We wish you merry Christmas and a happy New Year! On behalf of the European coalition “Free Belarus” we wish you happiness, success and inspiration to you and your families.
Andrei Sannikov,
Mikalai Statkevich,
Coordinators of the European coalition “Free Belarus”
On November 7 Commission on ethics of the Belarusian association of journalists (further BAJ) received a petition of BAJ member Zmitser Bandarenka with the request to consider the proposal to expel Alyaksandar Fyaduta from the organization. In Bandarenka’s opinion, Fyaduta “in his articles and interviews in Belarusian and international press repeatedly made vulgar, offensive and dishonest attacks on well-known Belarusian figures of democratic movement, as well as on his colleagues from the BAJ”. Z. Bandarenka produced to the commission the article by A. Bahutski “Coalition of a grass-snake and a hedgehog”, placed on the site “Belarusfree”, Fyaduta’s interview to the “Belarusian Business Newspaper”, to the “Belaruskaya Gazeta” and informational agency “Interfax” made in 2001, as well as the articles “Charter against Heiken” and “Parting with Michael Kozak”.
Alyaksandr Bukhvostaw was removed from the post of chairman of the Belarusian Union of Automobile and Agricultural Implement Workers (BUAAIW) as a result of the union`s special convention held in Minsk on 23 December. The event gathered together 407 delegates and representatives of international trade union associations. The conference was also attended by Leanid Kozik, chairman of the [pro-governmental] Belarusian Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU); Ivan Dzyamidovich, deputy minister of industry, and by other officials.
The trial over Yuras Konyshka lasted the whole year. Yuras Konyshka was one of the organizers of the picket, which took place in Orsha on January 11, 2003. The police officers claim, the posters used in the picket insulted honor and dignity of Alexander Lukashenka. The court fined Yuras Konyshka 20 basic values, which makes 330,000 rubles (about 150 USD). Two other organizers of the picket were tried 6 months ago. Yawhenia Kazlova and Uladzimer Karabanaw received fines of the same amount for using a poster which said “Lukashism Destroys Belarus”. Though the amount of 20 basic values was worth only 288,000 rubles 6 months ago.
Presently it is still a question if Lukashenka’s visit to Moscow would take place before the end of this year. It was a comment of Natallia Pyatkevich, president’s press secretary to BelaPAN agency on the words of the state secretary of the “union state” of Belarus and Russia Pavel Borodin, who named to terms of this visit. At a press conference in Moscow P. Borodin told that A.Lukashenka is to arrive on December 28-29 to Russia with a working visit. As said by him, A.Lukashenka is to discuss with Russian president Vladimir Putin problems of gas costs for the next year and Beltransgaz privatization.
Mandate of the OSCE Minsk office has been prolonged for a year, to January 1, 2005, as the BelaPAN agency was informed by press secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Andrej Savinykh. This decision was taken through a so-called “procedure of silence”: the mandate of the Office is extended automatically if no delegation of the countries – members of organization would not enter a protest or comments and propositions before 10 a.m. on December 24. According to Savinykh, no proposals or objections to the future activities of the organization in Minsk were received by the Permanent Council of the OSCE.
On December 23 police officers detained a member of the coalition “Free Belarus”, Alyaksei Lyawkovich by the Central department store of Minsk for giving out Christmas and New Year postcards with congratulations from the coalition “Free Belarus” (“Svabodnaya Belarus”). Alyaksei was detained for 2 hours in the department of internal affairs of the Soviet district of Minsk, and after that released without drawing up a report.
An outbreak of a viral disease reduced the 90,000 livestock of the Barysawski pig farm near Barysaw by 37,000 as of 22 December. The damage done to one of Minsk Region`s largest pig-breeding centres is estimated at around 2bn roubles (930,000 dollars), Syarhey Charnukha, deputy chief of the Barysaw district government`s agriculture department, told Belapan.
Costs for medicines in chemist`s shop have risen by 10 per cent this year. Pharmacists explain this fact by increase in the exchange-value of the dollar to the national currency. About 80 per cents of the medicines are imported. The agency “Minsk-Novosti” informs that in state-owned chemist’s shops the majority of medicine costs do not exceed equivalent of 5 dollars.
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