The Leninsky district court of Minsk tried today the participants of Sunday’s peaceful protest, marking the 85th anniversary since the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic. According to preliminary data, received by Charter’s press-center from “Vesna”, Oleg Medvedev, Dmiry Slepovich, Valentin Baranov, Pavel Severinets, Valentin Malashko, Denis Dashkevcich and 13th Supreme Soviet MP Pavel Znavets received from 5 to 15 days of arrest each. Vyacheslav Sivchik received 15 days of jail, while Pavel Znavets – 10. Moreover, 20 other people were fined and reprimanded. Tomorrow we will update this with the new information. Stay with us.

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The United Civil Party protested against the brutal dispersal by law-enforcers and riot police of the peaceful March 23 demonstration. According to UCP, by so doing the Belarusian authorities once again demonstrated their cynical attitude and disregard for the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. The party categorically protests against punitive operations in the Belarusian capital and violations of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, calling on the international community to adequately react to the systematic violations of Constitution and international commitments, which the authorities bound themselves with.

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President of Belarus characterized on March 22 the statements of approval of war in Iraq, voiced earlier by some CIS leaders, as “unprecedented fact” and “short-sighted policy”.

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The town of Voronov started celebrating the 85th anniversary of the Belarusian People’s Republic. On Friday, March 21, the local activists of BPF greeted the schoolchildren and teachers with the jubilee. In the morning they scattered at schools postcards with “Pagonya” and white-red-white flags. During the break the pupils gladly picked them up from the window-sills and passed over to the teachers. The scared administration called for police. Radio Ratsya reports that there also showed up local KGB agents there who interrogated the pupils till the end of the school day.

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Soligorsk entrepreneurs get stripped of their licenses for engaging in the national March 12 strike, BelaPAN was told by the member of the national public association “Perspective” Alexander Tsetsura.

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Four people were apprehended on March 23 in Grodno during the action, dedicated to the 85th anniversary since the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic – Freedom Day. Among the detainees were chairman of the regional BPF party Sergei Malchik, his relative with the same name Sergei Malchik, worker of the “Tsvetlit” company Nikolai Evsei and locksmith of the private business “Kryga” Dmitry Antonevich. They were captured by the Leninsky district law-enforcers when trying to put white-red-white flags on a memorial sign, dedicated to the 1863 revolt.

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Graffiti “Shame on regime’s lackeys!” and “Shame on Luka’s servants!” appeared on the walls of the Sovietsky district court of Minsk. By this action ZUBR activists expressed their attitude to judges Oksana Relayeva and Ruslan Kazadoev, who sentenced four People’s March organizers to 15 days of arrest each. However, these were in no wise the only victims of their lawless verdicts, for the two judges had been passing arbitrary sentenced for a few years now.

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BelaPAN was told in the Minsk city police press-center that 26 of the detained Sunday protesters faced police protocols, while 14 were delivered to the Minsk Okrestina pre-trial jail, where they stayed overnight. According to BelaPAN, among those in jail were Vyacheslav Sivchik , 12th Supreme Soviet deputy Leonid Deiko and 13th Supreme Soviet deputy Pavel Znavets. In total, the human rights watchdogs report of 54 detentions. March 24 will see a series of trials over the dissenters.

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According to the US estimations, in the year 2001 Russia shipped to Iraq $4bln worth of goods, which is 20 times more than the official data. Some assume that the discrepancy can’t be explained by the sales of vehicles and other civil commodity, which are considered to be main items of Russian export. It could well be that Russia shipped some dangerous stuff to Iraq through the intermediary countries in breach of the UN sanctions. In 2002 Washington blamed Ukraine over sales of radars to Iraq, while Kiev failed to present convincing counter-evidence. However, Leonid Kuchma’s former bodyguard Nikolai Melnichenko (main witness for the prosecution from the US side) stated that the case also involved high-ranking Russian officials, which he can also prove. Stanislav Shushkevich, former head of Belarus, which openly supports Saddam, doesn’t rule out that Minsk is shipping ammunition to Iraq. “However, someone from Moscow stands behind that”, - deems Shushkevich.

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The Minsk city hall didn’t sanction the festive events of March 25. The organizers submitted their plea for holding a rally and concert, marking 85th anniversary since the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic to the Minsk city hall. They asked for permission to assemble at 5.30p.m. in the Yakub Kolas square and walk all the way to the Yanka Kupala part for a final meeting an concert.

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Picketing of the Belarusian embassy in Kiev will take place at noon March 25. By this action representatives of the democratic community of Kiev will express their solidarity with the Belarusian opposition, marking on this day the 85th year since the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic. Among the action’s organizers are “Molody Rukh”, “Ukrainian Youth Assembly”, “Independent Ukraine” and other organizations. As a sign of protest against Kremlin’s plans to introduce Russian currency in Belarus, they will publicly burn down Russian rubles. They will also petition the embassy with a claim to immediately set free Belarusian political captives Andrei Sannikov, Dmitry Bondarenko, Ludmila Gryaznova and Leonid Malakhov, signed by the deputies from a few parliamentary factions of Ukraine. The signature collection motion is underway at the moment.

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Upon the request of the Iraqi government and embassy in Minsk Belarus claims readiness to render immediate assistance to the Iraqi females, children and elderly people, who suffer from the US attack most, the journalists were told by Alexander Lukashenko during his trip to the State Memorial Complex “Khatyn”.

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54 were apprehended in Minsk on Sunday for their attempt to mark the 85th anniversary of the Belarusian People’s Republic. According to the human rights center “Vesna”, among those, detained yesterday, were such prominent public and political figures of Belarus as Aleksei Korol, Vyacheslav Sivchik, Pavel Severinets, Pavel Znavets, Sergei Popkov, Yuras Belenki and Sergei Vysotsky. Vyachslav Sivchik was captured together with his wife and 6-year old daughter… Interior Ministry’s press-service reports that the majority of the protesters were shortly set free. However, they still hold in custody awaiting trial Sivchik, Severinets and Belenki. Monday will usher in the series of trials over the protesters.

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Early conditional release of the convicted journalist of the shut Grodno newspaper “Pagonya” Pavel Mozheiko was approved on Friday, March 21 by the Zhlobin district court. Overall the man spent 6 months and 21 days in the open type penitentiary #1 of Zhlobin.

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