ZUBR activists from Borisov Sergei Pezkin and Igor Zakrevsky, who endured a ten day long arrest and hunger-strike, were set free today. The guys had been condemned for picketing the Russian embassy in Minsk against the incorporation of Belarus into Russia. They protested against Putin’s intention to annex Belarus. For this judge of the Central district court Tatiana Pavluchuk sentenced Pezkin, Zakrevsky and their fellow Ales Golub to five/ten days of arrest. Now another ZUBR – Evgeny Afnagel – is serving his 10-day term in the Okrestina confinement center, being sentenced by Pavluchuk for tearing Putin’s portraits during the protest at the monument to Marat Kazei.
Belarusian KGB arrested former president of the “Minsk complex bank’s” board Evgeny Kravtsov. BelaPAN was told by the chief of the KGB Fedor Kotov that “Kravtsov was detained on suspicion of committing a criminal felony”. KGB, added Kotov, has no complaints about the bank’s operation. Evgeny Kravtsov used to head the bank until April this year. He is also known for being a filmmaker and producer. Today the KGB agents may well voice official charges against him, after which he can get detained pending trial.
In October “Belpochta” state distribution network will raise by 38% tariffs for the delivery of printed production for the non-state and opposition periodicals.
Belarusian Association of Journalists intends to demand nullification of the discriminative articles of the Belarusian Criminal Code. Such a decision was unanimously passed at the recent session of BAJ Council. Commenting on the meeting’s outcomes, head of the center for legal assistance of media, doctor of law, professor Mikhail Pastukhov said that articles 367 (libeling president), 368, (insulting president) and 369 (insulting state officials) of the Criminal Code are posing a serious threat to the freedom of speech these days, reports BelaPAN.
The US embassy in Belarus passed on August 29 a statement concerning the press-release of the European Union on the draft law on religion, in which EU claims that the passage of the law will worsen the situation with the freedom of conscience in the country even more. “We familiarized ourselves with the EU statement on the draft law on religion and declare that the US government keeps to the similar thinking,” – reads the US embassy’s statement.
The Axis of Evil? Not as Moscow sees it. For Russia, cozying up to the rogue states is just good business—despite the outrage that’s causing in Washington.
The private taxi drivers of Novopolotsk will join the entrepreneurs’ unlimited strike on September 1. There are 60 private cabs registered in the town. All of them were made to pay 40 euros. Recently, when the euro rate started growing, just as the cost of fuel, the drivers began talking of the necessity to reduce the fixed tax, levied on them. However, instead of reducing they lifted it to 60 euros, reports Radio Svaboda.
The lingering period of weird integration between Russia and Belarus ended up in Putin’s scandalous annexation proposal. Alexander Lukashenko recovered from shock only a few hours later, when he returned from Moscow and felt solid ground under his feet. In no time the man proclaimed himself a true Belarusian patriot, who stands for the independence of his country. Some analysts claim that the years of his presidency, sacrificed at the altar to the union state, were wasted in vain. “BDG” correspondent turned for commentary on the present situation to the leader of the Russian “Democratic Union” Valeriya NOVODVORSKAYA.
International non-governmental organization Transparency International published its annual report, dedicated to the situation with corruptibility in over a hundred states worldwide. In 2002 the index of corruption perception was calculated on 102 countries – from Finland to Bangladesh. The index reflects the perception of corruption by the entrepreneurs and analysts of each country, assessing it according to the scale from 10 (almost no corruption) to 0 (very high). They also figured out countries’ rating on the issue. Belarus occupies the 36th spot in that rating list.
Russian leadership is open for any dialogue, said on August 28 deputy head of the presidential administration of Russia Sergei Prikhodko. The statesman is convinced that the dispute over the destiny of the Russian-Belarusian union is even useful. As you remember, previously Alexander Lukashenko called Moscow’s proposals on annexing Belarus to Russia “insulting”.
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