CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 8, 2002
read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml
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NO RUSSIA-BELARUS MERGER
There will be no Russian-Belarusian union,  SOYUZ-INFO correspondent quotes
deputy head of the SPS faction of Russian Duma Boris Nadezhdin as saying. According
to him, the time of such conversations has passed and today it is clear to everyone
that no union state will ever be built by us. Boris Nadezhdin declined to comment
on his statement, noting though that such information emanates from the state
sources.
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BELARUS GETS LOWEST CIS GDP RISE IN 2001
Growth of the Gross Domestic Product of Belarus in 2001  4,1%  turned out to
be the lowest among all CIS states. According to the CIS Committee for statistics,
the greatest rise last year was demonstrated by the economy of Kazakhstan, where
the GDP rose by 13,2%. It is further followed by Tajikistan (10,2%), Azerbaijan
(9,9%), Armenia (9,6%), Ukraine (9%), Moldova (6,1%), Kyrgizia (5,3%), Georgia
(4,5%), Uzbekistan (4,5% in 9 months). In Russia the growth of the five basic
economy sectors (industry, agriculture, construction, transport and trade) amounted
last year to 5,7%. No data on Turkmenistan is available.
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BELARUS RANKED FIRST IN CIS INFLATION RATES
Inflation in the CIS countries in 2001 constituted: in Azerbaijan  1,3%, Armenia
 2,9%, Belarus  46,1%, Georgia  3,4%, Kazakhstan  6,4%, Kyrgizia  3,7%,
Moldova  6,3%, Russia  18,6%, Tajikistan  12,5%, Ukraine  6,1%. No data on
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan is provided. These are the findings of the CIS Committee
for statistics.
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USA RING ALARM BELLS OVER BELARUS INTRODUCTION OF LICENSES FOR SOCIOLOGICAL
ACTIVITIES
The US government is worried over the reports that the Belarusian authorities
plan to impose licenses on the sociological activity, the American ambassador
Michael Kozak said at the international conference Formation of public opinion
and public policy in Belarus, which opened on February 8 in Minsk.
According to the US diplomat, it is necessary to listen to the public opinion,
rather than try to suppress its expression. Any governments attempt, targeted
at imposing control over the independent public thought in Belarus, will be a
huge step backwards from creating the conditions for the normal functioning of
the free, independent media and open, transparent mechanism of political discussions
in the country,  said Michael Kozak.
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INVESTORS LEAVING FEZ
A few investors left the free economic zone Vitebsk. The reason for such step
was the imperfection of the tax legislation, lack of regulation of the land issue
and red-tape of the state bodies, - deems deputy head of the Vitebsk FEZ Alexander
Petrov. Now there remain only 15 residents in the free economic zone.
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POLICE EXTORTS CREDITS
Activities on the return of credits, issued by the Belarusian banks, is one of
the priority directions in the performance of the countrys law-enforcement bodies,
said deputy Minister for interior affairs of Belarus Gennady Glukhovsky at the
national conference on the bank system development, which is taking place these
days in Minsk under the supervision of Alexander Lukashenko.
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BREAKDOWN IN BORISOV CAUSES BLACKOUTS, NO WATER SUPPLIES
There occurred an accident at the Borisov power station. On February 7 at around
4p.m. local time most of the towns energy consumers in central town were cut
off electricity. IA Rosbalt correspondent was told in the Ministry for emergency
situations, that the breakdown was caused by a short circuit at the western sub-station.
According to the Ministry, among those cut off from electricity are the instrumental
and tin factory, town maternity home, palace of culture, palace of child, secondary
school, medical college, as well as multi-story blocks of flats and the Borisov-vodokanal
company. Moreover, owing to the halt in electricity supplies the Vodokanal
stopped its electricity pumps and ceased supplying the water. The majority of
consumers electricity supply has been restored within one-hour time, while the
water flow resumed by 7p.m. local time.
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BREST CURRIER PROHIBITED TO BE ADVERTISED
Brest City executive committee prohibited the editorial board of the informational
and analytical weekly the Brest Currier to place promotional materials I public
transport  on the grounds of inexpediency.
In end of last year the advertising department of the Brest Currier worked
out a new series of leaflets with unusual content and design. It was drawings
by Uladzimer Chuglazau, that can be named political cartoons.
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PROCURACY REPRIMANDS BDG CORRESPONDENT
Journalist of the Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta Irina Makovetskaya was summoned
on September 7 to the Belarusian procuracy in order to give clarifications about
her publication Common matter under the rubric Lawlessness in the December
5, 2001 #86 issue. However, during the conversation with the prosecutor Stanislav
Novikov the journalists representative, director of the Center for legal assistance
Mikhail Pastukhov noticed on the table the text of the official reprimand, already
signed by the deputy prosecutor general Mikhail Snegir on February 6. Therefore,
the reprimand had been issued even before the journalist ever provided her clarifications.
