The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE February 10, 2003 www.charter97.org --------------------------------------------------------- WOMEN TAKE OVER RELAY BATON 16:08 10/02/2003 At today's press-conference prominent Belarusian women declared their support of the People's March "For Better Life!" the national artist of Belarus Zinaida Bondarenko, laureate of the state USSR award, cameraman Tatiana Loginova, 13th Supreme Soviet deputy, professor of economy Ludmila Gryaznova, wife of the missing Belarusian businessman and public figure Anatoly Krasovsky, professor of pedagogy Irina Krasovskaya, student and ZUBR movement's activist Irina Tolstik. The ladies shared their discontent over the policy of the Belarusian authorities and called on the Belarusian nation to engage in the spring protest action. "We are opposed to impoverishment and fall in the standard of living. Many times have we tried to knock on the government's door but always to no avail. We no longer have access to the parliamentary tribune, for they kicked us out of there. We enjoy no access to radio, TV and press, which are all under state's control. The regime only recognizes power and power we are altogether. And so, we call upon our intelligentsia, thinking and suffering people to take to the streets of Minsk on March 12 and stand for ourselves, our better life and finally put an end to this weirdness, turmoil, this constant humiliation and experiment over the Belarusians, which has been lasting for nine years now. Let's stop dying out, stop weeping in the kitchens, stop getting poor but rather stand on our feet and go fight for our future. We are worthy of it. We are Belarusians. We are the Europeans. And so we want to live in a European country," declared deputy of the Supreme Soviet, professor of economy Ludmila Gryaznova. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/12march --------------------------------------------------------- "OPEN DOORS WORLD WATCH": CHRISTIANS UNDER FIRE IN BELARUS 16:50 10/02/2003, BDG International Christian human rights organization "Open Doors World Watch" published a list of countries, where Christians undergo persecutions. The country, which tops the list, is North Korea of the "axis of evil". Belarus comes bottom of the list on the 50ieth spot. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/odww --------------------------------------------------------- UNIQUE EMISSION CENTER TO BE MOSCOW-BASED SAYS KUDRIN 11:12 10/02/2003 Russia and Belarus coordinated their positions concerning the common emission center of the future "union state", due to be formed on the basis of Russia's Central Bank, said Vice-Premier, Minister of finances of Russia Aleksei Kudrin. "At the moment we coordinated our positions on the emission center. It will be a common one, set up on the premises of the Russian Central Bank, to which Belarusians already consented," underscored Kudrin, speaking on Friday in an interview to the radio "Echo of Moscow". Meantime, he stressed that it doesn't really matter where this emission center will be located geographically. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/kudrin --------------------------------------------------------- DEAR COLLEAGUES! 11:02 10/02/2003 Today on February 10 at 11a.m. there will be held a press-conference on "Women's condition in Belarus and their support of the People's March as the way out of deadlock". Participants of the press-conference: National artist of Belarus ZINAIDA BONDARENKO Laureate of the State USSR Award, filmmaker TATIANA LOGINOVA Deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet of Belarus, candidate of economic sciences LUDMILA GRYAZNOVA Wife of the missing Belarusian businessman and public figure Anatoly Krasovsky IRINA KRASOVSKAYA Belarusian writer OLGA IPATOVA Student IRINA TOLSTIK The press-conference will be hosted in the office of the "Rabochy" newspaper's editorial board. Address: Svobody, 23 (entrance from Engels street). Kind regards, Charter'97 press-center http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/press --------------------------------------------------------- MR.HAIKEN IS SAID TO ARRIVE IN MINSK ON FEBRUARY 9 16:53 10/02/2003 The OSCE office's budget and number of its personnel will remain unchanged. We'll see whether the new OSCE mission's head will manage to combine in his work the approaches, which will satisfy both the Belarusian and European sides. