“July 7 will mark one year since the mysterious vanishing of our colleague Dmitry Zavadsky. Belarusian journalists want to know WHERE IS ZAVADSKY AND WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM? Throughout last year’s investigation procedures the public witnessed loud statements and menacing promises to find track of the perpetrators of the abduction. Today, a year after the tragedy, the investigation is over. But the Belarusian authorities failed to do the main thing – locate Dmitry. We call upon all Belarusian journalists to manifest corporate solidarity in order to force the authorities to answer the question WHERE IS OUR COLLEAGUE?” – reads the statement of the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

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11 out of 22 potential candidates for the president addressed the Belarusian electorate and the international community. The authors of the statement assume that Alexander Lukashenko intends to repeat the scenario of the fall parliamentary elections. “It is planned in advance to declare him a winner, although it is clear that even at the very start of the election campaign no more than 20% would cast their votes for him, with his rating constantly going downward,” – reads the document.

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According to the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the executive formed the regional headquarters with the purpose to hold organizational and informational clarification meetings on preparation and implementation of the presidential elections in Belarus. BHC believes that the real objective of these headquarters is to activate all the administrative power to back up candidate Lukashenko for his re-election in office.

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The delegation of the Supreme Soviet of 13th convocation headed for Paris where it will engage July 6-10 in another session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Among the SS delegates are Anatoly Lebedko, Vladimir Kudinov and Viktor Khomich. They will bring to Paris a parcel of documents and offers, including the address of potential candidates for the president of Belarus and leaders of key democratic parties to the acting chairman-in-office of OSCE and OSCE PA head.

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Minsk law-enforcers detained a 45-year old unemployed Minsk resident Sergei Laptev, who threw a tomato at president Lukashenko during yesterday’s relay race, Interfax reports from the city police headquarters. Apart from the vegetable someone threw at him some pointed object, which caused small laceration of soft tissue on his shin.

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KGB department in Grodno region detained overnight June 22-23 a professor, head of a department of the Grodno medical university and chair of the Union of Polish Medics Kazimir Konkol. Although professor Konkol was arrested almost two weeks ago we learnt about his detention only hours ago, reports BelaPAN.

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Solvency of agricultural companies by May 1, 2001 constituted 3,9%. According to the Ministry for statistics and analysis the worst solvency level is witnessed among the municipal utilities agencies – 2,2%. On May 1 40,5% of the Belarusian enterprises were operating at a loss (by April 1 – 40,1%; May 1 – 32,1%). Most insolvent companies rest with the Mogilev (52,2%) and Vitebsk (51,5%) regions.

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Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus visited the Lithuanian-Belarusian border today. The goal of his trip was to see in action the new frontier system of infrared control. Lithuania intends to invest means into the reinforcement of her borders with Belarus and Kaliningrad region of Russia. Expectedly, in future they will transform into the exterior borders of the European Union. Division lines between Lithuania, Poland and Latvia are considered to be EU inner borders and the degree of control over them will be lowered.

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On Aug. 5 last year, Dmitry Petrushkevich was one of a team of criminal investigators in the former Soviet republic of Belarus that arrested a couple of local toughs for a brutal murder and robbery. Searching the apartment of one of the suspects, the investigators came across a news clipping -- an interview with the noted Belarussian-born journalist Dmitri Zavadsky, a cameraman for Russian television who, after a well-publicized clash with the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, had disappeared the previous month.

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In early July in Prague the youth public organization Young Conservatives, Junior club of Christian democrats and Young Social Democrats laid the foundation of the Declaration against human rights violations “European youth versus totalitarianism”. The document was signed by major European youth communities.

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An unidentified person from the crowd threw something at racing Lukashenko and got him on his leg, leaving scratches. TV-6 reports that the incident occurred on Tuesday during the festive sports relay race on the Skarina prospect in central Minsk, marking the Independence Day.

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Russian press reacted to yesterday’s Lukashenko’s ski race, reminding him of the diagnosis “moderate mosaic psychosis with prevailing features of paranoid and dissocial derangement of personality”. For instance, the Russian on-line newspaper gazeta.ru writes: “With the election date drawing near, Lukashenko’s opponents publicly doubt his psychological health, being unable to find explanation to some of his actions. It’s worth noting that opposition’s fears, if one takes the diagnosis of psychiatrist Schigelsky, seem quite well-grounded.”

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