On November 4, Belarusian refugees’ actions of protest against Lukashenka’s dictator regime are scheduled to take place at the Belarusian embassies in the European cities of Paris, Brussels, the Hague, and Prague. The manifestations are organized by the Belarusian Center in Antwerp, the Belarusian European Association of Antwerp, the Belarusian Union in the Netherlands, the Belarusian Union in Czech Republic. The Belarusians living abroad will demand from its government to let the OSCE Committee on the investigation of the missing politicians in Belarus. The Committee is provided with all the necessary documents, and witnesses’ evidence necessary for a thorough investigation.

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The founders of the European Coalition “Free Belarus”, announced last Saturday in Minsk, condemned the verdict of the court of Central district to Alyaksandar Buhvostau. The trade union leader was convicted to 10 days of arrest for the picket in the support of trade unions’ rights. In its address “Free Belarus” states an evident political motive of the arrest. It is the continuation of the authorities’ pressure campaign on the independent trade unions. The members of the Coalition demand from the authorities to stop the persecution and liquidation of the independent trade unions in Belarus.

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In his speech of October 30 in front of the OSCE Permanent Council the head of the American Mission of this organization Stephan Minkes touched upon the Belarusian issue again. The American ambassador at the OSCE made a report on the results of the Conference on the human survey, which took place in Warsaw. Ambassador Minikes said the following about Belarus, “Mr. Chairman, let me turn to three other issues raised during the HDIM. First, the government of Belarus has made no substantive progress in addressing the criteria established by the OSCE over three years ago: ending repression and the climate of fear; permitting a functioning independent media; creating a transparent election process; and strengthening the functioning of the parliament. The OSCE Office in Minsk, ODIHR, and the Representative on Freedom of the Media all have a role to play in assisting Belarus meet these criteria. Ultimately, however, the potential for genuine, substantive progress requires the Belarusian government to make the right choices and genuinely support OSCE principles in its policies, practices and institutions.”

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The democratization of the electoral codex and the law on mass media, as well as the repressions against the NGOs were the central topic of Uta Zapf’s talks with the representatives of the official Minsk. The Bundestag deputy received another portion of promises from the Belarusian authorities during the 3 days of her visit. The coordinator of the OSCE working group in Belarus Uta Zapf stayed in Minsk from October 30 to November 1. It was her third visit to Belarus this year.

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The ideology textbook will be published this December, as its creators say. At the same time the core issues of the ideology are being discussed at workshops. One of them took place at the President’s Academy of Administration. All the prorectors from the whole country were gathered. The creators of the textbook “The Basics of Ideology of the Belarusian State” also took an active part at workshops.

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November 2, the fall memorial day of ancestors Dziady, for the last 15 years has also been considered a memorial day for the victims of the political repressions and fighters for the Belarusian Independence. On October 30, 1988, there was a procession to Kurapaty organized by the youth organizations “Talaka” and Tutejshyja”.

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