As a protest against such arbitrary act Irina Makovetskaya refused to sign the
official reprimand. The journalist and her representative Mikhail Pastukhov intend
to appeal against the decision in the state procuracy and court.
Irina Makovetskayas publication, which so strongly angered the procuracy, read
about the scandalous story that took place in Gomel, where in March 2000 three
young fellows were detained and brutally beaten by the Central police departments
officers upon suspicion of having committed a crime. However, when their innocence
was proven, the law-enforcers made them sign protocols of administrative violation.
As a result, the Central district court passed administrative sentences against
them.
One of the young people appeared to be the son of the head of the 2nd department
of the Central districts military service Pavel Kalyakin. His father convinced
them to open legal action on the matter. The judicial expertise discovered numerous
bruises on their bodies, supposedly from rubber clubs blows. Dmitry Kalyakin
had 30 places at which the traumatizing force was applied.
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ZUBRS WARN ABOUT ECOLOGICAL HAZARD
Activists of ZUBR resistance movement have carried out an ecological action in
Brest. They handed out leaflets to Brest residents, warning them about a risk
of radioactive contamination from the burial ground of radioactive waste, which
is being constructed by the city. Brest is at risk to become second Chernobyl,
-- with such a warning the activists came out in the streets.
ZUBRs handed out leaflets that explained the danger of radiation close to the
city, at a distance of 20 kilometers. The burial place is constructed by the
village of Struha, in one of the places that abound in mushrooms. The radioactive
ground from the Object-802 situated in Brest, will be taken there.
The state mass media will persuade you of the complete safeness of this burial
ground, about super-modern technologies used by the construction. But is it possible
to hide radiation? 
 the leaflet reads. The consequences of this construction are described in the
leaflet, and the phone numbers of the officials responsible are given in the
leaflet.
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Lukashenko Declines to Accept Workers Petition
This week the deputy chair of the professional committee Belaruskaliy Stepan
Ivashkevich sought to pass over to president Alexander Lukashenko and the Belarusian
Premier an address of a 17 thousand strong miners personnel, having preliminarily
registered it in the concomitant institutions. Such a necessary decision on the
formal registration was caused by the fact that the workers received no reply
to all their previous appeals to the high-ranking officials, although the terms,
envisaged by the law for that purpose, have already expired.
The Administration likewise overlooked the collective appeal, signed by more
than six thousand people. It was by the way inserted into the mail-box on January
16. The miners wonder how come their letters never reach the addressee.
This time they had to again drop their message into a post-box in hopes that
Lukashenko would get it before February 12. On that day they scheduled the Cabinets
session at which he will take part. The authors are pleading with Lukashenko
to consider and solve the issue over the cancellation of the governments ruling
#1804 On some measures to protect the rights of members of professional trade
unions. In their letter they refer to the article 107 of the Labor Code, the
Constitutional courts decision of February 12, 2001, conclusions of the Administrations
department for law and management and the Council of Republic of the National
Assembly, which officially recognized that the Labor code has great juridical
power in relation to other laws, while the violators have to be guided by the
norms, which represent greater juridical authority. The miners want only one
thing: to live according to the law.
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HELLO, IM LISTENING
Dyen
Issues related to the unsanctioned bugging of the citizens phones are, figuratively
speaking, distorted into something almost unrecognizable. However, under the
conditions of totalitarian states it never loses its poignancy. Belarus can serve
as a confirmation to that. From time to time there appear on the pages of non-state
media information about the infiltration of unidentified persons and organizations
into the private lives of individuals and political structures, which dare disagree
with Alexander Lukashenkas views.
As a rule, the clarification of the issue whether or not someones eavesdropping
on the phone is usually futile. Same happened when the Astravets resident Ivan
Kruk tried on January 2 to receive a clear answer from the district communication
department, Hrodna KGB and personally Belarus KGB chief Leonid Erin on the attachment
of bugs to the phone line in his apartment.
In his statement he notes: I, as a former police operative, learnt from reliable
sources that the security service had been for a while eavesdropping on my house
phone without prosecutors permit. You have to admit that whenever an ordinary
person says something of the kind one can get an impression that hes too much
into the detective stories. However, in our case we are talking about the detective
with a long experience and personal connections in police.
Ivan Kruk believes that the reason for eavesdropping was his active part in the
opposition activities, in the independent observation during parliamentarian
and presidential elections.
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BELOSTOK COURT ALLOWS FOR ZHUKOVETS EXTRADITION TO BELARUS
District court of Belostok ruled that businessman Andrei Zhukovets extradition
to Belarus, after the mans three year residence in Poland, can well be a possibility.
To the amazement of all those present, when explaining his decision judge Yan
Fedoruk said that the defendant could be extradited as far as the political
situation in Belarus is getting normalized.
