Belarusian authorities are readying to step up a state standard, envisaging mandatory certification for all participants of information technologies market. As a result, the French human rights organization “Reporters without frontiers” in their daily rapport “Internet enemies” paid particular attention to “Lukashenko’s regime in Internet”.

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Former Minister of agriculture, chair of the organizing committee of the public movement “For new Belarus” Vassily Leonov addressed on August 20 officials of all levels of the country’s management. In his appeal Leonov writes that he knows pretty well that “they are being pushed to commit criminal affairs by the falsification initiators and he realizes how tough it is for them to withstand it”. But even under such circumstances “to give up one’s civil morality and go against the law means to wrong the Motherland, deprive our children and grandchildren of decent future.”

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Lukashenko-based well-fed Belarusian Patriotic Youth Union moves over to the second stage of agitating for president under a code name “I’m for Batka!” (batka – colloquial for “father”) Within the campaign’s framework it is planned to hold pickets with the distribution of information materials, music by bands and singers. Thus, BPYU intends to reach out to 40 country’s towns by the period left before September 9. Moreover, BPYU displayed an unearthly valor, having determined to visit the voters at their homes. That was a real act of self-sacrificing, you know.

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“Interparliamentary cooperation between our countries is successfully developing,” – said chair of the “house of representatives” Vadim Popov during his August 20 meeting with the Plenipotentiary ambassador of Cuba Felix Leon Carbalio. Popov also underlined that basic positions of Belarus and Cuba as concerns the political status quo in the civilized world are pretty much the same.

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This week some private firms of Grodno were mailed unusual postcards. The text on the back of the card occupied some half-page but nobody understood it at first glance. The businessmen were confused to see the stamp of the tax police, accompanied with the signature of the head of local administration Boris Kozelkov. BDG publishes the text of the message:

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During the recent session of agriculture institutions it was declared that salaries in agriculture have been paid in full. However, right after the event Gomel trade union committee received numerous complaints from underpaid workers. Some claim they’ve seen no salaries since April.

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The products of the light industry enterprises of Gomel are getting stockpiled at local storehouses in huge numbers. Whereas on April 1 they accumulated there 70,6% of the average monthly production, by July 1 the figure skyrocketed to 121%. However, it is not just these companies that incur losses but rather whole of Gomel’s industrial complex. The data, released by the department of economy and market relations of the town hall, shows that the share of accumulated products at Gomel warehouses rose from 54-56% in the first quarter to 78,5% in the second.

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Russian and Belarusian Air Force units will carry out joint training on the repulsion of hostile air raids through the launching of winged rockets. Deputy Air Force Commander Yuri Bondyrev told Interfax that the maneuvers would take place on August 22. The jets will maintain airtight closure to the 117th marine shooting ground. “The targets will imitate the flight of winged missiles,” – underscored the general.

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BORISOV, Belarus, Aug. 17 — It was just outside this fraying and thoroughly Soviet city, residents note with some pride, that guerrilla forces handed the French dictator Napoleon his final defeat in 1812, during his army`s disastrous winter retreat from Russia.

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The State Committee For Press made a warning for the independent newspaper “Nasha Svaboda”. The chair of the State Committee Mikhail Podgainy claims that the newspaper has violated the article 32 of the Law “On Press and Other Mass Media”, as it published an article “Dictator Is Let Down By His Entourage”. The State Committee warned the independent newspaper that in case of the second violation the issuing of the newspaper would be suspended for up to three months. In the same day all the copies of the special issue of the newspaper dedicated to the unique candidate from the wide democratic coalition Vladimir Goncharik, was arrested by the Committee for Financial Investigation.

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The International League for Human Rights, an international non-governmental human rights organization with consultative status at ECOSOC UN addressed Alexander Lukashenko, raising concerns over the recent seizure of special issues of newspaper “Nasha Svaboda”. Following read the full text of the letter:

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Central election commission has turned down the request by presidential candidates Sergei Gaidukevich, Vladimir Goncharik and Syamon Domash that Belarusian state television channel should broadcast their campaign speeches live.

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Vladimir Goncharik, a candidate from a broad civil coalition in Belarus, 2001 presidential election, said on August 18 that the authorities were planning a mud slinging campaign against him.

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The Central Committee of the Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC) on August 18 vowed to support democratic candidate Vladimir Goncharik in the forthcoming presidential election, thus approving BPC leader Sergei Kalyakin’s earlier decision to team up with Mr. Goncharik against the incumbent, Alexander Lukashenko.

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Presidential candidate from a broad civic coalition Vladimir Goncharik said on August 19 that he will insist on live television debates with other candidates.

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ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, forwarded an open letter to the Grodno regional prosecutor Vasily Litvinov, urging him and his government to cease all forms of intimidating the journalists in the region. Read below the full text of the letter:

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The Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus rejected the suit of “Video International Ltd” that is involved in advertising on the Russian channel NTV, against the National State Broadcasting Company. It happened at the court sitting on August 17.

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Contest for the right to operate as second GSM mobile provider in Belarus will be seemingly won by the Moscow MTS company, BelaPAN was told in the Ministry of communications of Belarus. The Ministry, as an organizer of the competition, declared that the requested financial, technical and tariff parameters were equally fulfilled by three bidders – companies from Russia, Austria and Saudi Arabia.

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