Subscribe.Ru -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE January 17, 2003 www.charter97.org --------------------------------------------------------- BELARUS INTO EUROPE 17:04 17/01/2003 60,9% Belarusians, according to the recent NISEPI poll, would vote in favor of Belarus' accession to EU, if asked at the referendum. The overwhelming majority of Belarusians want to see their country as part of the democratic Europe. Only 10,9% of our countrymen would vote against that. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/17/eu --------------------------------------------------------- INTELLIGENTSIA MUST MOVE OVER TO REAL ACTION FROM KITCHEN CHATS! 17:02 17/01/2003, Olga Babak, Radio Ratsya An assembly of the Belarusian intelligentsia "Independent Belarus free and affluent society" will be held in Minsk on February 16. This date was set yesterday by the participants of the working group of the assembly. On Sunday, January 19, at 11 o'clock the Minsk-based Palace of arts will host the meeting of capital's intelligentsia, which is believed to become a rehearsal before the All-Belarusian forum. The delegates will pass a special resolution, expressing their attitude to the recent situation developments in the country. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/17/pahonya --------------------------------------------------------- BELARUS IN "HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH" REPORT 11:43 17/01/2003, Radio Svaboda Last year the government of Belarus continued to exert pressure on opposition, NGOs, independent mass media outlets and religious minorities, underscored "Human Rights Watch". The report of this human rights watchdog reads that the terrorist attack on America on September 11, 2002 distracted the attention of the international community from questionable presidential elections in Belarus, thus enabling Alexander Lukashenko to intensify crackdown on civil society, not fearing international repercussion. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/17/hrw --------------------------------------------------------- YABLOKO PLEADS WITH PUTIN TO PROTECT RUSSIAN MEDIA IN BELARUS 15:51 17/01/2003, NTV The leader of the Russian democratic party "Yabloko" Grigory Yavlinsky and the head of the same Belarusian public association Olga Abramova wrote an open letter to Putin, in which they raise concerns over the situation with the Russian electronic media in Belarus, reports "Interfax" agency. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/17/yabloko --------------------------------------------------------- STANISLAV SHUSHKEVICH: IF RUSSIA STRIPS BELARUS OF SOVEREIGNTY, IT WON'T BE FOR LONG 15:49 17/01/2003 On Sunday Minsk will be visited by the Russian president Vladimir Putin, who intends to engage in the session of the Supreme State Council of the Russian-Belarusian union. Putin and his colleague Alexander Lukashenko will discuss the future of integration. "Vremya Novostei" special correspondent in Minsk Natalya Viktorova posed her questions in this regard to the former Speaker of the Belarusian parliament Stanislav Shushkevich, one of the co-authors of the 1991 agreements, which brought about the dissolution of the USSR. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/17/stan --------------------------------------------------------- PUTIN, LUKASHENKO RENDEZVOUS TÊTE-À-TÊTE 11:49 17/01/2003 Before the meeting of the Supreme State Council, scheduled for January 20, there will be held personal meeting in Minsk between Alexander Lukashenko and Russian president Vladimir Putin, said at the recent briefing deputy head of the FM information department of Belarus Andrei Savinykh. In course of the meeting, he said, the presidents will discuss the union state problems, bilateral economic cooperation, cooperation within the CIS framework and a range of key issues of the world politics. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/17/putin --------------------------------------------------------- MOGILEV OPPOSITIONISTS DENIED ACCESS TO DISTRICT COMMISSIONS 11:47 17/01/2003 Members of democratic opposition's electoral camp of the Mogilev region claim that none of their fellowmen was included into the district commissions' composition. Nominees of the parties were either under various pretexts denied a right to become commission members or simply determined to abstain from nomination, considering it pointless anyway. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/17/local --------------------------------------------------------- LUKASHENKO DEFAMATION LAWSUIT PASSED OVER TO COURT 11:45 17/01/2003 On January 16 the Central district procuracy of Minsk passed a final decision on the case of Oksana Novikova, charged with slandering Alexander Lukashenko. Now the case files will be forwarded to the central district court. According to the law, the lady may be fined or sentenced to involuntary social labor. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/01/17/kleveta --------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE January 17, 2003 www.charter97.org -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- : http://subscribe.ru/member/unsub?grp=media.charter97 http://subscribe.ru/ mailto:ask@subscribe.ru