Former Lukashenko’s charge-d’affaires Ivan Titenkov believes that Belarus is in for a new president by fall. “Alexander Lukashenko flopped it. Given we leave him for another five years he will be agonizing, while the nation will live even worse,” – “Novye Izvestiya” quote him as saying in a Tuesday exclusive interview. Former Lukashenko’s henchman asserts that “Lukashenko has never truly been Russian ally”. Instead, “he sought to head the joint Russia-Belarus state”. We’ll allocate on this site the full text of the interview as soon as this “NI” issue sees light in Belarus.

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Over one forth of Belarusian residents believe that Dmitry Zavadsky was kidnapped by domestic security services for political motives. The survey was carried out in June this year by the NISEPI pollsters. 1,500 people aged 18 and over filled out the questionnaire.

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Former rector of the Gomel institute of medicine professor Bandazhevsky, convicted to 8 years of incarceration, was issued a European Freedom passport. Therefore, Bandazhevsky became 25th proprietor of the passport on the surface of the globe. He is allowed to freely travel across the continent and choose any European country as his permanent place of residence.

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Belarusian metallurgic plant in Zhlobin lost most lucrative stateside market. As pointed out by the FM’s head of the department for USA and Canada Igor Gubarevich, following the US Trade Ministry’s decision to define the size of the customs free to be imposed on the import of Belarusian steel armature at 114,5%, its shipment will be unprofitable.

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Director of the FSB intelligence service of Russia colonel-general Nikolai Patrushev was awarded by president Lukashenko an Honorary Order. By so doing Lukashenko publicly gave him credit for ensuring security of the “union state and personal contribution into the developing interaction of security bodies of Russia and Belarus.”

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Oscar Stenstrom, deputy international secretary and member of the Social Democratic Party of Sweden forwarded a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev (head of the Russian United Social Democratic Party), admonishing him for his recent meeting with Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow. Following comes the full text of the message:

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Belarusian troops are suffering from decreasing number of officers. At present, around 4 thousand officers’ posts remain vacant, Interfax was told on Tuesday by the head of the staff department of Defense Ministry colonel Alexander Kornilov. The official claims that over the year 2000 the percentage of officers, serving in the military, dropped by 2,6%. The problem is that the self-dismissals of officers by far overshadow the new appointments, underscored Kornilov.

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Representatives of influential international human rights watchdog ARTICLE-19 were denied entry permission to Belarus. Belarusian embassy in London didn’t mention the official reason for the refusal to grant visas, but most likely it had to do with the fact that ARTICLE-19 people prepared to acquaint Belarusian press with the results of a 1,5 year monitoring of the situation around mass media in Belarus.

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Alexander Volchanin, leader of the initiative group for collecting signatures in support of Alexander Lukashenko as candidate for the president of Belarus in Zhodino town (Minsk region) filed in resignation, BelaPAN was told by the election coordinator in Zhodino Svetlana Lapitskaya. At the moment Lukashenko’s initiative group in Zhodino, consisting of 33 people, is left without a leader.

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Two participants of the July 7 picket, commemorating Dmitry Zavadsky’s abduction, were beaten up by the unknown attackers. BelaPAN already reported that the picket was held opposite the Minsk regional committee. Three of the dissenters – Alexander Borodulya, Dmitry Fedorchenko and Sergei Podzolka – were apprehended and stood justice the same day.

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On July 10 in Zhodino town ZUBRs ran a rally of support of Valery Schukin. A few dozen activists, wearing ZUBR T-shirts and badges, went along the central town towards the confinement center, where the political inmate is being held. When they approached the gates of the jail, there showed up a man in a mustached mask. The young people reminded him of Schukin’s shaved beard: the barber, who came just in time, shaved the man’s mustache.

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The man is considered one of Alexander Lukashenko’s main rivals in his run for the presidency. This is proved by all latest opinion polls. Partially this could be explained by the fact that he is the only candidate, who learnt from personal experience what it means to be president’s adversary in today’s Belarus. He suffered persecution along with most of his family members. BDG addresses its questions to the former Belarusian Premier Mikhail Chigir.

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Evgeny Kryzhanovsky – director of the satirical theatre “Hristofor” – declared his refusal to continue the race. His statement, released for mass media runs: “Recently certain mass media outlets were questioning my chances of getting registered as candidate for the presidency. The Central Electoral Committee registered my initiative group, though I wasn’t born in Belarus (born in Nikolaev, Ukraine). In response to my inquiry, the CEC secretary Nikolai Lozovik said that I would get a final answer not until I present them 100,000 signatures for registration. In other words, their answer will most likely be negative, regardless of the fact whether or not I gather the necessary amount of signatures.”

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According to official information the salary indebtedness in Brest region constituted by July 1 1.949,8 mln rubles ($1,4mln). With an overall indebtedness in Brest region equaling 2bln rubles, the share of state agriculture amounts to 82%, reports “Nasha Svaboda”. 138 husbandries have no funds at all, whereas the rest spend on fuel and machinery maintenance 2 times their income from sales of milk and meat. 17% of debt falls on industrial companies, which means that over 5 thousand workers weren’t paid their salaries.

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According to the statistics of the Committee for labor inspection of the Ministry of labor, over six months of this year 103 human casualties occurred at the working places. Although it is 16 deaths less than last year, the figure remains grave. Most lethal accidents occurred in Minsk city and region and Brest region.

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