CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 20, 2003
www.charter97.org
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ZUBR OFFICE COMES UNDER ATTACK
16:45 20/02/2003

Today unidentified attackers tried to break in ZUBR's press-center office. Around
5a.m. someone slang a rock into the house. The movement's activist, who was there
in the office, was lucky enough to avoid getting a trauma from the broken window
glass. A few minutes later the attackers took out the metal grate from another
window and tried to penetrate into the room. However, at realizing that someone
was in there, the evildoers fled away. ZUBR press-secretary Alexander Otroschenkov,
who was in the office then, links the incident with the prepared People's March
"For Better Life!", in which ZUBR plans to most actively engage. ZUBR coordinator
Vladimir Kobets said that such hooligan methods, used by the regime, would never
be able to stop them and preparatory activities to the march will go on.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/20/zubr

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OSCE LEGITIMIZES "PARLIAMENT"
12:39 20/02/2003

At the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's session in Vienna they held voting today
on the status of the "national assembly" of Belarus. UCP press-service reports
that 18 delegations voted for postponement of the issue's consideration till
next session, 5 abstained and 20 voted in favor of legitimization. The "national
assembly" of Belarus hasn't been recognized by the OSCE PA as a legitimate legislative
body ever after the illegitimate referendum of 1996, which prolonged Lukashenko's
tenure in office.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/20/osce

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BELARUSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY DOESN'T INTEND TO EVACUATE ITS CITIZENS FROM IRAQ
11:19 20/02/2003

Most countries of the globe began evacuating their citizens in connection with
the looming military invasion of Iraq by USA. Belarus' neighbors are also following
suit: Ukraine, for instance, left only one official in the embassy. A group of
Russian diplomats also departed Baghdad. Belarus, however, isn't going to withdraw
their diplomats from the city, nor the workers, employed under contracts there,
Radio Svaboda was told by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. The statesmen claim
that any evacuation plans are premature, while the real danger of American air
strikes is too exaggerated. As claimed by the independent political pundits,
by so doing the Belarusian leadership once again demonstrates to the world their
solidarity with Saddam Hussein's pariah regime.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/20/saddam

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CRAWLING CIS SUMMIT
16:39 20/02/2003, Tatiana Rubleva, Elena Baikova, "Nezavisimaya Gazeta"

The Commonwealth of Independent States, which has been long perceived as a politically
dead structure, seems to reanimate. The initiative emanates from president Vladimir
Putin, who has been particularly active these days. The head of Russia initiated
unscheduled meeting with the incumbents of five CIS countries in Moscow on February
23. Pundits wonder why on earth would he need to stage what they call "a crawling
CIS summit", for since the moment of their last meeting in Kiev there has passed
less than a month.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/20/sng

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KOZIK DISTORTS OUTCOMES OF MEETING WITH RUSSIA'S TRADE UNIONISTS
16:37 20/02/2003, www.praca.by

On February 18 in Smolensk there took place a meeting of delegations of the Federation
of independent trade unions of Russia and Federation of trade unions of Belarus.
They raised the issues of bilateral relations, the treaty on cooperation, the
work between the Coordination councils of FITUR and FTU and other forms of cooperation,
along with the membership in international trade union organizations and relations
with the International Labor Organization.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/20/prof

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BHC REPORTS OF ILLICIT FORMATION OF ELECTORAL CONSTITUENCIES
11:25 20/02/2003

Due to the violations, which occurred in course of the local elections' preparatory
stage, the Molodechno affiliate of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee addressed
the Central Electoral Commission for Belarus, Minsk regional electoral commission
and Molodechno inter-district procuracy with the complaint over the occurring
violations of legislation.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/20/bhc

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BELARUS, IRAQI OLYMPIC COMMITTEES PLEDGE TO COLLABORATE
11:23 20/02/2003

National Olympic Committees of Belarus and Iraq will sign today a deal on cooperation.
"Mediafact" was told in the Belarusian NOC that the agreement envisages organization
of joint trainings of the Belarusian and Iraqi athletes, exchange of coaches,
sports medics, experts and scientific personnel. Analogous contracts have been
previously signed with the Olympic Committees of Italy and Lithuania, while the
ones with Moldova, Azerbaijan and Libya are still in the preparatory stage.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/20/sport

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STATESMEN HOLD TIGHTER GRIP ON POWER IN BELARUS
11:22 20/02/2003, Izvestia

There are practically no state institutions left in Belarus, whose employees
would be elected and not appointed. The officials' power is next to unlimited,
while they receive small wages and extort money from clients. "Izvestia" correspondent
reports that such a concluding remark is contained in another of the Belarusian
Helsinki Committee's rapports to the International Helsinki Federation for human
rights.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/20/korrupz
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
February 20, 2003
www.charter97.org