"Decree #8 will see light anyway," - declared FM spokesman Pavel Latushko at the March 29 briefing. The authorities paid little heed to the EU scrutiny of Lukashenko`s decree, which bans the humanitarian aid consignment to opposition parties and organizations. The European Union stressed that this step will further deepen Belarus` international self-isolation.

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Before launching negotiations with Belarus on stabilization credit allocation, the International Monetary Foundation decided to hold a six-months surveying of the Belarusian economy, said head of the IMF mission for Lithuania and Belarus M.Horton, upon termination of his March 27-29 mission trip to Minsk.

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Seeking to shut opposition financial sources, Lukashenko deprived of humanitarian help those organizations, which have nothing to do with politics, being engaged in strictly social projects. Certain country`s associations said they intend to force them annul presidential Decree #8 (Belarusian association of disabled and sick kids, public organizations "Raznye-Ravnye", "Zdorovye detyam", scientific institute of legal research "Ekodom" and youth association "Next Stop New Life!".

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Overnight March 28-29 unidentified burglars broke into the headquarters of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. The thieves stole computer database on election monitoring and human rights records over the past five years. Though, there was lots of expensive hardware in the office, the burglars didn`t touch any of it. That was the third attack on the BHC office in the last four years: the first one occurred in spring 1996, the second - in fall 1999. Both crimes have never been solved and both were carried out under the same pattern - the burglars took away only the computer databases.

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Swedish Presidency of the European Union released its Declaration on behalf of the European Union on the presidential decree on foreign aid and the by-elections in Belarus

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Alexander Lukashenko appointed lieutenant-general Maltsev new Minister of Defense. Previously, he had already occupied this post. In 1996 he was dismissed from the Minister`s seat for drunk appearance in public place. First country`s Minister for Defense Pavel Kozlovsky shared his commentary on this appointment with Charter`97: "Maltsev is dangerous, for he is ready to do whatever he`s told to. If this man is back in the team of Lukashenko, who had publicly humiliated him, if he put up with such abasement, than he obviously has no honor, civil position or human dignity.

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Former judge of the Leninsky district court of Bobruisk Yuri Sushkov applied for political asylum in Italy, reports radio "Svaboda". In early 1999 he planned to flee to Germany.

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Youth resistance movement ZUBR continues its series of protests against the abductions of famous Belarusians. Overnight March 27-28 in both central Minsk and suburbs there appeared numerous graffiti - "Where`s Zakharenko?", "Where`s Gonchar?", "Where`s Krasovsky?", "Where`s Zavadsky?`.

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