CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
March 06, 2003
www.charter97.org
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BAGHDAD MAYOR PREPARES ASYLUM FOR SADDAM IN MINSK
16:51 06/03/2003, Olga Mazaeva, Nezamisimaya Gazeta

Baghdad mayor has been in Minsk for three days now. The observers don't rule
out a possibility that he might have come to negotiate with the Belarusian authorities
on Saddam Hussein's moving to Minsk under the protection of the Belarusian leader.
However, the official goal of the visit of the pre-war Baghdad's mayor was declared
as alleged "exploration of the sewerage system of the Belarusian capital", which
sounds really weird.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/ubezhishe

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ANDREI KLIMOV: AUTHORITIES MUST REPENT
15:57 06/03/2003

"While it is not too late, we should comply with the democratic standards, proclaimed
by the Constitution 1994, repent and bring to justice those, guilty of abducting
prominent politicians, and by so doing redeem the evil, which the regime committed
during referendum 1996,"  said in an interview to Charter's press-center 13th
Supreme Soviet deputy, one of the United Civil Party leaders, former political
prisoner Andrei Klimov.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/klimov

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CIGARETTES, BEER TO DISAPPEAR FROM KIOSKS, JUST AS KIOSKS THEMSELVES
12:25 06/03/2003

Owners of over 2thsd Minsk commercial kiosks faced the threat of their business's
closure. Under the Minsk city hall's decision, by July 1, 2003 the retail trade
objects will disappear from the streets of Minsk. Instead the entrepreneurs are
proposed to join hyper-markets or build their own stores. Minsk authorities refuse
to embark on any compromises.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/kiosk

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NIKOLAI MARKEVICH: CONSOLIDATION AND SOLIDARITY WILL SAVE JOURNALISTS
12:09 06/03/2003

In order to confront the threat of complete annihilation, Belarusian mass media
must join their efforts, said in an interview to Charter's press-center the editor
of the closed newspaper "Pagonya" Nikolai Markevich, sentenced to 1,5 years of
freedom restriction for alleged libeling the incumbent. "The latest situation
developments manifest that the authorities can deal with the whole Belarusian
independent press one by one. Consolidation and solidarity alone can save situation,"
 deems the journalist, whose sentence was changed for the softer on March 4.
The remaining time he will work in his home-town Grodno and donate 15% of his
salary to the state.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/markevich

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EU RINGS ALARM BELLS OVER FATE OF NEW OSCE OFFICE IN MINSK
16:48 06/03/2003

The European Union once again reiterates their call on the Belarusian authorities
to pass all necessary measures to create favorable conditions for the work of
the new OSCE office, headquartered in Minsk, reads the EU official statement,
circulated by the German embassy in Minsk on March 5.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/osce

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IRAQI DELEGATION PAYS VISIT TO "BELKOMMUNMASH"
12:21 06/03/2003

The official delegation, headed by the Baghdad mayor, Adnan Abed Khamed, which
is on an official visit to Minsk these days, will visit tomorrow the "Belkommunmash"
company. Then they will pay visit to the Great Patriotic War museum and "Belexepo"
exhibition, BELTA correspondent was told in the department of protocol and international
and public relations of the Minsk city hall.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/mash

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BELARUSIAN DELEGATION'S VISIT TO LIBYA COMES TO AN END
12:19 06/03/2003

The official visit of the Belarusian "parliamentary" delegation to Libya ended
yesterday. On Wednesday evening the delegation of the "national assembly", chaired
by the speaker of the "house of representatives" Vadim Popov, arrived in Minsk.
A two-day visit of the Belarusian parliamentarians to Libya was carried out upon
invitation of the secretary of the Universal People's Congress of Libya Az-Zenati
Muhammad Az-Zenati.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/libya

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PREMIERS LEFT WITHOUT UNION RUBLE
12:18 06/03/2003, Andrei Litvinov, Gazeta.ru

Another meeting between the Premiers of Russia and Belarus Mikhail Kasyanov and
Gennady Novitsky will be dedicated to the formation of the common economic space
and the unique emission center of the union currency. It turns out that Minsk
and Moscow have to go long way till they reach any of these goals.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/rub

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WIVES OF MISSING OPPOSITIONISTS FRUSTRATED BY "PARLIAMENTS" RECOGNITION BY OSCE
PA
12:15 06/03/2003

"I don't really understand how the "parliament's" acceptance to OSCE PA can change
the situation with human rights in the country for the better, especially as
concerns disappearances of prominent figures. Do you really think that such OSCE
PA's decision will make the authorities allow the international commission on
disappearances to freely operate here? Will the European parliamentarians be
allowed to listen to general prosecutor Viktor Sheiman's testimony on this matter?
Will the detectives interrogate Lukashenko and other top officials? I think not.
So I don't really believe that the situation can change for the better with this,"
 said in an interview to the UCP press-service wife of the missing businessman
Anatoly Krasovsky Irina Krasovskaya.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/palatka

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BELARUSIAN JOURNALISTS AS "HUMAN SHIELD" IN IRAQ
12:11 06/03/2003

A group of Belarusian journalists will travel on March 7 to Iraq, where they
will stay till March 12 upon the invitation of the Iraqi embassy. The group's
composition, as "Interfax" was told in the Iraqi diplomatic mission in Minsk,
hasn't been defined yet and varies from 2 to 6 delegates. There's no concrete
data on the air company, which will organize the tour. However, the UN Committee
for sanctions, reports "Interfax", gave green light to the travelers. Expectedly,
on the way back the plane will pick up all Belarusian residents, willing to depart
Iraq ahead of the looming war. According to the Foreign Ministry, at the moment
there are 2 Belarusian diplomats in the embassy, 7 individuals work under Belarusian
contracts there and around 40  under Russian.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2003/03/06/iraq
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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
March 06, 2003
www.charter97.org