CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
January, 27, 2003
http://charter97.org/eng/news/
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BOMB THREAT IN THE US EMBASSY IN MINSK
16:10 27/01/2004

At night January 25-26 an unidentified person reported about a bomb threat to
the US embassy in Minsk in Staravilenskaya Street. It is the first case of telephone
terrorism against the US embassy in Belarus since the horrible terrorist actions
of September 11, 2001. Minsk police is looking for the person who called, but
with no results so far.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/embassy

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TRAGEDY IN KRASNOPOLIE
13:40 27/01/2004, Itar-Tass

Today, at 10.28 am at school number one of Krasnopolie, Mahileu region a wall
and later the ceiling fell down in the gym. One pupil died at the spot, and the
teacher of physical education died later in hospital. About 20 pupils of 9-10
forms got injured, as BelTA reports.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/krasnopol

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MILLER: "ROMANTICISM IS OVER"
13:26 27/01/2004

The chairman of OAO "Gazprom" board of directors Alexey Miller and OAO "Beltransgas"
director general Petr Petuh will proceed with the talks on gas supplies to Belarus
in Moscow on Tuesday. As "Gasprom" press release runs, they came to no agreement
the day before. According to "Interfax", the Belarusian representatives agreed
to buy Russian gas for the fuel prices of the fifth Russian region. "The period
of romanticism is over, our Belarusian colleagues came up with more realistic
suggestions for supplies' conditions. However, in spite of the certain progress
in negotiations, we still have not come to agreements suitable for both the sides.
The talks will be extended," said Miller after the meeting.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/miller

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INTERNATIONAL HUMANITIES COLLEGE REORGANIZED
16:27 27/01/2004

The Association of the Belarusian Jewish unions and communities is worried about
a new turn in regards to the International Humanities College of the Belarusian
State University. On January 22 the IHC administration and the management of
the Association got a copy of the decision of the scientific board of the Belarusian
State University on the reorganization of the institute into the Humanities and
Arts Department. The International Humanities College is the only higher institution
in Belarus, which got a Judaistics Department, where students study Jewish history,
culture and religion, Hebrew and Yiddish, as well as problems of international
and interreligious relations. "The IHC closure will mean the liquidation of higher
education in Judaistics," said Basin.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/mgi

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GUTMAN MUST PAY FOR DEMOLITION OF MONUMENT TO HOLOCAUST VICTIMS
16:27 27/01/2004

The public utility company "Mozyr communalnik" requires from the leader of the
registered in the USA "The Universal Association of the Belarusian Jews"(UABJ)
Yakov Gutman the reimbursement for the demolition of the memorial for self-immolated
victims. In November 2003 Gutman without approval from Mozyr authorities mounted
between houses 9 and 11 in Kirov Street a memorial for those Jews who burnt themselves
in fall 1941. Among them was his grandfather Nisel Gutman. However, in December
2003 by the decision of the local authorities the memorial was demolished. After
that Gutman carried out two non-sanctioned pickets at the President's Administration
and went on a weeklong hunger strike "against the policy of state anti-Semitism
in Belarus."
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/gutman

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HEAD OF RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL COMES TO MINSK
16:20 27/01/2004

Today Secretary of Russian Security Council Vladimir Rushailo comes to Belarus
on an official visit. Talks and negotiations with the political authorities,
State Secretary of Security Council Henadiy Nevyglas, and ministers are on the
agenda. As expected, today he will be received by the Prime Minister Sergey 
Sidorsky.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/russia

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51 PUBLIC ASSOCIATIONS WERE CLOSED IN BELARUS IN 2003
16:19 27/01/2004

Last year, according to the courts' decisions, 51 public associations were liquidated
for violation of the current law, as Minister of Justice Viktor Holovanov reported
at the ministerial collegiate. The minister said that last year control over
public associations, political parties and trade unions was strengthened. 81
public associations were subjects to substantial check ups. As the result 810
written warnings were made, it exceeds the amount of the warnings made on 2002
six times, as BelTA reports.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/51

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PACE WILL CONSIDER "THE BELARUSIAN ISSUE" TWICE
16:18 27/01/2004

At the PACE session in Strasburg "the Belarusian issue" will be discussed twice.
On January 28 the PACE Committee on Legal Issues will hear the Cyprus deputy
Christos Pourgourides' report on disappearances of the political opponents in
Belarus. On January 30 the possible returning (or non-returning) of the status
of specially invited to the Assembly is on the PACE agenda. On January 13, 1997
the PACE bureau froze the Republic's membership in connection with the referendum
on the Constitution. At the plenary session the issue is more likely to be discussed
in March, as "The Observer" reports.
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/pace

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HACKERS' ATTACK ON WEB-SITE WWW.CHARTER97.ORG SUCCESSFULLY FOUGHT OFF
16:12 27/01/2004

Starting from Monday, January 26, the functioning of the web site www.charter97.org
has been resumed in whole. Even though the distributed Ddos-attack is still going
on, the mechanism of site defense works in a normal regime. According to our
hosting provider's information, about 400,000 computers are engaged in attacks;
about 55,000 of them are active. The professionals working on the site's defense
say that the level of the attacks is very high, as well as the technical potential.
So we managed to overcome the results of the attacks going on for six days already
only yesterday's night. The reason for all these events was publishing the article
"Belarusian routs of Child Porn sellers."
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/charter

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INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - BELARUS UPDATE
13:48 27/01/2004

Edited by Victor Cole
Vol. 7, No. 4
January 2004
http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2004/01/27/update

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CHARTER'97 BELARUS NEWS UPDATE
December, 27, 2003
http://charter97.org/eng/news/