Arrests of the director of the refrigerator plant ‘Atlant’ Kaluhin, the head of the Belarusian Railway Rakhmanko, director of the stadium ‘Traktar’ Alejnikau, director of the auto market Vasileusky are just the most loud arrests and cases in recent times. As is well known, 210 criminal cases were initiated by the public prosecutors, arrests of 720 people were sanctioned, court rulings on 71 cases were appealed, 15 of them – because of insufficient punishment.

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The new Minister of healthcare of Belarus Vladislav Ostapenko intends to replace some of the statesmen, BelaPAN was told by Ostapenko at the November 29 Minsk press-conference on fighting corruption. The official pointed out that some state servants from the Ministry for healthcare have been actively lobbying the interests of the western producers of medical equipment and medications. According to him, statistics shows that out of all the revealed cases of bribery in the budget sphere two thirds fall on education and medicine. “The president made the first step. Now it’s my turn,” – said professor Ostapenko.

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The Constitutional court voiced its decision over the case on the legality of certain provisions of the Supreme Court plenum of April 10, 1992 with amendments of March 29, 2001 “On judiciary practice in bribery cases”.

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Alyaxandar Lukashenka at the press conference of the CIS countries in Moscow spoke against the proposal to cooperate in economic sphere like the European Union. “I consider it to be a movement backwards. We should move to integration, having a wonderful example of integrated economies of the republics in the former USSR. It would not lead to the USSR revival, we would just be at a higher level of integration of our economies then the EU is”, -- Lukashenka said. He underlined that he is an “opponent of movement towards the EU”, as it would be a “roll back”.

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Mogilev court opened hearings of the administrative case of Viktor Yasukevich and Tamara Levskaya, who were both part of Vladimir Goncharik’s initiative team in the run-up to elections. They were accused of insubordination to police commands during the agitation campaign. Both Yasukevich and Levskaya face legal proceedings for resisting police officer.

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The current tax law does not correspond to the declared by the state’s leadership policy of economic liberalization. More than that, it strengthens the pressure, exerted by the state, on private entrepreneurs and intensifies state control over the companies’ activities, BelaPAN was told by the chair of the executive committee of the “Alternative XXI” public association Sergei Balykin, commenting on the ratification in the first reading of the general part of the tax law.

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Despite her promises to the EU, Poland intends to introduce entry visas for Russian and Belarusian nationals not until 2003, report Polish media. The Polish delegation, which will negotiate on the problem of Poland’s integration into EU, told this in Brussels to the EU representatives. Reportedly, the change in the position is explained by the shortage of money in the budget to provide for the work of the consulates and get them hi-tech equipment.

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November 29 night Grodno resident staged a rally in remembrance of the temple of Far Vitovt, blown up by the communists forty years ago. The requiem meeting commenced at 5.30p.m. and lasted for an hour or so. Despite the ban, placed by the city hall, some 200 Grodno inhabitants, members of versatile parties, public associations and intelligentsia assembled in the local park – the destroyed temple’s location.

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Musicians of a young Dutch rock-band "Third Stone" expressed their incomprehension and indignation with the Fascist acts during the rock concert in the Minsk club “Reactor”. They informed about it at the press conference on November 29. At the concert-presentation of the album "Hard life - heavy music", that took place on November 22, about 20 skinheads were present, behaved aggressively and shouted Fascist greetings by the show of a band “Apraxia”.

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A court on the case of a gang headed by a former Almaz officer Valeryi Ignatovich, who is charged with several loud crimes, including cameraman Zavadsky’s abduction, decided to summon as witness Aleh Bazhelka, a former Prosecutor General of Belarus. The trial takes place behind closed doors, and the information about the hearing is scarce, but allegedly the verdict to summon Bazhelka was made after a well-known Russian journalist Pavel Sharamet was interrogated. All the participants of the trial have given a written undertaking not to reveal what happens in the court. But Pavel Sharamet agreed to answer several questions:

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Belarus, which most of the foreign investors stay away from, is seeking ways to improve business relations with the international financial organizations. “Reforms… Hate that word. We aren’t used to market economy,” – repeated over and over again Alexander Lukashenko, addressing his 10-million nation. Afterwards, in September, the Minsk tsar, who rules over the country since 1994, decided to hold elections. He confirmed his authority for another 5 years – sometimes through tricks or force, but also with the help of his followers, who are looking up to Russia in fear of reforms, which are synonymous to robbery to them. These folks – village peasants and old pensioners, were promised by the new old president that the government would never expose them to an economic shock therapy. However, now we are witnessing signs that the Belarusian economy is crumbling to pieces. Nobody can say for sure for how long this will last. One thing is clear, though: even the most cautious actions will shake Lukashenko’s throne.

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“Alexander Lukashenko lost Putin as an anti-west ally. After Putin and Bush made friends and Russia said it would support anti-terrorist campaign, will it need an ally, which is protecting Russian western frontiers from NATO and USA?” – writes in today’s issue a leading Polish periodical Gazeta Wyborcza. “Protection of joint border of the Russia-Belarus state from the NATO expansion eastwards is the chief goal of Belarus according to Alexander Lukashenko. However, it seems as though he was the only one who saw the North-Atlantic monster,” – writes Tsezariy Golinsky.

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Verdict against newspaper Pahonya was passed on November 12, 2001 by the judge of the Supreme Economic Court Valery Zhandarov. In this connection, editors of the leading Belarusian periodicals addressed the chairman of the Supreme Economic Court Kamenkov and the procuracy officials, pleading with them to carry out justice and invalidate the decision of judge Zhandarov.

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Spontaneous meeting was provoked by the decision of the Committee for architecture and urban construction of the Minsk executive council, which ruled to shut the “Baikalsky” marketplace, located in the Zavodsky district. This news was announced yesterday both to the vendors and to the market visitors. This angered both sides. The municipal authorities are explaining the need to close down the “Baikalsky” market by the construction of the Minsk beltway. According to the participants of the meeting, the reason for the shutdown is ridiculous. They claim that there’s plenty of space at the market for the state’s use as well. “Baikalsky” vendors and buyers determined to go for an action of protest this coming Saturday.

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Forty years have passed since Vitaut’s Cathedral was blasted. A group of Hrodna’s citizens submitted a request to the city executive committee to carry out a meeting “No Future Without History” to observe this date. The meeting was planned for November 29, at 5 p.m. by the Soviet Square, where the Cathedral stood. But the authorities did not authorize the meeting.

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A cosmonaut from Belarus would surely fly to space, A.Lukashenka declared on Thursday during his visit to a space rocket corporation “Energia” in Korolyov by Moscow. Lukashenka spent about 2,5 hours there, RIA Novosti informs. He looked at the assembling and test shop, where piloted spaceships of Soiuz-TM series and cargo spaceships of Progress-M series for International Space station are constructed. During the visit assembling of the piloted spaceship Soiuz-TM for a transferring a next in turn expedition to the International space station in April 2002.

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