CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
January 21, 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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HEAD OF BELARUS TRANSPORT PROCURACY DISMISSED
Nikolai Korolyuk, head of the Belarusian transport procuracy was dismissed from
his post for alleged poor working performance. This news was announced by the
prosecutor general Vivctor Sheiman. According to Sheiman, Korolyuks dismissal
is caused by violations, that occurred at the Belarusian railroad and were discovered
late last year by the procuracy and SCS inspections. The transport prosecutor
had allegedly ignored the illicit activities of some railway officials, whose
actions inflicted a multi-million dollar damage upon the state. Their next step,
said Sheiman, will be the complex examination of activities of the Belarusian
transport procuracy.
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GOMEL GREASE FACTORY HEADS ARRESTED
Directors of the Gomel grease factory were arrested by the law-enforcers. The
detainees are indicted for the power abuse, they had allegedly committed, reports
Radio Ratsya. The Gomel department of the investigative committee opened legal
action for power abuse against certain directors of the local grease factory
back on January 11. The department for economic crimes also joined in the investigation
process. According to some data, the factory suffered a $600thsd loss as a result
of its directors embezzlement.
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MIKHAIL LEONOV DENIED DATE WITH WIFE
Spouse of the former director of the Minsk tractor plant Mikhail Leonov was denied
an opportunity to meet her husband in jail and defend him in court. The attorney
believes that the investigators deliberately made Elena Leonova a witness in
the case in order to prevent her from being her husbands lawyer. The lady is
set to decisively fight for her rights.
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MTPS LAST DAY IN EXISTENCE?
The resources, which are still at the disposal of the Minsk tractor plant, will
enable the company to operate for no more than two days  January 21 and 22,
BelaPAN was told by MTP press-secretary Vadim Bitsan. According to him, the enterprise
encountered serious difficulty after the authorities opened lawsuit against their
director general Mikhail Leonov and placed him under arrest. The suppliers of
spare parts reacted negatively to this news, as well as to the information that
some other MTPs representatives may soon be taken into custody too.
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LUKASHENKO SENDS PERSONAL MISSIVE TO QADDAFI
Belarusian Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvostov was welcomed in Libya by the leader
of the Libyan revolution Muammar Qaddafi. Khvostov passed to Qaddafi a personal
letter from Alexander Lukashenko. The delegation of the house of representatives,
headed by Khvostov, stayed in Tripoli on January 15-19, taking part in the session
on the Belarusian-Libyan cooperation in economic, trade and scientific spheres.
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TV-6 ABRIDGES AIR TIME IN BELARUS
Beginning from March 1 the TV-6 channel will be replaced for Minsk viewers from
11.30p.m. until 5.30p.m. by the First musical channel, which had been set up
a few weeks ago and is now broadcast on TV-6 waves from midnight till three in
the morning. The First musical channel is the product of the Dobrovideniye
Ltd., which simultaneously televises TV-6 programs in Belarus. The companys
director Valery Kravchuk told the Charter97 press-center that the daily 17H
broadcasting of the musical channel wont bring about any losses to TV-6, whose
air time during the afternoon hours doesnt cover its own expenses anyway. So,
now the Belarusian viewers will watch for 17 hours in a row Russian and foreign
pop music instead of the popular TV-6 programs. One could also recommend to the
creators of the First musical channel to better think about their violation
of copyright, for they illegally televise video clips, taken from foreign media.
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LUKAHENKO DELIVERS ANOTHER BLOW AT BUSINESS
As deemed by the president of the Belarusian entrepreneurs union Alexander Potupa,
Lukashenkos decree On extra measures to regulate economic relations, which
came into force on January 18, turned the Committee for state control into a
body, which can do anything. Thus, the idea I voiced long ago finds confirmation
 CSC will function as the forth branch of power,  said Potupa in his interview
to the newspaper Izvestia. The decree allows for the practice of extra-judicial
expropriations, as far as in many cases the committee may execute both the duties
of the detective and the judge, stressed the head of the union. The man is convinced
that such an approach ruins the Belarusian economy.
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BMP DISCONTENT OVER LAWSUIT
The Belarusian Metallurgic Plants representatives believe that the size of damage
under the recently instituted criminal case had been by far exaggerated, said
on January 18 deputy director general for informational work Nikolai Aksenov.
