In the capital of neighboring Poland an international conference on the problem of security and terrorism fighting was held. Belarus was represented by the head of the Presidential Administration Ural Latypov. On the eve of the meeting the head of the State Security Agency of the Polish Presidential Office, vice-minister Marek Sivets said literally the following: “When we speak about such an extremely important matter as fighting terrorism in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, we cannot leave a ‘hole’ or a ‘black stain’ called Belarus”.

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William Folkner’s words best fit in the modern state of affairs in Belarus. Since late last week the authorities have been trying hard to dig under asphalt the remains of the victims of Stalinist repressions, buried in Kuropaty. At first glance this may look absurd. Some may be even tempted to think that the authorities are simply economizing money by building the road across the cemetery. Certain media presented the conflict as another petty clash between the authorities and their opponents. However, the events unfurling in Kuropaty these days, unveiled a more serious problem – contemporary followers of Bolsheviks continue their red terror.

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20,8% of citizens, who engaged in the sociological survey in Belarus, are the convicted opponents of integration with Russia, while 15,6% claim to be its supporters, reports NISEPI. Researchers say that for the very first time over the past two years the integration’s committed critics outnumbered its committed adherents. What kind of relations with the neighboring country do the poll participants want to see?

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The situation in Belarus will be brought up for deliberations at the session of the Political Committee of the PACE, due to take place next week in Vilnius, reports Interfax with a reference to the Lithuanian Soim’s press-center.

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On October 22 this year acting prosecutor of Krichev district Mikhnevich resumed criminal proceedings against the unregistered Krichev periodical “Volny Gorod”. The journalists learn that only in the end of last week, when they were again summoned to interrogations.

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Alexander Lukashenko met today with the director general of the federal state company “Rosoboronexport” Andrei Belyaninov and executive secretary of the Russian-Belarusian financial industrial group “Defensive systems” Sergei Batekhin. In course of their Minsk visit the delegation from these two institutions will rendezvous with the Belarusian military brass and the state secretary of the Security Council Gennady Nevyglas.

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November 21 the Polish side initiated the reconstruction closure of the border crossing point “Bruzgi-Kuznitsa”, situated within close range from Grodno, said at the press-conference in the Belarusian Foreign Ministry the head of the FM consulate service Viktor Geisik. Such a unilateral shutdown of one of the key customs offices at the border between Poland and Belarus is a serious inconvenience to travelers. This will especially damage the cargo trucks, which will now line up in lengthy queues at other border crossing points.

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A vast number of filled ballot sheets on the election of a deputy into the House of representative from the Berezensky constituency #76, verified with official signatures, was discovered by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee at the Berezensky graveyard. BHC people and a photographer have urgently headed in the direction of the Berezensky cemetery, having received a notification from Nikolai Ermalovich – district coordinator for the elections. On the territory of the graveyard they discovered plenty of ballots, most of which had been buried in the trash ditch, wrapped in paper.

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New York, November 13, 2001-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) denounced a Belarusian High Economic Court decision to shut down the Hrodno-based independent weekly Pahonya. Yesterday the court found Pahonya guilty of insulting President Aleksandr Lukashenko and publishing the statements of an unregistered civic organization, according to local and international press reports. The newspaper had received two prior warnings in relation to these charges. Pahonya received the first warning on November 17, 2000, and the second warning in early September 2000.

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In a letter to president Lukashenko the authoritative human rights organization The International League for Human Rights, shared its indignation over the arbitrary shutdown of the independent weekly Pagonya. Following read the full text of the message.

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A pupil of the 8th grade of the Soligorsk secondary school #5 Alexander Gulkevich addressed the Soligorsk branch of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee on October 27. In his letter the boy complained that his school’s headmaster Valentina Yastreb summoned him to her office. Upon his arrival there, her and another teacher forced the lad to confess that it was him, who spray-painted “ZUBR” graffiti on the wall of the adjacent building. When Alexander denied his guilt, the headmaster, who’s, by the way, an honored teacher of the Republic of Belarus, punched the boy in the face with her fist and threatened him that, given he doesn’t admit his guilt before the coming of police, things would get even worse for him.

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Ex-Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir’s charges of 1 million dollars’ embezzlement were dropped. He was informed about it during interrogation at the Investigation Committee by the Internal Affairs Ministry. Investigators account for this fact that the term of the crime has expired. The earlier charges of taxes-evasion still remain.

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At one of the administrations of the Mahilyov building trusts unrest started because wages for September have not been paid. According to Alyaksej Paulouski, the chairman of the Free Trade Union of the 12th trust, at the building enterprise #56 the beginning of the general strike was planned on November 12. Foremen tried to find out when builders and engineers receive money. People received 35 thousand roubles each – a so-called ‘minimum consumer’s basket’.

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Total salary indebtedness for August-September constituted in the agricultural complex of the Maloritsky district (Brest region) 235,500 thousand rubles by Nov. 1. Out of 18 husbandries and organizations only one cleared its September debt before workers. Eight still have to pay August money. Leaders in terms of non-payment for two months are the collective farms “Zarya” – 37,359thsd rubles, “Maloritsky” – 36,732thsd rubles, “Novaya Zhisn” – 30,486thsd rubles, “Kirovs” – 28,693thsd. The situation in agriculture is frightening.

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The product was discovered by police in a private house not far from the town Lokhya, reports RIA “Novosti”. The jelly was made from alcohol and stearin. It was presented to customs officers as a purifying substance. It was for the first time that smugglers brought spirits into Finland like that. Were they to pay taxes for it, the sum would constitute 3,7mln. Finnish marks. The jelly had been produced at the chemical company of Belarus. It was carried into Finland through Lithuania and Estonia. Among the suspects is the international contraband gang. Seven out of the total 13 culprits have been already captured by Finnish law-enforcers.

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