CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
January, 09, 2003
www.charter97.org
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BELARUS HAS WORST ECONOMIC FREEDOM RATING
15:18 12/01/2004

Belarus has the worst economic rating among the CIS countries (154th place),
and its economic policy has been characterized as a "catastrophe". Even in Tajikistan
(146th place), Uzbekistan (149th place) and Turkmenistan (150th place) have more
economic freedom, according to the American foundation Heritage in its annual
report.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/svaboda

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NEW REPRESSIONS AGAINST BDG
11:44 12/01/2004

Distribution through postal subscription was refused to the leading oppositional
newspaper of Belarus, "Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta" ("Belarusian Business Newspaper").
As the correspondent of the Rossbalt agency informs, the director general of
privately owned enterprise "Marat", founder and publisher of the newspaper Pyotr
Martsaw say to the journalists in Minsk that the public enterprise "Belposhta"
has cancelled a contract with the "BDG" newspaper and now are returning money
to subscribers. "Besides, representatives of Minsk, Brest and Vitsebsk branches
of "Belsayuzdruk" informed us about their refusal to distribute our newspaper,
 - said Martsaw.  In this way the state structures refused to deliver the newspaper,
and cancelled it from the subscription catalogues".
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/bdg

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BELARUS READY TO PAY OFF DEBTS TO GAZPROM, CONFIRMS PREMIER SIDORSKI
16:34 12/01/2004, Interfax

Prime Minister of Belarus Sergey Sidorski has confirmed the intention of the
Belarusian government to pay off the $129-million debt to OJSC Gazprom. The confirmation
was pronounced during Sidorskis working visit to Gomel.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/gazprom

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FLU CAUSES FATALITIES IN BELARUS
16:32 12/01/2004, Itar-Tass

Acute respiratory viral infection and pneumonia caused deaths of two children
and an aged man in the Belarusian capital Minsk. 
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/gripp

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BDG REPORTER THREATENED BY AVENGE
16:02 12/01/2004

On January 11 overnight reporter of the Belarusian Business Newspaper in Homiel
region Iryna Makovetskaya received an anonymous phone warning. An unknown man
has been calling her several times within an hour and demanded her to stop her
journalistic activities, otherwise threatening to "bury" her. The journalist
managed to tape one of the calls. On January 11 she addressed a police with an
appeal to disclose the unknown.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/makaveckaya

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BELARUS CLOSE TO GAS STARVATION
15:21 12/01/2004

Today talks on cooperation in the sphere of gas between Mikhail Kasyanov and
Belarusian prime minister Syarhei Sidorski are to take place. Moscow and Minsk
have not settled the matter of gas supply by Gazprom this year, and since beginning
of January Russian monopolist has not sold a single cubic meter to Belarus. In
January gas demand sof Belarus are satisfied with difficulty due to suppliers
independent from Gazprom (Transnafta is to supply 1.2 billions cubic m of gas,
Itera  800 millions cubic m), however in the future Minsk would be unable to
buy gas from them because of high price. The Belarusian government has two and
a half weeks left to settle the split with Gazprom, which presses for establishment
of a joint venture with Beltransgaz on sane' conditions, as the representatives
of the Russian monopolist say.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/gaz

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INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - BELARUS UPDATE
14:36 12/01/2004

Edited by Victor Cole
Vol. 7, No. 2
January 2004
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/update

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ANOTHER ACT OF VANDALISM IN KURAPATY
14:16 12/01/2004

On the eve of the tenth anniversary of American President Bill Clinton's visit
to Belarus unknown criminals have destroyed the memorial sigh  the gift of the
American people to the Belarusians.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/kurapaty

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LAZAVIK: 90 PER CENT OF CHAMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES TO GO TO ELECTIONS
14:11 12/01/2004

The majority of deputies of the chamber of representatives will participate in
the next elections in autumn this year, considers the secretary of the Central
election Committee Mikalay Lazavik.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/palatka

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"SALIDARNASTS" PRINTED IN SMOLENSK
11:45 12/01/2004

On January 9 he daily "Salidarnasts" issuing was resumed. Its founder is the
Belarusian Independent Trade Union. On December 17 Minsk an enterprise "Svetach"
which printed the newspaper, informed the editors that it couldn't continue to
carry out its commitments because of overloaded facilities. As was said to the
BelaPAN agency by newspaper's editor-in-chief Alyaksandar Starykevich, at present
it is printed at Smolensk printing plant (Russia). 
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/12/gazeta

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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
December, 09, 2003
www.charter97.org