russian regions last year, are being closed. The leadership of the concern Belreursy informed about liquidation of 11 Belarusian trade centers, because of their economic failure. They will be liquidated in Rostov, Kostroma, Volgograd, St.Petersburg, Smolensk and other regions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE December 17, 2001 read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=media.charter97 http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com