CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
January 17, 2002
read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml
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JANUARY 22: ON-LINE CONFERENCE WITH ZUBR YOUTH MOVEMENT LEADERS
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the ZUBR youth resistance movement,
press-center of the Charter97 organizes an on-line conference with the leaders
of the movement. The on-line conference is to start on Tuesday at 17.00 Minsk
time. Languages  Belarusian, Russian and English.
On-line conferences at Charter97 web site have become a tradition. Many personalities
well-known in Belarus took part in them, including Syamion Domash, leader of
the movement Regional Belarus, Andrei Sannikau, Charter97 coordinator, the
head of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka, leader of the Belarusian popular
Front Vintsuk Vyachorka, the chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party
(Narodnaya Hramada) Mikalay Statkevich and others. Before the press-conference
we would like to present a selection of dissimilar opinions on this movement.
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EUROPE AND LAST OF SOVIET MOHICANS
Hans-Georg Wieck
In his recent article, former head of the OSCE Advisory-Monitoring Group describes
the saddening political and human right situation in Belarus. Following comes
an extract from the publication:
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MTP STAFF DEMANDS TO SET LEONOV AT LIBERTY
The personnel of the Minsk tractor plant forwarded an open letter to Alexander
Lukashenko, pleading with him to take Mikhail Leonovs case under his personal
supervision, release the director and return him back to the plant. Measures,
undertaken by the procuracy agents against the director general of the MTP Mikhail
Leonov on January 7, 2001 came as a real shock to the Belarusian tractors manufacturers,
- reads the letter: Especially their insolence. Weve seen a lot in our lifetime
and the least six years in particular, but how come they apply such extreme measures
against the leader of the countrys directorate, who had done a lot for the plant
and the country in general  this cant leave indifferent the companys personnel
We arent opposed to bringing to justice those people, who violate laws. But
at first they need to gather the evidence of their guilt and only then place
them in jail, not vice versa. This is an axiom for the whole of the world community,
so why is it violated in our country?
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BUSINESS ACCORDING TO ZAMETALIN
Narodnaya Volya
In an interview to Narodnaya Volya, published on January 15 this year, the
former candidate for the president Sergei Gaidukevich made public the following
fact: 500 Belarusian tractors have been passed over to the Iraqi mediator firm
upon the order of the presidential Administration and personally Vladimir Zametalin.
Leonov, as far as Im aware, categorically declined to sign this contract. However,
Zametalin forced him to do it. By the way, the size of this contract constituted
over a five million dollars. I wonder whether it is the same money, for which
they imprisoned Leonov?  noted Gaidukevich. Todays Narodnaya Volya comes
up with certain documents, revealing the details of this strange deal.
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PACE POLITICAL COUNCIL WONT CONSIDER BELARUSIAN ISSUE
The Political Council of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly doesnt
plan to discuss the Belarusian issue during its parliamentary session, due to
take place in Strasbourg on January 21-26, reports BelaPAN. However, the Belarusian
problem will be raised in Strasbourg in a minor format  on January 24 the Committee
for education, culture and media of Belarus and PACE will discuss the situation
around mass media in Belarus. Two Belarusian delegations have been invited to
the hearings  one, representing state media, headed by the Minister of information
Mikhail Podgainy and one  the non-state ones, led by the president of the BAJ
association Janna Litvina.
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BELARUS, CHINA TO DEVELOP MILITARY COOPERATION
GazetaSNG.ru
Belarusian parliamentary delegation, headed by the chairman of the republics
council Alexander Voitovich, will pay an official visit to China on January
17-24. Their schedule of visit includes a reception at the chairman of the Permanent
Council of the All-China assembly of peoples representatives Lee Pen, meetings
with the deputy chairman Hu Tsintao, deputy Premier of the Chinese State Council,
member of the Political Bureau of the Communist party Tsyan Tichen and other
dignitaries. The delegation will consist of the representatives of the agricultural
sector, industrial enterprises, lawyers and economists. During the negotiations
these people will try to influence at all different levels the Belarusian-Chinese
relations, which, according to the Belarusian plenipotentiary ambassador in China
Vladimir Rusakovich, leave much to be desired.
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BELARUSIAN MINERS THREATEN WITH STRIKE
By February 1 they have to nullify the Cabinets ruling on the cancellation of
the cashless payment for trade unions dues. Otherwise, the miners will go for
a 5-minute warning strike and the day of the trade union solidarity, reports
Soyuz-info. Such resolution was passed by the Soligorsk meeting of miners and
construction workers of the Minsk region. The event was initiated by the Independent
trade union of miners and professional committee of chemistry workers.
