CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 19, 2003
www.charter97.org
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POOR BELARUSIANS POORER THAN POOR PAPUANS
16:26 19/02/2003, Ales Khmelnitsky, Radio Ratsya

The Belarusian government embarked on the fulfillment of program on poverty prevention.
Their partner will be the UN representation, headquartered in Belarus. However,
the sides have different vision as to the amount of the poor, inhabiting the
territory of Belarus. UN considers the figure to equal to 30%, while the Belarusian
government claims there are only 7% of them.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/bedny

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FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN!
15:41 19/02/2003

Minsk regional association of parents with many children intends to engage in
the People's March "For Better Life!". Its members are ready to take to the streets
on March 12 in order to force the government to solve the problems encountered
by the families with many children. Today lots of them are totally forsaken by
the state and dwell on the edge of extinction.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/mam

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BELARUS TO TAKE LEAD IN IRAQ'S FOREIGN TRADE TURNOVER
11:28 19/02/2003

Iraq takes interest in the cooperation development with the Republic of Belarus,
said yesterday in the public press-center of the Palace of press during the meeting
with journalists Iraq's plenipotentiary ambassador in Belarus Salman Zeidan.
In his view, Belarus has real opportunity to actively collaborate with Iraq in
all diverse spheres of national economy. "I'd like Belarus to top the list of
Iraq's trade turnover,"  underscored Salman Zeidan: "Your country is a reliable
and worthy partner. We are aspiring to develop trade-economic and political relations
with Belarus."
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/shlem

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SADDAM HUSSEIN SET TO PAY VISIT TO LUKASHENKO
11:11 19/02/2003

Iraqi ambassador in Belarus Salman Zeidan didn't rule out a possibility of Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein's trip to Minsk, of which he spoke on February 18 during
the press-conference in Minsk, dedicated to the latest situation developments
around Iraq. Salman Zeidan emphasized that Hussein will visit Minsk in no time
after his official invitation to do so by the Belarusian leadership.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/saddam

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TWO BELARUSIAN DELEGATIONS EN ROUTE TO VIENNA
16:48 19/02/2003

Official and opposition delegations from Belarus will engage in another session
of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. During the session the Permanent Committee
will consider the "national assembly's" possible membership in the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly. Leader of the Belarusian liberal-democrats Sergei Gaidukevich will
deliver a speech on the necessity to legitimize the lower chamber of the "parliament".
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/delegation

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ALEXANDER BUKHVOSTOV CHARGES FTU LEADERSHIP OVER "FOUL PLAY"
16:24 19/02/2003

"They are playing a foul game,"  commented the leader of the national trade
union of automobile and agricultural machinery Alexander Bukhvostov on the ruling
of the Council of Federation of the Belarusian trade unions, entitled "On the
unification of trade unions and industrial workers".
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/buch

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BHC DRAFTS REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN BELARUS
16:21 19/02/2003

On February 18 the Belarusian Helsinki Committee presented to the public and
journalists a report on the human rights violations in Belarus, drafted by the
International Helsinki Federation (IHF). The document, complied on the basis
of the materials from 14 BHC public receptions and mass media reports, lists
human rights violations' occurrences, which characterize the situation in general,
as well as discloses most blatant abuses over the year 2002. The report also
cites the facts of state's infringement on such fundamental human freedoms as
the freedom of speech, associations, conscience, peaceful assemblies and a right
for fair trial.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/bhk

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ZUBR UPHOLDS POLITICAL INMATES
13:13 19/02/2003

Graffiti "Freedom to political prisoners!" signed by ZUBR/BISON appeared on the
wall of the prison, where participants of the action "I Love Belarus" on February,
14 are being kept.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/zubr

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WHY UNITY IS ESSENTIAL
13:12 19/02/2003, By Zbigniew Brzezinski, "The Washington Post"

A little more than a year ago, America was basking in international solidarity
generated by the crime of Sept. 11, 2001, and in worldwide admiration for its
spectacularly effective military termination of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
A year later, there is perhaps just one country in the world whose public opinion
unambiguously supports the prospective U.S. war against Iraq.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/edinstvo

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BELARUS RAISED TRADE TURNOVER WITH ASIA, AFRICA IN 2002
11:35 19/02/2003

In the year 2002 Belarus increased trade turnover with Asian and African countries.
It mostly supplies to these regions fertilizers, special machinery and metallurgic
goods. In general, the volume of Belarusian export to Asian countries constituted
over $510mln and rose by 15%. The African continent received from Belarus goods
worth $80,3mln, which is 6,2% more than in the previous year. Meantime, Belarus
sells more than it buys from both Asia and Africa, for the exterior trade balance
with these regions is positive.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/afrika

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WAR IN IRAQ TO SHATTER BELARUS ECONOMICALLY
11:19 19/02/2003

Looming military invasion of Iraq may seriously damage Belarus' economic interests,
said the head of the commission for economy, budget and finances of the Belarusian
"parliament" Aleksei Vaganov, reports "Interfax". According to the MP, the start
of the military campaign is fraught with the rise of prices on energy resources.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/udar

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IRINA KRASOVSKAYA BLAMES LUKASHENKO OVER CYNICISM
11:17 19/02/2003

At the meeting with the Interior Ministry officials Alexander Lukashenko drew
their attention to the fact that the whereabouts of over a thousand missing Belarusian
nationals remain unknown. The wife of the disappeared Belarusian businessman
and public figure Anatoly Krasovsky Irina Krasovskaya called his words cynic.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/zinizm

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ORTHODOX CHURCH SIGNS DEAL WITH FRONTIER TROOPS
11:14 19/02/2003

The State committee for frontier troops and the Belarusian Orthodox church signed
yesterday a cooperation agreement. The persons, whose signatures were put under
its text, were the head of the committee, lieutenant-general Alexander Pavlovsky
and the archbishop of the Belarusian Orthodox church Filaret.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/19/sogl
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 19, 2003
www.charter97.org