Edited by Victor Cole
Vol. 7, No. 9
February 2004

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Mahilyow city executive committee refused to give permission for a meeting to the chairman of the Free Trade Union of Small Traders of Mahilyow Syarhei Famin, and for leaders of the local branches of the United Civil Party and the Belarusian popular Front, Uladzimir Shantsaw and Ryhor Kostusew. On March 6 they planned to stage a protest against increase of prices for communal services, rise of unemployment, deterioration of the standards of living, worsening of legal situation of the entrepreneurs. However, the protest has not taken place. The executive committee headship refused to consider the request for a meeting “because full information about the coordinators was absent”. The initiators of the meeting believe that they have submitted a request according to the law, and are going to appeal a decision in court, the Internet-resource “Prafsayuzny Rukh Belarusi” (“Belarusian Trade Union Movement”) informs.

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On March 4, judge of the Lenin district court of Minsk Elena Tserashkova sentenced a member of the liquidated human rights association “Center Viasna” Uladzimir Labkovich to a fine of 10 basic units.

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As the press center of the youth movement “Zubr” found out that today a group of the BRYU members are to be taken to Minsk from Baranavichy. They are to go to the Belarusian state TV, where they are to appear in the evening program news summary “Panorama” (or its “analytical” part “Postscript”). 15 young people will be pressed to speak in front of the TV cameras, that there was no incident in their town, when a BRYU branch in the light industry college joined the Zubr movement, that it was a provocation and fabrication. In Baranavichy, as Radio Svaboda informs, pressure on the activists of the Zubr movement from the BRYU started.

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Trans Nafta company to deliver 660 million cubic meters of gas to Belarus before March 10 taking into account previous deliveries, head of the gas department of Trans Nafta Denis Vinogradov told on Thursday evening. “Today Trans Nafta and Beltransgaz have come to an agreement in a volume of 660 million cubic meters in March. According to our information, this amount is enough until March 10,” said Vinogradov. As said by him, gas to be delivered at the old price $46.68 for thousand cubic meters, RIA Novosti informed.

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