CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 03, 2003
www.charter97.org
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"GASPROM" REQUIRES CASH PAYMENT FROM BELARUS
11:31 03/02/2003, Izvestia

Belarus' exterior indebtedness for energy resources constituted on January 1
$226mln. Belarusian consumers' interior debt before the country's energy complex
amounted to some $512mln.

The year 2002 saw an improvement of situation with energy payment inside the
country, said the Minister of energy of Belarus Vladimir Semashko. Domestic consumers
paid 97,8% of their bill to the "Belenergo" concern, which exceeds last year's
parameters by 13%. In all their payments the percentage of real money transactions
has been on the rise.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/gazprom

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UCP UPHOLDS PEOPLE'S MARCH "FOR BETTER LIFE!"
11:18 03/02/2003

At the meeting of the UCP political council last weekend it was determined that
they would support the national rally People's March "For Better Life!", scheduled
for March 12. Anatoly Lebedko said that in an interview to the UCP press-center:
"Our party decided to uphold the Congress of intelligentsia of Belarus and People's
March "For Better Life!" due to take place on March 12. Why will we participate
in that march? In the end of last year UCP stressed that we got to carry out
less street rallies but with a greater number of participants. And so we came
up with a proposal to move the autumn events to the next year and insisted on
social-economic motivation of actions. As far as the afore-mentioned action meets
these criteria, we will support it, including in the format of a de-facto underway
election campaign."
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/march

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OSCE PA DELEGATES HEAD FOR MINSK ON FEBRUARY 5
14:50 03/02/2003

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly official delegation, headed by the chair of the special
OSCE PA group for Belarus Uta Tsapf, will stay in Minsk for two days. BelaPAN
was told in the OSCE press-center that among those delegated to Minsk would be
Urban Alin (Sweden), Fred Ponsombi (Great Britain), Gabor Hars (Hungary) and
program employee of OSCE PA Paul Legendre.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/pa_osce

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VALERY LEVONEVSKY DENIED REGISTRATION AS CANDIDATE FOR DEPUTY
14:48 03/02/2003

Chairman of the Striking committee of Belarusian entrepreneurs Valery Levonevsky
was denied registration as candidate for the deputy into the city and regional
council of deputies. Valery Levonevsky was nominated through a  signature collection
motion. According to the entrepreneur himself, he was denied registration under
formal and trumped-up reasons: in his income declaration he didn't put the word
"none" in a paragraph on incomes, credits and subsidies. Instead, Levonevsky
left empty spots.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/levonevsky

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LUKASHENKO PLEDGES TO COOPERATE, TRADE WITH IRAQ
13:00 03/02/2003

Belarus upholds peaceful ways of the Iraqi problem's solution, said during the
January 21 press-conference Alexander Lukashenko. "If the incident is all about
oil, Americans will manage to reach consensus with Saddam, I'm sure. He doesn't
care to whom he sells it. Russia doesn't need it, for she sells oil herself.
We can't buy it there too. One forth of their oil is used by the States. And
so Iraq will sell it to them. Why waging wars, I wonder? Can this problem be
solved only by means of armed conflict? So we support peaceful resolution within
the UN format,"  said Lukashenko.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/iraq

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LEVONEVSKY CALLS TO CANCEL DECREE ON SINGLE TAXATION FOR ENTREPRENEURS
12:58 03/02/2003

Chairman of the Striking committee of the Belarusian entrepreneurs Valery Levonevsky
addressed with an open letter the deputies of the "national assembly" concerning
Alexander Lukashenko's recent decree "On single tax, due to be levied from entrepreneurs
and some other measures on regulating entrepreneurial activities". According
to the businessman, the decree is legally unsophisticated and strongly restricts
the rights of citizens, as envisaged by the Constitution. Valery Levonevsky called
on deputies to either review the document or cancel it.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/dekret

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AVIATION DISPATCHERS' TRADE UNIONS COMPLAINS TO ILO
12:54 03/02/2003

The Belarusian trade union of aviation dispatchers, member of the Belarusian
Congress of democratic trade unions, intends to file a complaint to the ILO,
in addition to the one, submitted in 2000, over the state's interference in their
trade union's sovereign affairs.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/mot

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WAGES CAN'T RISE
12:53 03/02/2003, www.praca.by

For the very first time the Ministry of statistics and analysis frankly mentioned
the basic reasons for the fall in the labor payment level: increase in the amount
of ready goods' reserves at the warehouses, slowdown in the production process
and, consequently, increase in the duration of involuntary holiday-leaves, as
well as organizations' transition to a shorter working day and/or week.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/zp

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BELARUS TOPS CIS, EUROPE'S LIST ON PRICE-GROWTH RATES
11:31 03/02/2003

Belarus takes the lead among the CIS and European countries as to the level of
price-growth. According to the Ministry of statistics and analysis of Belarus,
over the first three weeks of January prices on consumer goods in the country
rose by 2,6% (over the first week  by 0,4%, upon the results of the two weeks
 by 1,1%). In the first three weeks of December 2002 prices went 2,5% uphill,
while over the first three weeks of January 2002  4,2%. In the year 2003 the
government and the National Bank of Belarus forecasted 18-24% price-increase.
Though their forecast for the year 2002 amounted to 20-27%, in reality the prices
skyrocketed by 34,8%.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/inf

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LUKASHENKO CRITICAL OF US AMBASSADOR
11:27 03/02/2003, Finmarket

Alexander Lukashenko strongly criticized the US ambassador in Minsk Michael Kozak
for his alleged "intervention into the internal affairs of Belarus". Speaking
at the January 31 press-conference, Lukashenko accused the ambassador, not mentioning
his name though, of visiting Gomel on Wednesday and signing with the local authorities
a cooperation agreement on rendering US aid for the restoration of regional hospital.
The ambassador also met there with a few candidates, balloting at the local elections.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/posol

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EBERGARD HAIKEN STILL HARBORS HOPES
11:27 03/02/2003

Newly appointed OSCE head of mission in Belarus Ebergard Haiken raised hopes
that relations between official Minsk and OSCE, which deteriorated over the past
years, will turn better. Haiken said that in an interview to the "Deutche Welle"
last Friday.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/osce

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UCP CALLS LOCAL ELECTIONS UNDEMOCRATIC
11:23 03/02/2003

"Upcoming elections into the local councils will be undemocratic, whereas the
elected bodies of local power will not have due legitimacy,"  IA "Rosbalt" was
told by the representatives of the United Civil Party of Belarus, commenting
on the local elections campaign, which is currently underway in the country.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/ucpb

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EU MUST EXAMINE TRADE UNION RIGHTS ABUSES IN BELARUS
11:23 03/02/2003

International Confederation of free trade unions demanded from the European Union
to investigate into the trade unions' rights violations in Belarus. RIA "Novosti"
reports that world's leading trade union association, enrolling 158mln workers
and civil servants in 150 countries of the globe, addressed with a concomitant
official letter the European commissar on trade Pascal Lami.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/trade

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RUSSIAN TV CHANNELS' AIR NOT TO BE CUT DOWN
11:20 03/02/2003, NEWSru.com

In Moscow there finished negotiations between RTR channel of Russia, National
TV of Belarus and leadership of the National radio-television transmission center,
RTR press-service reports that in course of the meeting the sides solved all
problematic issues on two Russian channels' broadcasting on the territory of
Belarus. In particular, they reached an agreement on providing Russian RTR channel
with 20 hours of daily air, which is more than before, reports RIA "Novosti".
They will also fully resume the radio broadcasting of "Radio Russia" and "Mayak"
on the territory of Belarus.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/03/tv
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 03, 2003
www.charter97.org