On March 30 the delegation of the trade Unions Federation of Belarus headed by the chairman of the TUF Leanid Kozik started its visit to Syria. According to the information of the TUF press service, the visit is made on the invitation of the Syrian General Federation of Trade Unions. During the visit the delegation is to meet Prime Minister, Labour and Social Defense Minister, representatives of parliament and trade unions leaders. It is planned to complete an agreement on cooperation between the General Federation of Trade Unions of Syria and Trade Unions Federation of Belarus. The visit is to last by the end of this week.

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The referendum to accept a constitutional act of the “union state” is to take place before the end 2004. This was said at the today’s Internet video press conference by the ‘state secretary’ of the ‘union’ of Belarus and Russia Pavel Borodin. As said by him, the constitutional act passing could help to determine the terms of creation of supreme bodies of the union state and to solve a number of other fundamental problems.

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On March 29 the head of the human rights center “Viasna” Ales’ Byalatsky was summoned to the Office of Public Prosecutor of Belarus for a “conversation” with a prosecutor Novikaw, who is engaged in the issues of public associations, political parties, religious organizations, mass media activities. The prosecutor asked several questions relating Byalatsky’s involvement in NGOs – about his membership in organizations, and whether he is involved in the activities of the Assembly of non-governmental organizations and their magazine. Prosecutor Novikaw was especially interested if Ales Byalatsky goes abroad often, and what is his source of income.

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Hrodna police refused bring an action on the occasion of an attempt of incursion into the editorial office of the newspaper “Den”. Later in the evening of March 18 two men were detained by police. They were trying to fit a key to the door of the editorial office. They were taken to the police department? And later released. In my presence the policemen registered the two men, writing down the information they gave. The policemen were not perplexed by the fact that their names belonged to other people.

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German representatives of international human rights defending organization “Amnesty International” demand Gerhard Schroeder government and authorities of other countries an appropriate reaction to the situation with human rights in Belarus. The statement of German human rights watchdogs was distributed in German mass media, Radio Svaboda informs.

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The Wider Europe Initiative, launched recently by the European Commission to manage relations with its neighbours, looks great on paper. But the plan will be doomed to obscurity if it is allowed to moulder in the European bureaucracy. It is up to European Union members to rally behind this promising idea. If realised, the initiative - now also called the New Neighbourhood policy - would help shape countries on the expanded EU`s eastern and southern frontiers into well-governed states in step with EU values.

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A letter with «valuable» directions from the Ministry of Health was received by heads of hospitals and outpatient departments. By July 1 all medicine heads were ordered to put in their offices portraits of the president. Svyatlana Sakalova, deputy head of the chief department of manpower policy and education of the Ministry of Health believes that this measure is essential: “We are to propagandize the presidency. Different people come to the offices of the head physicians and chief medical officers, including foreign delegations. Nobody demands to put a portrait for instance in the room of a dentist. But the chief medical officers are to have these portraits! If the patient has a headache, nobody would spread political information to him. This work is to be made among doctors. And it is carried out now”.

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