The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE January, 09, 2003 www.charter97.org --------------------------------------------------------- Translation and interpreting services - http://charter97.org/index.phtml?sid=4&did=Translate&eid=service&lang=3 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------- "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 --------------------------------------------------------- (!) Ads on the site: adv@charter97.org --------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE December, 09, 2003 www.charter97.org -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=media.charter97&email= http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com