The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE February 27, 2003 www.charter97.org --------------------------------------------------------- OPPOSITION IN PALACE OF GOVERNMENT 17:13 27/02/2003 Despite all possible hindrances, today the Palace of Government hosted a round table "Free Belarus unites us", initiated by the "Republic" faction. Members of all 18 registered parties, public organizations and journalists were supposed to walk in the doorway of the Palace for the first time since the scandalous dissolution of the 13th Supreme Soviet six years ago. However, fifteen minutes before the start of the meeting, the guards said they wouldn't let anyone inside. It turned out that deputy Parfenovich, responsible for the affair, couldn't bring as many people with him. Then they had to attract other "deputies" from the faction, who divided the invited guests into groups among themselves. Finally, when they all reached the office, where the meeting was to take place, they found out that the key was gone. At last, when they failed to find the key, Parfenovich and Frolov told everyone that the head of the presidential Administration Ural Latypov forbade opposition members to gather in the room. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/27/house --------------------------------------------------------- CAMERAMAN ZAVADSKY'S DISAPPEARANCE CASE SUSPENDED 12:47 27/02/2003 Decision to halt investigation into the disappearance of journalist Dmitry Zavadsky was passed by the head of investigation group Ivan Branchel, who's been placed in charge of the case ever since the ORT cameraman's vanishing in July 2000. The notification, signed by Ivan Branchel, which has been recently received by Zavadsky's wife Svetlana, mentions the following root-cause of that: "in connection with the failure to locate the missing individual". http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/27/delo --------------------------------------------------------- UCP POINTS OUT LOCAL ELECTIONS' UNDEMOCRATIC NATURE 16:10 27/02/2003 The United Civil Party passed on February 27 a statement concerning the undemocratic nature of local elections. "Outcomes of candidates' nomination and registration testify to the regime's persistent aspirations to return back to the Soviet times and elections without alternative, when only one candidate was nominated in each voting constituency. In the countryside the authorities have already attained their goal and are also close to doing that in the towns," reads the UCP statement. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/27/ucpb --------------------------------------------------------- NO PRIVATIZATION OF CAR-BUILDING PLANTS IN BELARUS 13:00 27/02/2003 Car-building industry in Belarus will always exist, said Alexander Lukashenko at the away meeting with the heads of the largest companies of the Belarusian car-building industry, hosted by the MAZ plant. "Rosbalt" was told in the press-service of the Belarusian leader that Alexander Lukashenko called the proposal to shut down big plants and develop minor manufactures "unproductive". Alexander Lukashenko said that the efficient car-building industry is a sure sign of the civilized society. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/27/auto --------------------------------------------------------- PRIVATE ENTREPRENEURS DIMINISH IN NUMBER 12:58 27/02/2003 In course of one month in 2003 the number of individual entrepreneurs in the Brest region contracted by more than 150 people, now amounting to 28.271, as compared to 28.424 on January 1. Specialists link this fact with the presidential decree #4 "On common tax, levied from individual entrepreneurs and other persons and some measures on regulating the entrepreneurial activities", which enters into effect on March 1 this year. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/27/pred --------------------------------------------------------- "NOVAYA GAZETA SMORGONI'S" NEXT ISSUE WILL NEVER SEE LIGHT 12:55 27/02/2003 The newspaper's founder Romuald Ulan was stripped of the right to conduct entrepreneurial activities in early February by the regional economic court. The man's complaint has never been satisfied. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/27/smorgon --------------------------------------------------------- OSCE ODIHR OFFICIALS SET TO MONITOR LOCAL ELECTIONS IN MINSK 12:53 27/02/2003 Human rights experts of the OSCE ODIHR mission arrived in Minsk. On February 26 morning the organization's representatives met with the secretary of the Central Electoral Commission Nikolai Lozovik. In his interview to BelaPAN the secretary said that the visitors aren't entitled to be observers at elections and they never asked the Central Electoral Commission to endow them with such a status. The goal of the mission, said Lozovik, is to carry out monitoring of the election campaign. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/27/local --------------------------------------------------------- CIS HEADS OF STATES TO RENDEZVOUS ON MAY 30 IN SAINT-PETERSBURG 12:51 27/02/2003 Another informal meeting of the CIS heads of states is scheduled for May 30 in Saint-Petersburg, Russian media quote Russian Vice-Premier Valentina Matvienko as saying. This information was confirmed to BelaPAN in the CIS executive committee in Minsk. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/02/27/sng --------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE February 27, 2003 www.charter97.org -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=media.charter97 http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com