COPENHAGEN, 23 August 2001 (OSCE) - OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Kimmo Kiljunen MP (Finland) will lead the OSCE Observers for the Presidential Elections in Belarus on Sunday 9 September 2001. Mr. Kiljunen will act as Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Romanian Foreign Minister Mr. Mircea Dan Geoana, leading the Mission and delivering the preliminary post election statement on Monday 10 September 2001. Mr. Kiljunen, Member of the Finnish Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, is also Chair of the Assembly`s Working Group on Moldova.

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Two OSCE election observers who have recently been denied Belarusian visas are on the list of those barred from entry to Belarus, Pavel Latushko, spokesman for Belarus, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Minsk on August 23.

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Fifty-one percent of the 500 Minskers polled by BelaPAN between August 14 and 17 expected Belarus, presidential election to be rigged as compared to 53 percent in a similar poll in mid-July.

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The department of justice of the Brest regional council passed a statement in which it accuses the independent weekly “Brest courier” of dissemination of data about the activity of the unregistered public organizations. On August 23 the paper came up with the statement “Cease the manhunt of democratic candidates!”, signed by leaders of some political parties. In it the authors protested against state media presenting distorted information on candidates.

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The official press has published the declarations of income and property of the candidates to the presidential position for the year 2000, which were submitted to the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus for Election and Referenda. According to the publication, the combined income of the single democratic candidate Vladimir Goncharik in 2000 was equal to 5,315,098 roubles.

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The court of the Minsk district didn’t satisfy the complaint of the Ganderbievs family, lodged over the refusal of medics from the center of children’s oncology to treat their child. The Uzbek family is living in Minsk without a proper city stay permit. Recently their two-year old boy fell sick and the doctors diagnosed him as suffering from malignant tumor. In the center they refused to cure the boy free-of-charge, for he isn’t Belarusian national.

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OSCE representative for the freedom of media Freimut Duve issued a statement, detailing recent developments over the closure of independent newspapers and press in Belarus. Read below the full text:

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In an ongoing crackdown on the independent press during the run-up to the September 9 presidential elections, Belarusian government officials have seized computers and other office equipment from several publications, reads the press-release of the Committee for the protection of journalists. Some of the equipment, runs the text, had been leased under U.S. government aid programs.

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“The improvement of the life of the people will occur in the first 100 days after my coming to power”. This statement was made by the democratic candidate, the Chair of the Belarusian Trade Union Federation Vladimir Goncharik on August 24 in the first of the two his speeches on the Belarusian Radio.

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Leader of the political council of the unique candidate Vladimir Goncharik Syamon Domash forwarded an open letter to the heads of regional, district and town electoral offices of Goncharik, informing them that on September 2 at 2p.m. they will hold in Minsk large-scale meeting of Goncharik with voters, while on September 3 at 5p.m. Goncharik’s proxies will meet with electorate simultaneously in 25 largest Belarusian towns.

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Presidents of Russia, Poland and leader of Macedonia were all invited to Kiev to celebrate 10 years since Ukraine acquired its independence. However, Lukashenko’s name is not mentioned in the list of guests. Slavic “brothers” determined this time to gather in his absence, welcoming delegations from USA, Canada, China, Georgia and Chili, reports Gazeta.ru.

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Half-year detective story about the appointment of the Belarusian ambassador in Yugoslavia is over. Former KGB chair Matskevich has finally set off for the new job place on August 15, and on August 16 he handed in his credentials to the first deputy Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia. The appointment was quite an exceptional one. It’s history traces back to the turn of this year. Official reports on Matskevich’s new position have been disseminating thrice. However, twice Matskevich stayed at home. His name is closely linked to the “scandalous cases” about the abductions of prominent opposition politicians in Belarus. KGB chair’s resignation is considered by many to be Lukashenko’s response to Matskevich-led investigation procedures into the disappearances. He allegedly worked in one tandem with former prosecutor general Oleg Bozhelko, exposing a range of top officials as perpetrators of killings of Lukashenko’s opponents.

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ZUBR resistance activist Igor Suld was sentenced by the Sovietsky district court of Minsk to a 15 thousand rubles fine. Such an insignificant size of penalty has been caused by his long detention term – over 22 hours. Thus, the authorities, having no legal excuse with which to back up their actions, are annihilating politically active youth via all available means. As we reported in our earlier updates, Suld had been apprehended at 7p.m. August 22 during the meeting between the residents of the Sovietsky district with local administration. In total, police captured 12 ZUBRs there, all for wearing “Time to choose!” T-shirts.

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Another issue of the independent newspaper “Narodnaya Volya” didn’t see light this morning. Therefore, the authorities managed to paralyze the most popular independent edition in the country through shutting down the private press “Magic”, where most free papers get published. As you remember, the last issue of “Narodnaya Volya” of August 23 was printed only in parts – out of 45 thousand copies they issued only 12. On the verge of frustration is the special issue of “Narodnaya Volya”, completely dedicated to the election platform of the unique candidate from wide public coalition Vladimir Goncharik.

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Yaroslav Evdokimov pledges to give up his “national artist” title, should Alexander Lukashenko be re-elected as president. During the pre-election period many people of art are manifesting their political convictions. Having a popular artist among one’s proxies is both prestigious and beneficial. To say that many know them would be an understatement – millions love them and trust. These people cold lead masses to polling stations. Belarusian national artist Yaroslav Evdokimov has been only visiting Belarus for the past ten years. A singer of three Slav countries – Belarus, Russia and Ukraine – he is currently working in Moscow. But now he all of a sudden challenges the present-day authorities of Belarus. In his recent interview to BDG Evdokimov has reaffirmed his intentions to give up the honorary title if things come to the worst. Read the full text of the interview.

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Mission of the Office of democratic institutes and human rights, monitoring the electoral campaign in Belarus, has to alter its own name, as far as it will only engage in limited monitoring. Thus, the full name of the mission will from now on sound like this: “Mission of the Office of democratic institutes and human rights OSCE on limited monitoring over the presidential elections in Belarus”. They mission can’t do the large-scale observation, which is the reason why they abstained from normal monitoring.

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Diplomat of the OSCE Advisory-Monitoring Group in Belarus Alina Zhasan told Radio Svaboda that OSCE AMG sent a note of protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus in connection with the illegal arrest of computer equipment by the financial police.

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Whatever steps the authorities take, they will not end the independent observation of the forthcoming presidential election, Mecheslav Grib, a coordinator of Belarus, domestic observation project, told reporters in Minsk on August 23.

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Among the world’s ten leading exporters of ammunition are listed Belarus and Ukraine. American analysts believe that it proves the roots of both countries’ economies to be deeply stuck in the Soviet type management. Belarus occupies the eighth spot, while Ukraine runs up tenth. Both countries shipped arms to their clients last year worth some $200mln. Over the last four years the trade in weapons profited Ukraine $1,5bln and Belarus $1,1bln.

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Visit of the Libyan leader Muamar Kaddafi to Belarus, originally scheduled for August, was postponed for unclear reasons to the later period. According to the press-secretary of the Belarusian FM Pavel Latushko, Kaddafi will most likely arrive in Minsk in September. Notorious world terrorist Kaddafi was invited to Belarus upon personal request of Alexander Lukashenko.

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Yesterday “Vedomosti” came up with yet another pre-election news. Politically and economically mightiest Russian oligopoly “Siberian aluminum” is readying for a massive intrusion into Belarus markets. “Sibal” is negotiating with the Belarusian side on the inclusion into its boundless empire of the Minsk car-building plant. They propose to merge MAZ, UralAZ and Yaroslav motor plant into a Russia-Belarus holding.

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