December 20 evening head of the OSCE Advisory-Monitoring Group in Belarus Hans-Georg Wieck held his farewell party, which the official authorities ignored. The reception attracted foreign diplomats, leaders of political parties, heads of NGOs and journalists from the independent media. In his farewell speech the ambassador Wieck noted the following: “Today we have a lot of guests in this room. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t think that we didn’t invite representatives of the official authorities. We sent out invitations to them, just as we did to you. A similar incident occurred on January 15 this year, when we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Helsinki agreements.” The diplomat added that although it is high time he left Belarus, OSCE AMG would resume their activities, as far as it had never fulfilled its main task – implementation of free and fair elections.

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Head of the OSCE Advisory-Monitoring Group in Belarus Hans-Georg Wieck, due to leave the country on December 22, said in an official pres-release how grateful he was to all the Belarusian citizens, claiming that their cooperation experience will be most unforgettable for him. Wieck’s tenure in office as the AMG head will expire on December 31, 2001 – the German diplomat headed the OSCE group in Minsk since the moment of its foundation in 1997.

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Minsk joint-stock company “Tsentrenergomontazh” will take part in construction of the atomic power station in Iran. As the manager of the enterprise I.Disman informed Interfax, “Tsentrenergomontazh” has won international tender for construction of the turbine department of the station.

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Auditor of the Accounting Chamber of Russia Nikolai Loktionov reported that the Accounting Chamber and the Committee for state control of Belarus disclosed the misapplication of means from the “union budget”, worth 180mln rubles. The examination into the spending of the budget means was carried out by two countries’ special committee, covering the period from early 2000 to the first half-year of 2001.

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According to IMF’s prediction, in 2001 the economical growth of the economy in the CIS countries will make 6.1%. In November IMF predicted economical growth of the CIS countries equal to 5.9%. As RIA “Novosti” reported was informed on Friday in the SIC executive committee, IMF experts expect, that in 2001 GD increase in Russia will make 5.8%, in Ukraine 8.2%, 9% in Kazakhstan, in Belarus – 3%.

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Belarusian companies are quickly losing grounds in Russia – the major market for the Belarus-made goods. That was the result of the research, conducted by the World Bank experts. Full outcomes of the investigation will be processed and voiced in two months, but even now one may draw a conclusion that the conditions for entrepreneurship development in Belarus are way more unfavorable than in other former USSR states, where the analogous study had been held, said on December 20 deputy director of the WB’s Ukrainian affiliate Vladimir-Goran Kreachich, speaking at the round table in Minsk.

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Belarus will augment in the year 2002 the supplies of foodstuffs to Moscow. RIA Novosti correspondent was told on Friday in the Russian embassy that the companies of the Minsk agriculture sector plan to ship to the Russian capital 17,5 thousand tons of meat (in 2001 – 13,9), 6 thousand tons of butter (5), 5 thousand tons of dry milk (4), 12mln canned dairy products (twice as much), 4 thousand tons of cheese (3,9), 10 thousand tons of potatoes (5 thousand tons), 30 thousand tons of salt. Moreover, next year Belarus plans to supply to Moscow 5 thousand tons of vegetables.

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Joint venture “Mobile Digital Communications” (brand-name VELCOM) will soon significantly broaden the area of operation, Interfax reports from the company’s office. In particular, the phones will now ring in Schuchin, Kalinkovichi, Osipovichi, Skidel, Berezino and Krychev. According to the company’s specialists, in early December the connection was switched on in Svetlogorsk too.

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Babruisk dwellers Lubov Sankevich and Eva Ustimchuk, who were sentenced to 10-days administrative arrest by the Lenin District court in Minsk, were taken from the confinement ward and put to hospital. Theyir blood pressure had risen abruptly. But there were no spare places in the hospital, so they were let go.

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Confirmation of the seriousness of the government’s intentions to carry out liberal reformation in economy must necessarily result in a “political passage of a number of key reforms, followed by their operative and detailed inclusion into the legislation system”,- said head of the Belarusian entrepreneurship union Alexander Potupa at the Dec.20 round table session in Minsk, dedicated to the first steps en route to the liberalization of the Belarusian economy.

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Belarusian opposition, following its defeat in the presidential ballot, doesn’t seem to give up its efforts. Recently the Vice-Speaker of the Supreme Soviet, head of the United Civil party Anatoly Lebedko made an unofficial visit to Belarus. Following you may read his exclusive interview to the newspaper “Segodnya”.

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Alyaxandar Chihir stated in court that he did not seal cars and said that he suspects investigators in falsification of the facts. In the Lenin district court of Minsk, where the proceedings over the son of the former Prime Minister Mikhail Chihir are held, yesterday the whole day his part in cars stealing was considered. Chihir pleaded not guilty in organizing of criminal group of cars stealers, however he did not exclude that spare parts of the cars could be identified by victims of stealing.

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Council of Ministers’ decree ratified Regulations on Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. In line with Lukashenka’s decree “On Improvement of the System of State Institutions and Other Republican State Organizations, Submitted to the Government”, part of the MFA functions in the sphere of international political activities will be transferred to the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Trade. Part of the posts will be transferred to these ministries. 61 employees of the MFA will be dismissed; 25 departments out of 34 will remain.

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Russian associations of professional unions, members of the International confederation of free trade unions – the Federation of independent trade unions of Russia, the All-Russian labor confederation and the Confederation of labor of Russia are alarmed over the Belarusian Cabinet’s passage of the law “On some steps to protect the rights of professional trade unions members”, whose provisions are an infringement on the fundamental rights of trade unionists. Following comes the full text of the statement, in which Russian trade union organizations protest against the approval of this law.

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Today a new number of the Krycheu newspaper Volny Horad was issued. Unregistered newspaper is has been published in Krycheu since April 20, 1998 and has a circulation of 299 copies. On September 7, before the presidential elections, criminal proceedings were instituted against its staff, and its office equipment was confiscated.

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After the New Year the Polish government decided to diminish the norms of import of alcohol and tobacco products into the country. This will actually mean a loss of income for some two thousand residents of the Belarusian frontier area, who regularly sell this commodity in Poland. For many it is their sole source of income.

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The list of licenses for retail sale and rendering services to the citizens for foreign currency has been cut down. The National Bank will only sanction the sale of fuel at gas stations, retail trade and road services at highways, marked with an “M” sign, insurance activities, and duty free shops. This decision was passed by the leadership of the country’s chief bank, which introduced amendments into the provisions of the concomitant legislation.

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