The legal action was opened a few days ago by the Committee for organized criminality
and corruption of the Gomel region under art.424/3 of the Criminal Code  abuse
of power. They cited the sum of the expected damage as equal to 111mln rubles.
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BLACKOUTS AT GRODNO ENTERPRISES
Belenergo concern obliged its electricity-suppliers to cease catering for the
needs of a number of organizations. The first, who fell under this order, were
the companies-debtors from the Grodno region, which have the lowest indexes as
far as the payment for the consumed energy.
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KVASNEVSKY HANDS TO PUTIN LETTER OF BELARUSIAN DISSIDENTS WIVES
On Friday the letter, written by the wives of the repressed Belarusian opposition
members  Ludmila Karpenko, Irina Krasovskaya, Tatyana Klimova, Olga Zakharenko,
Svetlana Zavadskaya and Zinaida Gonchar  was passed over to Vladimir Putin.
During the Warsaw negotiations Vladimir Putin and Alexander Kvasnevsky, among
other things, also discussed the situation in Belarus. Alexander Kvasnevsky said
it on Friday in an interview to the Polish radio Zet. The presidents discussed
the Belarus issue during the first couple of hours of their conversation.
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IPU DEMANDS TO LOCATE GONCHAR, RELEASE KLIMOV
The session of the Interparliamentary Union took place in Geneva throughout last
week. The IPU considered cases of the Belarusian parliamentarians: missing Viktor
Gonchar, incarcerated Andrei Klimov and Valery Schukin, who had recently served
his three-month prison term. In Gonchars case the commission expressed it concerns
over the fact that despite the long period of time, which passed since the day
of his disappearance, theres no progress whatsoever in the investigation. And
so, the commission determined to address the Belarusian authorities with a demand
to hold the investigation more seriously. In Klimovs case the commission raised
concern over his continued imprisonment. The commission urges the Belarusian
authorities to set him free,  Radio Svaboda quotes IPU secretary general Anders
Johnson as saying.
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AMG MUST RESUME WORK IN BELARUS SAYS OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE GAMA
OSCE Chairman-in-office, the Foreign Minister of Portugal Jaime Gama, speaking
at the January 17 session of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, said that
under his guidance the OSCE will continue assisting the work of the Advisory-Monitoring
Group in Belarus.
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BELARUS-OSCE: TENSIONS BUILD UP
Speaking at the January 18 seminar in Potsdam on Political perspectives for
Belarus former head of the Advisory-Monitoring OSCE group in Minsk Hans-Georg
Wieck stressed that the tension in the relations between OSCE and official Minsk
is running high. According to Wieck, it remains unclear if his successor at the
post will be granted Belarus visa. At the moment they are discussing the groups
mandate, which allows for the formation of democratic institutes in the country
in question. As pinpointed by Wieck, the Belarusian leadership wants international
recognition, while applying harsh measures against the civil society.
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MTP HALTS OPERATION AFTER DIRECTORS ARREST
Reuters
Belarusian leading industrial company  the Minsk Tractor Plant  stopped its
conveyor belt on Friday, which is not likely to be brought back in operation
until February. MTP director Mikhail Leonovs arrest had largely paralyzed the
sales of the manufactured commodity, says the MTP press-service head Vadim Bitsan.
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ATTORNEYS COMMISSION SET TO STUDY UNRELIABLE LAWYERS
Gomel regional attorneys commission embarked on the examination of activities
of one of the Gomels famous lawyers Dmitry Ivanishko. Dmitry Ivanishko became
popular as a lawyer after he acted for the past few years as a defender in a
bunch of notorious political processes. For instance, he defended in court the
assistant rector of the Gomel medical institute Vladimir Ravkov and engaged in
the Mikhail Chigirs son Alexanders case. At the moment Ivanishko acts as an
attorney to Yuri Zaitsev, father of Andrei Zaitsev  a member of the youth movement
ZUBR, who committed a suicide on December 20, being unable to endure the pressure,
exerted on him by the KGB agents. Yuri Zaitsev and his lawyer demand institution
of criminal proceedings over the matter.
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
January 21, 2002
read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml