On May 22 the Belarusian trade union of automobile and agricultural machinery plans to launch in Minsk an action of protest against the deterioration of living conditions in Belarus. In the near future another trade union structure will also have to decide on its involvement in the upcoming action – the trade union of radio-electronic industry.

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Alexander Lukashenko declared that the draft law “On human rights ombudsman” has been already prepared and will soon be submitted for the “parliament’s” consideration. “Meantime, nobody proposed to me any candidacy for the post,” – said the head of Belarus, responding the “deputies’” questions on Wednesday. According to him, “may be there is a need for this institute, but I always thought that it is “deputy”, who is human rights most faithful defender.”

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Human rights violations chronicles for April 2003

Drafting human rights reports is both painful and exciting. Painful because you start feeling the pain of BPF member Anton Kishkurno, who got his arm broken by the law-enforcers, the sufferings of the incarcerated schoolgirl, ZUBR activist Tayana Elovaya and travail of thousands Belarusian oppositionists, who are undermining their health, rotting in jail. Meantime, I’m extremely glad to see new names of schoolchildren and pensioners, students and entrepreneurs, scholars and journalists, who, not fearing incarceration, become moral authority and ignite the torch of freedom for the new Belarus.

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The Belarusian leader surely intrigues CIA. Speaking on April 16 with an annual address in the parliament, he said that the country’s most skilled professors elaborated some colossal weapon to repulse the potential aggressor and his allies. He added that the enemy might as well be destroyed even on his own ground.

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The Belarusian side may soon come up with a more radical unification scenario, said Alexander Lukashenko during his address to the “parliament” on Wednesday. According to him, at the next meeting with Vladimir Putin he will surely formulate his position. “For the time being the radical integration variant isn’t to be discussed in public”, - he said. He underscored that the Russian leadership has a good grasp and understanding of the Belarus’ position and both sides are ready to embark on the constructive ways to build the “union state” on the basis of sovereign equality.

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Today Belarus is Russia’s only loyal and trustworthy partner, said Alexander Lukashenko in his parliamentary discourse on Wednesday. The head of Belarus pointed out that as a result of deliberate and constant transformations the Belarusian armed forces are getting more mobile and better equipped. He added that his recent actions, including his visits to the country’s military factories, are organized with only one goal in mind – to shortly modernize the country’s armed forces.

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Belarus must be represented in all of the world’s regions, given it is economically profitable and corresponds to her national interests, said Alexander Lukashenko in his address to the “parliament” this Wednesday. “The activities of the Belarusian diplomacy on the major foreign policy directions will be considered from the positions of their economic efficacy and the implementation of peaceful initiatives,” – said the president. Speaking of the relations with Asian countries, Lukashenko particularly pointed out the perspectives of the Belarusian-Chinese relations. “We’ve also got to dynamically develop mutually beneficial relations with Turkey and the whole of the Arabic world,” – concluded he.

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Lukashenko was finally allowed to travel to Europe allegedly for letting OSCE inspectors inside the country. At the same time he was reminded that his government violates human rights and democratic principles. Regrettably, they said nothing of the mass destructions arms, though he surely has something of this kind. If not his own, then Russia’s at least.

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The true reason for the US “pressure on Belarus” is the Belarusian-Russian integration, said this Wednesday Alexander Lukashenko, addressing the parliament with his annual speech. Lukashenko skeptically views the initiative of certain US congressman to earmark multi-million aid to the Belarusian opposition. In his opinion, America doesn’t need an enforced democratization of Belarus. “Most likely it’s only an excuse,” – assumes Lukashenko.

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At the April 14-15 EU Foreign Ministers’ summit in Luxemburg they cancelled the discriminative list for eight Belarusian top officials. However, despite the travel ban’s cancellation, Lukashenko never showed up in Greece. The forthcoming EU events in Athens will not involve Belarusian representatives.

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Chairman of the Striking committee of entrepreneurs Valery Levonevsky was set free from jail today at 10a.m. The businessman was sentenced to 15 days of arrest by the Sovietsky district court of Minsk for his part in the March 12 People’s March “For Better Life!”.

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By early April 2003 Belarusian employment bureaus registered 145,7thsd unemployed, which is 25,8% more than in the analogous period last year. The Ministry of labor and social protection reports that the level of unemployment in the country constitutes 3,3% of the able-bodied population as compared with 2,6% last year. Early this year there were 130,5thsd jobless people, registered with the state bodies. Over the period from January-March there were registered 75,1thsd more. The Ministry explains the rise in the amount of unemployed by the redundancy, which rocked the companies, organizations and institutions of Belarus in the year 2002.

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The Minsk region’s districts received official press-releases, which read that “due to numerous workers’ requests the Minsk regional hall determined to organize subbotnik on April 19. Transport organizations, regardless of the form of ownership, were ordered to ensure the non-stop movement of passengers’ transport in order to deliver the population to their working places and back home”. All means, earned at subbotnik, reads the press-release, will be transferred to the bank accounts of the National Library of Belarus.

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