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/osce --------------------------------------------------------- IVONKA SURVILLA CALLS ON BELARUSIANS TO CELEBRATE PROCLAMATION OF BPR 16:44 10/02/2003 Chairwoman of the Belarusian People's Republic's Council Ivonka Survilla urged the Belarusian public to take part in festive celebrations on another anniversary of the BPR's proclamation: "On March 25, 1918 BPR Council proclaimed Belarus as an independent, democratic country. If we had an opportunity to protect our newly gained independence, our country would now occupy its worthy place in the family of other world's free nations. We would be living normally, not fearing to speak out our minds and vote for those candidates, who can do a lot for our good and the good of our homeland. Our goal then would be not fleeing abroad in search of freedom and bread, but building life in the country, as our neighbors now do. However, in reality everything turned out quite the opposite way." http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/bnr --------------------------------------------------------- CANDIDATE'S RADIO ADDRESSES LIABLE TO CENSORSHIP 16:42 10/02/2003 Chairman of the Vitebsk regional organization of the Belarusian Social-Democratic Party (Narodnaya Gromada) Aleksei Gavrutikov deems that radio speeches of some of the candidates for the deputies of the local councils are exposed to censorship. BelaPAN reports that on February 6 the radio address of the candidate from the Vitebsk region Aleksei Gavrutikov has been removed from air. In his speech the man addressed the region's prosecutor with a request to find out why the high-ranking officials of the region and Vitebsk violate the "Law on citizens' appeals", not responding to the social-democrats' inquiry for two months. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/local --------------------------------------------------------- COURT RULES TO FINE MIKHAIL CHIGIR $1M 11:18 10/02/2003 The Frunzensky district court of Minsk ruled to fine former Belarusian Premier Mikhail Chigir over 2bln Belarusian rubles ($1mln) in a lawsuit, filed against ex-PM by the "BelagropromBank", which he headed eight years ago. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/chigir --------------------------------------------------------- HE'S MAD AT HER 11:17 10/02/2003, Viktor Martinovich, "Belorusskaya Gazeta" "Today they told me that Alexander Lukashenko is kind of angry with me," said at the recent press-conference the member of OSCE PA special group in Belarus Uta Tsapf, finishing her visit to Belarus. The president refused to host a reception for the European deputies, although they had submitted an official request on the audience. The group, consisting of Uta Tsapf, Urban Alin and lord Fred Ponsobi, headed home with a feeling that no democratization is underway in Belarus, which means that they will not reinstate Belarus' status at the forthcoming OSCE PA March assembly in Vienna. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/luka --------------------------------------------------------- GOVERNMENT'S FAILURES PUT OVER ON COMMON PEOPLE'S SHOULDERS 11:11 10/02/2003 Belarusian industrial trade unions are opposed to the idea of laying the burden of government's mistakes on the shoulders of common workers, reads the special statement of the country's leading industrial trade unions, forwarded to the government over the deterioration of the social-economic state of affairs in the country: both of the workers from industrial sector of economy and the whole population in general. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/gov --------------------------------------------------------- USA PROPOSE TO BELARUSIAN BANKS TO HALT RELATIONS WITH NAURU BANKS 11:09 10/02/2003 Belarusian Foreign Minister delivered to the knowledge of the National Bank of Belarus the content of the official US embassy's missive to our country, in which the States plead with the Belarusian banks to stop correspondent relations with the banks of Nauru, for this country, as claimed by the US government, is "implicated in money-laundering operations". The letter of such a content of 27.01.2003 was forwarded by the National Bank to the Belarusian minor banks for the notification purposes. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/bank --------------------------------------------------------- CROSSED SIGNALS 11:04 10/02/2003, BY Andrew Stroehlein, "Time Europe" Minsk just cant seem to make up its mind. One minute, Belarus is pushing Russian media out of its territory; the next minute, it is declaring undying love for its bigger Slav brother, hoping to join Russia in a single political entity. Often criticised for human rights abuses and interference with free speech, the Belarusian authorities are now again under fire from a wide range of critics, including Russian Democratic Party Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky, for closing three Russian radio stations at the start of the year. Minsk said it would replace the closed stations Golos Rossii, Mayak and Yunost with domestic programming. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/10/minsk --------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE February 10, 2003 www.charter97.org -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=media.charter97 http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com