The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE February 03, 2003 www.charter97.org --------------------------------------------------------- "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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE February 03, 2003 www.charter97.org -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=media.charter97 http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com