Yesterday during the court session the accuser Vladimir Romanchuk claimed that
Andrei Zhukovets doesnt face the danger of unfair trial at home. More than that,
the man even dared publicly laud Alexander Lukashenko, pleading with the court
to pay no attention to the numerous reports of the international human rights
watchdogs, testifying to the fact that human rights abuses are commonplace in
Belarus. As a result, the court ignored the evidence, presented by the defender,
that Zhukovets case is purely political, whereas the judiciary system in the
country is not independent, just like it overlooked the documents, proving that
the suspect is innocent.
Its worth mention that previously the courts of Vrotslav and Warsaw passed quite
opposite decisions in analogous cases over the extradition of the Belarusian
entrepreneurs back home. Why does the Belostok court obstinately keep to a different
thinking? In an interview to Radio Svaboda deputy chairman of the Union of the
Belarusian political refugees in Poland Andrei Yutskevich said the following:
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RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ADMITS THAT BELARUS SUPPLIED ARMS TO ANGOLA, PERSIAN
GULF STATES
As reported by the American newspaper The Miami Herald at the international conference
in Munich the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov was posed a question about
Belarus arms sales to the rogue states. The newspaper writes that the last
session also underscored wide discrepancies between the United States and Russia.
Senator Lindsay Gram asked Ivanov why Russia upholds the former Soviet Republic
Belarus with cheap energy subsidies. He added that there were no democratic elections
in Belarus and the country is the large arms supplier.
The Defense Minister replied that theres no proof that Belarus shipped weaponry
to the states under the sanctions  such as Iraq  although it did supply ammunition
to those which are sanction-free: Tajikistan, Angola and even some Persian Gulf
states,  The Miami Herald cites Sergei Ivanov as saying.
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LIVING WAGE SIZE APPROVED
The subsistence wage size per capita was established by the Cabinet of Ministers
ruling #119. BELTA correspondent quotes head of the social standards and norms
department of the Ministry of labor and social protection Tamara Rak as saying
that the minimal wage budget, taking into consideration the price-growth on basic
foodstuffs, industrial goods, transport and utilities, has risen in average by
19% as compared with the previous one, constituting 62,568 rubles.
For the able-bodied population it equals to 67,114 rubles, pensioners  51,849,
students  65,224, children aged 3-16  73,090, kids under 3  55,403. At present,
they are also defining the category of citizens, who have the right for getting
social aid.
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BDG DENIED RIGHT TO BROADCAST COMMERCIALS ALREADY PAID FOR
The editorial board of the Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta was notified by an
official letter from the Belarusian state company BT that their orders for the
allocation of TV commercials wouldnt be executed. The news came after the order
had already been accepted and paid for. Therefore, theres every grounds to believe
that the orders fulfillment has been halted at the very last instant by the
demand from above.
The newspaper was proposed no official explanation of the reasons. However, in
the phone conversation with the BDG marketing director Alexander Veliky the BT
representative  director general of the advertisement and commercial department
Alexander Ganush explained literally this: In course of the past couple of years
your newspaper has numerously and in a very distorted and insulting form covered
the activities of the Belarusian TV company. It needs mention that the journalists
and the editorial board have paid little attention to providing the verified
information. In this connection our company would prefer not to have your newspaper
among our clients. I believe, it is a normal juridical practice for any business.
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FORMER MTZ DIRECTOR TO SPEND ANOTHER MONTH IN PRE-TRIAL DETENTION
Press secretary of the Public Prosecutors Office of Belarus Alyaxei Taranau
informed that the investigation of the case of the former director of the Minsk
Tractor-Building Plant (MTZ) Mikhail Lyavonau continues, and his release is out
of question. According to Taranau, the investigation is to continue for no less
than a month. Yu must remember that Mikhail Lyavonau was arrested a month ago
on charges related to negligence, bribery and abuse of office, which allegedly
caused great losses of the enterprise.
Until now there is no information about a bribe, and who gave it to Lyavonau.
And as for unprofitable contracts, deliberately signed by Lyavonau, the investigation
allegedly found some information. For instance, the partners of MTZ, American
companies T.F.A. Marketing and GRO Trading, which allegedly sold Ukrainian spare
parts to the enterprise twice as expensive than the real price, were found. The
enterprise allegedly lost 3.8 million dollars because of this contract. But Lyavonaus
lawyers claim that the former director is not answerable for these contracts,
and name the leadership of planning economical department as people in charge.
By the way, the former head of this department Natalia Karanets was arrested
before Lyavonau. The lawyers of the ex-director declare that they do not know
if the investigation has any proofs on other episodes of the case.
What concerns the situation in the MTZ, as Radio Svaboda informs, the information
about it is contradictory. Some sources report that the enterprise is barely
make through. There were 250 tractors assembles in January, while the usual output
was more than 2,000 a month. All the managers have given a written undertaking
not to divulge the secrets on the investigation.
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 8, 2002
read the details at www.charter97.org/e/index.phtml