Yesterday evening the state television showed the administration officials commenting on the recent letter from the Russian president Vladimir Putin, in which he proposes new variants of integration.
Speaking at today’s unification Congress of the Belarusian Patriotic Youth Union and Belarusian Youth Union, Alexander Lukashenko noted that every member of these organizations must succeed in the state management. By the way, the number of posts in the newly formed structure will be twice less than previously. The head of state also entitled the governors to make sure none of the activists is left workless.
On September 6 there took place a unification congress in Minsk between the two state youth unions. Upon the high order the two organizations with similar abbreviations BPYU and BYU are merging into one with a name harder to pronounce – BRSM, which is another term for the old Soviet komsomol (communist youth union).
Former chairman of the “MinskComplexBank” board Evgeny Kravtsov is officially accused of violating article 424/3 of the Penal Ñode “power abuse”, BelaPAN was told by the chair of the KGB Center for information and public communications Fedor Kotov.
In connection with the escalating conflict between the authorities and free press the Belarusian Association of Journalists opens a national campaign on the cancellation of three articles of the Penal Code. The Association’s president Janna Litvina raised concerns that a right for free thinking and dissemination of information is under a threat of criminal persecution.
The new president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, British representatives Bruce George, who replaced at the post Adrian Severin, was given his first floor before the OSCE Permanent Council members on September 5. In his speech George informed the Permanent Council about the Berlin declaration against terrorism, passed earlier in July this year. According to the OSCE PA president, confronting world terrorism will be one of the key priorities of his work. The newly appointed official also touched upon the Belarusian issue. He told the OSCE PA representatives that back in July it had been determined to postpone the consideration of the Belarusian OSCE PA membership until the winter session, due to take place in February 2003.
September 6 saw a meeting between the Belarusian ambassador in China Vladimir Rusakevich and deputy director of the department of Europe of the Ministry of foreign trade and economic cooperation of China Chjan Di on the promotion of bilateral trade-economic relations.
The unification of two large youth organizations Belarusian Patriotic Youth Union and Belarusian Youth Union started today in Minsk with a scandal. Radio “Unistar” reports that the presidential administration stripped all the accredited non-state journalists, who were supposed to cover the event, of their accreditation. The reason for that was Alexander Lukashenko’s part in the meeting. Meantime, in the official address of the Union to the Belarusian youth of August 28 it is written that the new organization is founded around the principles of democracy and all information about its activities is available for the wide public.
On September 7 the Vice-Speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet Viktor Gonchar, abducted almost three years ago with his companion – businessman Anatoly Zavadsky, will turn 45. Viktor’s friends and colleagues from the United Civil Party will gather next Saturday at 11a.m. in the Minsk Gorky park near the monument to the communist writer.
Commemoration of another anniversary of Alexander Lukashenko’s rule will take place on September 9 at the Central square of Borisov. If you remember, on that very day last year there took place presidential elections, at which Lukashenko claimed doubtful victory through all sorts of manipulations. The organizer of the action is the Borisov ZUBR affiliate. They already embarked on the agitation campaign by inviting a few thousand workers to engage in the event. They also pasted throughout the town flyers of the following content:
Arrest of a famous Belarusian entrepreneur Evgeny Kravtsov is directly linked with his professional activities as chair of the “MinskCompexBank’s” board, the journalists were told on Thursday by the chairman of the Committee for state security of Belarus Leonid Erin.
Sovietsky district procuracy of Gomel again declined to institute legal action over the death of a ZUBR activist Andrei Zaitsev, whom the local KGB sought to recruit as their informer. Despite this, Andrei’s father intends to fight to the end.
On September 5 the Ministry of foreign affairs of Belarus hosted a meeting between the Foreign Minister of Belarus Mikhail Khvostov and states-secretary, first deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Valery Loschinin. In course of the deliberations on the development of further relations within the limits of the “union state” the head of the Belarusian FM confirmed that the text of Putin’s message to Lukashenko is currently a matter of close examination in the Belarusian Foreign Ministry.
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