On May 7, on the third anniversary of abduction of the former interior Minister Yuri Zakharenka a picket was held by the Belarusian Embassy in Vilnius, It was organized by the “Union of the Belarusians of Lithuania” and the Lithuanian human rights defending organization “Foundation Of Citizens’ Defense”. The picketers standing under white-red-white flags were holding not only picktures of General Zakharenka, but of other victims of Lukashenka’s regime: Henadz Karpenka, Viktar Hanchar, Zmitser Zavadsky, Anatol Krasousky, and a recent prisoner of conscience Andrei Klimau.

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Two knitting workshops of the open joint-stock company “KIM” went on strike on April 30, the reason being the non-payment of wages in course of the recent two months and suicide by one of the knitters. BDG reports that a 38-year old employee, a mother of two children, committed a suicide because she couldn’t feed her children. Having learnt the news, two knitting workshops launched a strike of protest, demanding to be paid wages for two months. The work didn’t resume for five hours straight. By the end of the working day the employees received their March monies.

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The Minsk bearings plant halted its manufacture process until May 15. 6,500 employees won’t be able to work until then, receiving but 2/3 of their regular income. The plant has been put on halt from the lack of the turnover assets, as far as the Belarusian companies don’t pay them cash.

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The government of Belarus and local authorities got to operate in “emergency manner” until they ensure the fulfillment of the planned social-economic development parameters, said at the Tuesday session of the Cabinet of Ministers of Belarus the Prime Minister Gennady Novitsky.

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Probability of choosing Russia’s representative Yuri Sukhanov President of Slavneft oil company does not seem unquestionable. It was a comment of a knowledgeable source in the government to ABN. The source has emphasized that recent appointment of one of the candidates for the position of “Slavneft” President Anatoliy Barankovsky (“Rosneft” representative) first vice-president of the company and reinforcement of the management of the company by representatives of Mezhprombank proves unpredictability of the result of imminent election. The source has also noted that yesterday meeting of Russian President and Rosneft head Sergei Bogdanchikov was not accidental, and the question of consolidation of the assets of this company.

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May 7 will mark three years since the disappearance of the former Interior Minister of Belarus police general-major Yuri Zakharenko. The man was kidnapped near his house late in the evening May 7, 1999. The eye-witnesses, found by the independent investigation commission rather than by the state one, claim that Zakharenko had been forcefully driven away by the unknown men. A few years ago the general had been dismissed from his post as the one, not sharing the point of view of the president and his encirclement. Former Minister was popular among the police and was set to found the Union of officers. His opposition activities posed major threat to the authorities.

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Human beings are always trying to find explanation to mysterious things. One’s birth and death is no exception at all. They are quite natural and explainable phenomena. But how can one interpret a person’s disappearance? As death? But it would be wrong to speak of a vanished person in past tense. As temporary absence? But, as we know, there’s nothing more permanent than the temporary. After some time passes the disappeared person is referred to with a verb “was”.

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The workers of the Bobruisk leather factory, having faced for the first time salary payment delays, went on a strike. The company always used to function stably and efficiently, being by right considered one of the town’s strongest manufactures. The salary level was also quite high here. For instance, the average March salary here constituted almost 300thsd rubles. In other words, the employees got used to good living. And when they encountered problems with sales, resulting in a two-months salary payment delay, the workers set their minds to protest.

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Ministry of Education has declared its intention to cut down the quantity of schoolteachers. The ministry speaks of difficult demographic situation in he country, extra graduates of the teacher-training institutions, and to the fact that from the beginning of the new academic year the senior pupils will learn five days a week instead of six. Besides, the government is going to raise salaries of the teachers who would be left owing to those who would be released.

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For April 28 indebtedness of the state to the workers has made 27 billion roubles, 23 of which indebted to the workers of agriculture, director of the state labor inspection department by the Labor and Soacil Protection Ministry Ivan Selyadzeusky informs.

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The index of consumer goods in the CIS states in the first quarter 2002 rose in Azerbaijan – by 1,6%, Armenia – 0,4%, Belarus – 47%, Georgia – 5,3%, Kazakhstan – 5,6%, Kyrgistan – 2,7%, Moldova – 6%, Russia – 16,8%, Tajikistan – 6,4%, Ukraine – 3,7%. No data on Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan available.

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In January-April there have been registered 434 HIV-infected persons in Belarus. These data were disseminated by the national center for AIDS prophylactics. In whole of 2001, by the way, there had been revealed only 578 such incidents.

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