The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE January 09, 2003 www.charter97.org --------------------------------------------------------- NOT ENOUGH PENSIONS FOR EVERYBODY 16:41 09/01/2003, Valentina Veshtort, NEG, photo mahilyow.com The draft law "On the introduction of changes and amendments into the pension laws of Belarus" envisages the payment of pensions only provided a pensioner leaves job (many Belarusians receive both pensions and salaries at the same time when reaching the pension age). At the same time, according to the draft law, pensions should be paid to those individuals, who paid insurance dues for no less than five years. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/pensia --------------------------------------------------------- LESS BELARUSIANS FEEL LIKE JOINING RUSSIA 11:41 09/01/2003 In December 2002 NISEPI sociologists recorded the fall in the number of the supporters of integration with Russia. 21,2% of respondents spoke in favor of such a merger, which is the lowest figure of all ever since 1999. According to the research, last year's December became a turning point, for since Vladimir Putin's coming to power in Russia the adherents of integration have been constantly rising in number. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/integration --------------------------------------------------------- DEMOCRATIC TRADE UNIONS SEEK PROTECTION FROM STATE ARBITRARINESS 16:44 09/01/2003, www.praca.by In connection with the requirement of the Trade Union Federation of Belarus to sign new agreements, raising the rent by 10 times, the leaders of Belarusian Congress of the democratic trade unions, the Free trade union of Belarus, the Free trade union of metal workers, the Democratic trade union of transport and the Belarusian independent trade union circulated their address to the trade union organizations and members of the trade unions, which are included into the Belarusian Congress of democratic trade unions. "They are trying hard to move us out of our premises, thus stripping us of our legal addresses. Coordinating our activities with the executive, the FTU leadership makes no mystery from the fact that the Congress and its constituent trade unions will never get an opportunity to receive a new legal address on the territory of Belarus. As a result, as masterminded by the presidential political technologists, the independent trade union movement of Belarus will face a real danger of liquidation," reads the statement. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/union --------------------------------------------------------- SLOGAN "HE MUST GO!" IN REGIONS OF BELARUS 14:42 09/01/2003 Grodno residents got dozens thousand copies of new issue of "ZUBR/BISON" newspaper right after New year holiday. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/zubr --------------------------------------------------------- DUTCH CITIZENS DEMAND TRUTH ABOUT DISAPPEARED PEOPLE 13:45 09/01/2003 Dutch group of Human right organization Amnesty nternational send another appeal to Lukashenko with demand to make clear the situation with disappearance of his opponents. The appeal was signed by 452 citizens of Nederland. They are regular residents of Dutch towns. "More and more people in Nederland are worried by absence of progress in investigation of disappearances of Dmitry Zavadsky, Yury Zaharenko, Victor Gonchar and Anatoly Krasovsky. As a sign of our worry 452 Dutch citizens signed the petition that I'm sending in attachment. 140 people sent you letter personally, 312 agreed with them through web-site of Amnesty International. Their names are presented in the attached list. They follow the information about this cases that appears in our media more and more often," writes chairman of Noordorp group of Amnesty International Rrik Kissing in his letter. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/amnesty --------------------------------------------------------- POLISH AMBASSADOR TO BELARUS APOLOGIZES FOR SITUATION ON THE BORDER 12:28 09/01/2003, Interfax Information Services, B.V Polands ambassador to Belarus has offered his apologies for the situation that evolved on the Belarussian-Polish border, Belarussian television reported in the early hours of Tuesday. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/benzin --------------------------------------------------------- BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION MEMBERS EXCLUDED FROM LOCAL ELECTION BODY 12:20 09/01/2003 The leader of a group of Zhodzina town council deputies, Alyaksandr Valchanin, who is also currently the coordinator of the local election bloc For Social Development, and the coordinator of the Changes! Our Choice coalition, Alyaksey Lapitski, have filed a complaint with the head of the Central Electoral Committee, Lidziya Yarmoshyna. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/zhodzina --------------------------------------------------------- ANALYSIS: RUSSIA IN 2003 12:17 09/01/2003, Sam Vaknin, The Washington Times Russia faces more than merely a skewed wealth distribution or dependence on mineral wealth. Its difficulties are myriad. On cue from Washington, it is again being hyped in the Western media as a sure-fire investment destination and a pair of safe geostrategic hands. But the truth is that it is a Third World country with First World pretensions (and nuclear weapons). It exhibits all the risks attendant to other medium-sized developing countries and emerging economies. External debt repayments next year will exceed $15 billion. It can easily afford them with oil prices anywhere above $20 and foreign exchange reserves the highest since 1991. Russia even prepaid some of its debt mountain this year. But if its export proceeds were to decline by 40 percent in the forthcoming 3-4 years, Russia will, yet again, be forced to reschedule or default. Every $1 decline in Ural crude oil prices translates to more than $1 billion lost income to the government. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/russia --------------------------------------------------------- PROCURACY SET TO HALT INVESTIGATION INTO GONCHAR, KRASOVSKY'S ABDUCTION CASE 11:46 09/01/2003 Detective of the Minsk city procuracy Vladimir Chumachenko told Radio Svaboda that he intends to halt investigation into the disappearance of Viktor Gonchar and Anatoly Krasovsky. This decision hasn't been passed yet, though the concomitant documents are already being prepared, said Vladimir Chumachenko. He explains his desire by the futility of efforts to successfully finish the case in the near future. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/gonchar --------------------------------------------------------- BELARUS TAKES NORTHERN KOREA'S SIDE 11:44 09/01/2003 Belarus "upholds the swift solution of the North Korean crisis by peaceful means and the prevention of possible escalation of conflict". "Rosbalt" correspondent was told on Wednesday in the press-center of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry that this position of the Belarusian side was presented during the extracurricular session of the directors' board of the International Atomic Energy Agency. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/09/kim --------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE January 09, 2003 www.charter97.org -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=media.charter97 http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com