Chairman of the Free Trade Union of Belarus Gennady Bykov upholds the implementation on March 12 of the People’s March “For Better Life!”. The trade unionist told Charter’s press-center that he would surely and personally engage in the action, for the situation in the country is deteriorating so speedily and to such an extent that no one can tolerate the regime’s lawlessness any longer.

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Any arguments that direct contact of the buyers of military equipment with the manufacturers damage the country’s security interests, are incorrect, said in an exclusive interview to “Interfax” the director of the “Tetraedr” company Andrei Vahovsky.

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Local elections in Belarus, which were held on March 2, “fell short of meeting the norms and standards of the democratic society”, reads the statement, circulated by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. The election campaign was carried out with “violations of constitutional norms and other legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus, which significantly affected the final outcomes of the voting”.

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On March 3 the Council of the Belarusian PEN-Center filed protest over the de-facto closure of newspapers "Novaya Gazeta Smorgoni" (Grodno region) and "Vecherny Stolin" (Brest region).

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A funny scene was observed this morning by one of the People’s March organizers Leonid Malakhov in the yard of one of the houses in the Skarina prospect. He saw a homeless beggar, pulling off the fences the People’s March stickers under the supervision of two law-enforcers. Malakhov noticed a great number of already torn down stickers. However, the poor man had plenty of work to do still – pillars, doors and drain-pipes of the adjacent houses were all covered with the March’s stickers. By the way, today local police are celebrating their professional holiday – the Day of the Belarusian Police.

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Opposition parties are outlining the results of the local elections campaign. Now we know exactly the number of deputies of local councils of various levels representing opposition parties, as well as those, who will compete in the second round of voting. BPF, for instance, is represented by 11 deputies: Ales Mikhalevich, Yuri Zenkovich, Svetlana Andruhovich, Konstantin Shpuntov, Olga Golubovich, Alexander Syrokvash, Ivan Shega. 9 more individuals from Vitebsk, Grodno, Novopolotsk, Zhodino, Svetlogorsk, Maryina Gorka and Barani will contend in the second round.

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On March 3 the delegation of "national assembly" of Belarus left for the Great Socialist National Libyan Arab Jamahiria. BelaPAN was told in the "house of representatives’" press-service that the delegation is chaired by the speaker of the lower parliament’s chamber Vadim Popov. It also encompasses MPs Ivan Mychko, Mikhail Poplavsky and Sergei Semashko.

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On February 28 the British ambassador Jan Kelli left Belarus due to the expiration of his diplomatic mandate. Jan Charles Kelli was in charge of the British embassy in Minsk ever since May 1999. Upon his return to his home country, the diplomat will work in the Foreign Ministry’s apparatus in London.

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The Belarusian town of Polotsk will host on March 4-6 the second meeting of the secretaries of the security councils of the four Slavic states – Belarus, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. RIA “Novosti” was told in the Russian Security Council that the primary item on their daily agenda would surely be the situation development around Iraq, which is directly linked with the regional and international security problems.

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Official delegation, headed by the mayor of Baghdad, will arrive this evening in Minsk. BELTA was told in the department of protocol, international and public relations of the Minsk city hall that on March 5 morning the Iraqi visiting guests will meet with the leadership of the Minsk City. Later in the day they will pay visit to the company “Minskvodokanal”. During their working trip, which will last till March 7, members of the official Baghdad delegation will also visit “Belkommunmash” company, the National Exhibition Center “Belexpo” and also the Great Patriotic War museum.

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