“Cancellation of travel ban, previously imposed on Lukashenko and his subordinates, is yet another attempt to persuade the Belarusian authorities into behaving themselves. But it will be futile anyway, for Belarus’ problem is in the very nature of Lukashenko’s regime,” – says Charter’97 international coordinator, former deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Andrei Sannikov. He noted that after Lukashenko came up with an idea of the ideological committees it finally became clear that the formation of the totalitarian state is round the corner. “Persuasions don’t help change the totalitarian regimes. On the contrary, there’s a danger of encouraging by so doing even harsher repressions against Lukashenko’s opponents exactly as it happens every time after the international community starts treating him mildly.”

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The fact that the Belarusian dictator will turn into US target next, is an undisputable issue, - writes the German newspaper “Frankfurter Rundschau”. The United States have long considered Belarus a country, which belongs to the axis of evil. As concerns the Minsk leader, he irritates America all the more.

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Relatives of the missing Viktor Gonchar and Yuri Zakharenko, along with their lawyer from BHC Garry Pogonailo, addressed the head of the presidential Administration Ural Latypov, state secretary of the Security Council Gennady Nevyglas and KGB chief Leonid Erin with a request to explain Lukashenko’s words, uttered by him at the March 27 seminar on the sophistication of ideological propaganda. Speaking of the former Belarus’ ambassador in Japan Petr Kravchenko, Lukashenko said the following: “I told the special services, forgive me my plainness, to kidnap him and return home”.

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The unknown evildoers broke into the office of the Baranovichi public organization “Varuta”, located on the same floor with the local police station.

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Commander of the Algerian armed forces, brigade general Mohamed Lamari, leads his country’s official military delegation to Minsk. The guests arrived in the Belarusian capital on April 14.

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George Bush’s Administration, along with the 14 EU member-states, ruled to lift sanctions, previously imposed on the entrance to these countries by the top Belarusian officials, reports the US Department of State’s press-service. The decision was motivated by Belarus’ opening of the OSCE representation in Minsk and permitting it to follow its mandate. Meantime, the US Administration raises serious concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in the sphere of human rights and democracy in Belarus. The States call on official Minsk to pursue the policy of political liberalization, ensuring respect for human rights and freedom of media.

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The Roman-Catholic church in Belarus successfully passed re-registration under the new law “On the freedom of conscience and religious organizations,” reports “Interfax”.

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The International Monetary Fund deems that Russia and Belarus have still to do a lot in order to successfully transfer to the common currency circulation, reads the report, disseminated in the aftermath of the IMF’s mission to Minsk and Moscow, delegated in April this year. The mission’s report proves that neither of the sides is ready to embark on the currency union.

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