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KGB VS PAVEL SHEREMET
Belarusian KGB forwarded to the Federal security service of Russia the document
about the public declarations, voiced by the head of the special information
projects department of ORT Pavel Sheremet. The document reads that Sheremets
words threaten the constitutional order of Belarus, are of clearly anti-state
character, discredit the leadership of Belarus and thus damage the relations
between the two brotherly countries.
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PACE VICE-PRESIDENT DEMANDS LIBERATION OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
The Berlin bureau of the Bundestag deputy, vice-president of the Council of Europes
Parliamentary Assembly and rapporteur for Belarus Wolfgang Berendt, disseminated
via mass media the MPs open address to Alexander Lukashenko. This was in no
wise the first letter, sent to Lukashenko by the European politicians. Previously,
a group of the EP deputies called on the official Minsk to launch an independent
investigation into the disappearances. In his letter Wolfgang Berendt demands
the release of the imprisoned professor Bandazhevsky and the prisoner of conscience,
MP Andrei Klimov.
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NO INVESTIGATION INTO DISAPPEARANCES
Investigation into Dmitry Zavadskys disappearance case has been temporarily
halted, while the cases of the missing Yuri Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar and Anatoly
Krasovsky are out of police competence, said at the yesterdays press-conference
the Interior Minister of Belarus Vladimir Naumov. Naumov stressed that at his
recent meeting with Alexander Lukashenko he told the president about the investigation
into the criminal cases, personally controlled by the president. The list of
crimes, placed under the presidents special supervision, starts with a large-scale
theft in the Osipovichi district. Weve been looking for the perpetrators since
1994,  said the Minister. As concerns the abduction of prominent opposition
figures  Yuri Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar and Anatoly Krasovsky  there are no
such cases in Lukashenko-controlled police list.
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SWEDISH PARTIES PROTEST AGAINST BELARUSIAN STATES VISA POLICY
Leaders of all parties represented in Swedish parliament addressed an open letter
in which they called Belarusian authorities to change visa policy. Several citizens
of Sweden and other countries were denied entrance visas without satisfactory
explanation. Some of them even had to return from the Minsk airport, though their
visas were in order, -- is stated in the letter, published on January 16 in
a Swedish newspaper "Aftonbladet".
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LUKASHENKOS NEW DECREE TIGHTENS STATE CONTROL
January 16 Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree On additional measures to regulate
economic relations. The decree, as said in the document, has been signed in
order to sophisticate the state regulation of economic relations, ensure the
protection of state interests, as well as other economic objects and exercise
the constitutional duties of the Committee for state control. The decree envisages
the system of penal sanctions against economic entities. The CSC, under the order,
may use sanctions and impose fines, set forth by the legislation for other controlling
bodies  even place arrest on the commodity in cases, specified by the law (also
on incomes, received through selling goods, works and services).
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FORMER MTP DIRECTOR TO LEARN OFFICIAL INDICTMENT
Former director general of the Minsk tractor plant Mikhail Leonov must receive
official indictment today, BELTA was told in the press-center of the national
procuracy. Leonov was detained 10 days ago upon suspicion of power abuse and
criminal negligence.
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PUTIN CONSIDERS BELARUSIAN-POLISH BORDER HIS OWN
Russian president Vladimir Putin said at the press-conference in Warsaw after
the first round of talks with the Polish president Alexander Kvasnevsky that
millions of people are streaming through the Russian-Polish border in both directions
every day. In this connection Interfax reminds that the Russian-Polish border
is but a little strip of land in former Prussiya (present-day southern border
of the Kaliningrad region of Russia, where not so many people live, let alone
visit). Despite such an obvious hint at the union state, Putin didnt mention
a word about Belarus, which separates Russian mainland from Poland.
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DISMISSALS OF KINDERGARTEN EMPLOYEES STARTED IN HRODNA
It was decided by the city executive committee on the eve of the new year. From
27 to 35 people will be dismissed in every district of the city. About 250 employees
are to fall victim of this decision in a little while. In the first days of the
new year directors offered them either to write a request for their salary to
be cut by 15-25%, or to be ready for a discharge.
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BELARUSIANS TRIED TO SELL 1.5 KG OF ENRICHED URANIUM
Secret service officers of Belarus have detained six citizens of Belarus, who
are charged with an attempt to sell enriched uranium. They asked $150,000 for
1.5 kg of radioactive matter. The crime was prevented by of a secret agent who
entered the network of the vendors. After the detention of the uranium sellers
it turned out than the matter was stolen from an atomic power station. As there
are no atomic power stations in Belarus, the investigators believe the uranium
has Russian, Ukrainian or Lithuanian origin, France Press informs.
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
January 17, 2002
read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml