CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
January 25, 2002
read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml
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CRIMINAL LAWSUIT BROUGHT AGAINST ZUBR MOVEMENT PRESS-SECRETARY
Legal action was instituted against the ZUBR movements press-secretary Alexander
Otroschenkov by the Minsk procuracy. On January 24 the law-enforcers visited
his parents apartment. As far as Alexander doesnt live with his parents, they
simply informed them that their son is charged with violating art.368 of the
Criminal Code (defaming the president of Belarus).
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OSCE PA DELEGATIONS MINSK VISIT CANCELLED
Delegation of the special working group for Belarus of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly with Bundestags deputy Uta Tsapf at the head, wont be coming to Minsk.
OSCE PA cancelled this visit. The delegation was supposed to arrive in Belarus
in early February in order to inspect the country home situation on the spot.
On January 22 the Minister for foreign affairs Mikhail Khvostov forwarded to
Uta Tsapf a special message, in which he underscored that he greatly appreciates
her coming and an opportunity to meet with him. However, the next day the OSCE
PA head Adrian Severin, speaking at the PACE session, said that the delegation
cancels its visit, as far as the Belarusian authorities failed to ensure the
necessary conditions for it. On January 25 the German radio-station Deutche
Welle reported that OSCE PA changed its mind for two main reasons. Firstly,
because the authorities wished the visits preparation to take place without
the involvement of the OSCE AMG in Minsk. And secondly, they demanded that the
OSCE Minsk people must not accompany the delegation during its mission. OSCE
considered these conditions to be unacceptable.
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ASPHALT INSTEAD OF COMMEMORATION
RESPEKT
Following the presidential elections in Belarus the countrys hottest political
subject became the enlargement and modernization of a few kilometers long Minsk
beltway. The motorway was designed to lead the transport flows away from the
suburban districts, thus relieving the traffic flow at the major highways. However,
over the recent couple of months a wide public resistance fought against the
road works. The road lies through the place, called Kuropaty, where in thirties
the Stalins regime killed and buried thousands of innocent people.
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BIG LAUNDRY
Dyen
Five Minsk regional councils officials have been dismissed from their posts.
Among them are the charge daffaires Fedor Shpartov, head of the department for
administrative bodies Nikolai Morozov, head of the department for control and
record keeping Igor Migas, head of the Ministry of Finances department for revision
and control Valery Morozov, head of the housing construction and development
department Oleg Kruglikov, deputy chair of the department for emergency situations,
housing and public utilities problems Ivan Korobko. This news was voiced at the
councils session on Monday by its chairman Nikolai Domashkevich. The dismissals
followed shortly after the councils leadership paid a visit on Friday to Alexander
Lukashenko.
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STATE CUSTOMS COMMITTEE STARTS STAFF PURGES
Headship of the State Customs Committee of Belarus is set to make stronger the
subdivisions of internal security and attract KGB and Interior Ministry officers
to reinforce the fight for purity of the staff of the customs institutions. It
was said by the chairman of the State Customs Committee Alyaxandar Shpileusky
at a press conference in Minsk on January 24. I do not see any problems in the
fact that a crime committed by a customs officer is revealed by KGB or Interior
Ministry officer or frontier guard,  he underlined.
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TRADE UNIONS ARE NOT READY FOR ACTIVE MEASURES
Participants of the republican consultation of the trade union committees of
the largest enterprises that took place on January 24, could not agree on the
further actions of the Belarusian Trade Union Federation on annulment of decree
from December 14, 2001. As said by Frants Vitko, Chairman of the Belarusian Trade
Union Federation, there are two points of view on this matter. Part of the members
of the federation believes that to annul this decree active forms of protest
should be used. However, the majority of the heads of the local trade union branches
still hope to solve this problem by dialogue with authorities. However, BTF head
admits that in spite of numerous addresses of the Federation to the leadership
of the country, there was no response from them.
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TEACHERS PROTEST POVERTY AND ANTI-TRADE UNION POLICIES
The protest rally of teachers and activists of the educational trade union against
the arbitrariness of the Belarusian authorities took place earlier today in Minsk.
Around 100 people with raised banners in hands came to the Bangalor square of
Minsk to express their utter discontent over the December decision of the Belarusian
Cabinet, which forbade the centralized transfer of trade union dues, as well
as over the labor conditions, imposed on teachers. As claimed by the assembled
protesters, the official anti-trade union actions are caused by unfavorable tendencies
in the national economy, owing to which the year 2002 will witness an escalation
of social tensions.
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LUKASHENKO SELLS OUT OIL REFINERIES
Alexander Lukashenko received the governments report on privatizing the petroleum
complexs enterprises and turning them into joint stock. Interfax was told
by the Belneftehim concern leader Ivan Bambiza that the transformations are
caused by the demands, brought forth by the president: the control stock has
to stay with the president for the time being. At the same time the potential
partners come up with a few technical conditions, such as the companies development
with the preservation of their profile, increase in the production of commodity
via advanced technologies, coordinating their own investment proposals on modernization
and reconstruction with the government. Moreover, preference must be given to
the raw materials, produced on the territory of our country, stressed Bambiza.
Among the companies on stock are Naftan, Polimir, Azot, Belshina, Mogilev
and Svetlogorsk Himvolokno plants.
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BALTIKA PUTS KRYNITSA RECONSTRUCTION ON HALT
Russian brewery Krynitsa ceased all works on reconstructing the Minsk Krynitsa
brewery and withdrew all their specialists, reports Interfax. The reason for
that was the delay in handing over to Baltika a control stock: 50% plus one
share.
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MORE THAN ONE THIRD OF BELARUSIAN ENTERPRISES ARE LOSS-MAKING
In 2001 35.5% of Belarusian manufacturing enterprises of Belarus were loss-making,
said Frants Vitko, Chairman of the Belarusian Trade Union Federation at briefing
on January 24 in Minsk. It is the worst resilt of the year in the last four your
years. As said by F.Vitko, in 1998 there were 16.2% of unprofitable manufacturing
enterprises in Belarus, in 1999  17.1%, and in 2000  23.4%.
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US SENATOR CAMPBELL RINGS ALARM BELLS IN CONGRESS OVER BELARUS ARMS SUPPLIES
TO TERRORISTS
The US Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, chairman of the Commission for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) addressed the Congress on January
with a statement on Belarus. Following you may read its full text:
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WALTER SCHWIMER: BELARUS ACCESSION TO COE LIES THRU SETTING UP COMMISSION FOR
DISAPPEARANCES
UCP leader Anatoly Lebedko met in Strasbourg the Council of Europe Secretary
General Walter Schwimer. The sides discussed the situation in Belarus, along
with the perspectives of its further relations with the Council of Europe and
a possibility to hold PACE hearings on political disappearances of Viktor Gonchar,
Yuri Zakharenko, Anatoly Krasovsky and Dmitry Zavadsky, as well as to include
the young people from Belarus into various training CoE programs. In course of
their meeting Walter Schwimer declared: Belarus road to the Council of Europe
lies through changing the political climate in the country, releasing Andrei
Klimov, setting up commission to investigate into disappearances with the involvement
of foreign experts, ensuring oppositions access to state media, enlarging the
parliaments functions and canceling capital punishment.
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CASE OF CHYHIR JR. COMES TO NOTHING
At the proceedings on the case of Alaxandar Chyhir evidence was presented that
according to defense, ruins the version of the investigators. Ruslan Sakalou,
a welder, witnessed yesterday in court. It was the welder who on A.Chyhirs request
had installed a numbered part from one vehicle to another, allegedly stolen by
Chyhir.
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SITUATION WITH BELARUSIAN MASS MEDIA DISCUSSED IN STRASBOURG
A winter Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe session ends in Strasbourg.
Yesterday Committee on Education, Culture and Mass Media discussed situation
with mass media in Belarus. This discussion stirred up a great interest of MPs,
human rights watchdogs and unions of journalists. Five independent journalists
and representatives of the Belarusian Association of Journalists headed by its
chair Zhanna Litsvina have come from Minsk to Strasbourg. Minister of Information
Mikhail Padhainy has also come to Strasbourg.
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SERIES OF SCANDALS BY BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES CONTINUES
GazetaSNG.ru
Official Minsk has surprised international community by its extraordinary actions
yet again. This time the former head of the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group
Hans-Georg Wieck, who left the country as his four-year term of office ended,
was refused to get entry visa. Thus, Belarusian authorities continue the list
of scandals started in 1997. We would like to remind that at that time Lukashenka
declared at one of the consultations said that he know exactly what the Ambassadors
of foreign countries say when meeting at the building of British mission in Minsk.
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DEFAMATION LAWSUIT UNDERWAY
Rechitsa procuracy allowed the defendant Natalya Brel and her attorney Dmitry
Ivanishko to familiarize themselves with the results of the lawsuit, opened against
the woman for alleged defaming the presidents honor.
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COURT LETS POLICE KEEP FOR THEMSELVES LETS SAY NO TO A FOOL! T-SHIRTS
Mogilev court considered the action, brought by the chairman of the Free trade
union of the Zenith plant Alexander Korolev against the law-enforcers from
the Central district police station of Mogilev. Korolev demanded that they return
to him a few hundred T-shirts with words Lets Say No to a Fool, seized from
him last August.
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NATIONAL BANK WONT PENALIZE BANKS FOR FAILING NEW NORM
The National Bank of Belarus, which set on January 1, 2002 the minimum limit
of capital for banks, working with the population at the level of 10 euros, wont
revoke licenses from small and middle-sized banks, as it previously pledged to
do.
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
January 25, 2002
read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml