Peter Schieder, president of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), expressed concern over Aleksandr Lukashenko`s decision to call a referendum on the possibility for him to run for another term.

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On the occasion of the declaration of the European Commission on the situation in Belarus Elisabeth Schroedter, MEP (Greens/EFA) points out: “Belarus will stay as isolated as it is, if it does not use the up-coming elections for a democratic change.” The Green deputy demands that the President of Belarus Lukashenka should not misuse the elections for the Lower House of Parliament on October 17th, 2004 for a referendum to prolong its own mandate. This referendum would not correspond with the constitution. A resolution of the European Parliament on the situation in Belarus will be adopted on Wednesday, September 15th, 2004.

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The EU today warned that foul play in Belarus` forthcoming referendum "cannot remain without its consequences" for the country`s relations with the EU. According to a draft declaration which comes ahead of the 17 October referendum, the EU expressed its "serious and well grounded concerns" about the fairness of the vote.

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Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, so far has not received a Belarusian entry visa, a source with the OSCE Representative’s Office in Vienna told BelaPAN. Mr. Haraszti planned to arrive in Belarus on September 8 to meet with officials and make an assessment of the media situation in the country.

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Parliamentary candidates fielded by the opposition coalitions Five Plus, Svabodnaya Belarus and Maladaya Belarus, as well as members of the Respublika liberal group in the House of Representatives will campaign under a common slogan. A working group consisting of representatives of all pro-democracy forces came out with the slogan "Say Lukashenko NO!" after the Belarusian leader called a referendum on the possibility for him to run for another term, Viktor Ivashkevich, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front, told BelaPAN.

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The wives of Aleksandr Lukashenko`s missing opponents who spearhead the drive for an independent investigation into several high-profile disappearances have urged the public to say "No" at the October 17 referendum on lifting the constitutional two-term limit on the presidency.

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For years, the question for Belarusians was not if, but when. On 7 September, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka specified the "when," telling the nation he was calling a referendum for 17 October on his eligibility to run for a third term.

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Belarussian borderguards took additional measures to protect the state border with Poland. These moves were caused by the situation, which developed in Brest over the past few days where great numbers of Russian citizens from Chechnya, wishing to cross to Poland, congregated in that Belarussian border city, Tass learnt on Monday at the Belarussian State Committee of Border Troops. According to the committee, it is probable that part of Russian Chechens will try to cross the border illegally.

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