CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 15, 2003
www.charter97.org
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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT UPHOLDS APPEAL TO EU ON BELARUS
16:12 17/02/2003

The European Parliament supported the proposal of the international trade union
structures to the European Parliament concerning Belarus. In early February the
International Confederation of free trade unions, the European confederation
of trade unions and the Universal confederation of labor forwarded to the EU
trade commissioner Pascal Lami an address, calling on EU to initiate official
investigation into the situation with the freedom of associations in Belarus
and, if need be, halt the generalized system of preferences' treatment, previously
enjoyed by Belarus. This system provides less developed countries with a more
favorable regime in foreign trade.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/trade

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LUKASHENKO TO BUILD ATOMIC STATION ON TERRITORY OF BELARUS
11:53 17/02/2003

Alexander Lukashenko deems it necessary to build atomic energy stations on the
country's soil. RIA "Novosti" correspondent reports that speaking on Friday before
the students of the radio-technical university Lukashenko said the following
(quote): "Its construction (meaning the atomic power station) would be one of
the cornerstones of the country's independence and sovereignty, especially in
the energy sphere".
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/atom

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UNITY IN ACTION!
11:29 17/02/2003

On February 15 Minsk hosted a meeting of leaders of the entrepreneurial union
of the Republic of Belarus, whose motto was "Unity in Action!" Leonid Malakhov
(co-chairman of the "Private Property"), Valery Levonevsky (chairman of the Striking
committee of trade unions of Belarus), Anatoly Shumchenko (United council of
entrepreneurs) passed a joint communiqué on the support of the People's
March "For Better Life" on March 12 and on holding a national one-day strike
on March 12. Leaders of entrepreneurs concluded that under the present-day circumstances
it is only common activities, which can be of real effect. And so they ruled
that all further events in protection of businessmen would be carried out in
unison.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/pred

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PUTIN INVITES LUKASHENKO TO KREMLIN
16:31 17/02/2003

Today Alexander Lukashenko will have a phone conversation with the Russian president
Vladimir Putin. The head of Russia invited his Belarusian colleague to pay visit
to Moscow in order to engage in the festive events, dedicated to the Day of Homeland's
Defender and 85th anniversary of Russian military forces. Both incumbents will
hold a working meeting on the Russian-Belarusian relations. Expectedly, Lukashenko's
visit to Moscow will take place on February 22-23.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/putin

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US AMBASSADOR GREETS BAJ
16:29 17/02/2003

American ambassador in Belarus Michael Kozak congratulated the Belarusian Association
of Journalists with the winning of "Golden feather" award of the International
Newspaper Association in November last year for BAJ's brave confronting of Alexander
Lukashenko's unleashed repressions. The diplomat voiced his greetings at the
official reception, organized by Kozak's family in Raubichi on February 12. Below
you may familiarize yourself with the text of his solemn speech.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/usa

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RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TURNS INTO BELARUSIAN CONSPIRATOR
12:22 17/02/2003, Roman Yakovslevsky, Nezavisimaya Gazeta

Russian ambassador in the Republic of Belarus set up in Minsk a "Club of business
people" (of closed type). That's a quite extraordinary move on part of the head
of Russia's diplomatic mission, who took up the post less than a year ago. His
predecessors have previously only visited official cabinets and enjoyed random
meetings with Alexander Lukashenko and his closest encirclement in the presidential
Drozdy residence.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/posol

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NIGHT RAID ON VALERY LEVONEVSKY'S APARTMENT
11:55 17/02/2003

Overnight on February 15-16, 2003 the law-enforcers raided the Grodno house of
the chairman of the Striking committee of entrepreneurs of Belarus Valery Levonevsky.
The man has just returned from Minsk, where he reached consensus with all country's
major entrepreneurial structures on implementation of joint actions of protest
in February-April 2003, including the People's March "For Better Life!"
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/levon

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ARRESTS ON SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY
11:51 17/02/2003

During the street action "I Love Belarus!", held by the Young Front on February
14 in Minsk, police detained 6 dissenters.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/mf

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PEOPLE'S MARCH "FOR BETTER LIFE!" PRECEDED BY APPREHENSIONS
11:49 17/02/2003, ZUBR

Five ZUBR activists were apprehended on February 14-16 for pasting flyers with
People's March "For Better Life!" logos. On February 14 Veronika Kupchenko, Pavel
Yuhnevich, Aleksei Levkovich and Evgeny Afnagel were gluing the flyers near Nemiga,
when they got detained at approximately 8p.m. by the law-enforcers armed with
machine-guns.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/12march

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ZUBR PASS OUT FLYERS AT MINSK MARKET-PLACES
11:47 17/02/2003, ZUBR

Over the last weekend ZUBR activists distributed a few thousand flyers among
Minsk entrepreneurs. The action covered the following market-places: "Chervensky",
"Tractor", "Impuls", "Olymp", "Parking", "Palace of sport" and "Kupalovsky".
The flyers contained information about the press-conference of national artist
Zinaida Bondarenko, "Belarusfilm" cinema studio cameraman Tatiana Loginova, wife
of the missing businessman Irina Krasovskaya, Charter'97 coordinator Ludmila
Gryaznova and ZUBR activist Igor Tolstik, at which the ladies called on everyone
to join the People's March and also an address by the "Private Property" to the
country's small business. Over the next couple of days the flyers will be passed
around the businessmen, working at other Minsk markets.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/zubr

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LUKASHENKO'S PONDERING THIRD TERM NOMINATION
11:41 17/02/2003

At the meeting with students and representatives of the Belarusian State University
of programming and radio electronics Alexander Lukashenko said that he does not
rule out a possibility of participating in his third consecutive presidential
race.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/luka

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BELARUS SET TO HOLD LARGE-SCALE MILITARY MANEUVERS
11:31 17/02/2003

Belarusian Defense Minister, colonel-general Leonid Maltsev said that they plan
to organize massive military exercises in the country. "Interfax" reports that
the military trainings are scheduled for October 2003.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/17/war
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 15, 2003
www.charter97.org