The United States joins the European Union and the OSCE Representative on the Freedom of Media in condemning the conviction and sentence imposed on the editor-in-chief of the Belarusian newspaper Rabochy, Mr. Viktor Ivashkevich. Mr. Ivashkevich, who was charged with insulting Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko in a trial closed to domestic and international observers, was sentenced on September 16 to two years of corrective labor.

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The US president George Bush greeted the participants of the 4th conference of the right-wing and central parties of Central and Eastern Europe, which took place on September 28-29 in Prague. The event attracted representatives of 15 countries. Part of Bush’s missive was addressed to Belarus: “The electoral process in Belarus isn’t democratic, while the political opposition is exposed to harassment. The United States uphold the growth of democracy there. I call on everyone to support all those, who are fighting for the fundamental human rights and freedoms in Belarus”.

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At the 4th Conference of Center Right Parties in Central and Eastern Europe, convened in Prague, Czech Republic in September 27-29 2002, leaders of the attending parties agreed to the following declaration:

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First Vice-President of the “LUKOIL” company Sergei Kukura was hidden by the abductors in the remote Belarusian village in the middle of nowhere, reports the newspaper “Izvestia” on Tuesday. According to the newspaper, Kukura was held in the Moscow region for one and a half days after his kidnapping. Then, having recorded on video Kukura’s request to pay for his liberation $3mln and 3mln euros, the criminals dispatched him to Belarus. They immured him in the basement of a wooden house.

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There’s no mass destruction weapons in Iraq, said Vice-Premier of Iraq Abdel Tavvab Mulla Hueish during his meeting with the press in Minsk. According to the high official, any such US allegations are groundless. He underscore that Iraq doesn’t feel like violating the UN sanctions at all. He added that the previous UN inspectors found no trace of the mass destruction weaponry at Iraqi military bases. And so, concludes the Iraqi official, the USA has no reasons for delivering a strike against his country. “However, if they attack, we will fight them back,” – stated Abdel Hueish.

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