“We inform you that today, on October 12, 2004, the students of the faculties of practical psychology and foreign language of the Pedagogical University, who are not dwellers of Minsk and have a temporary registration in Minsk in the buildings and hostels of the University, are made to finish classes in 4.40 p.m., and are forced to go for an early voting in the Vuzovsky Lane, 5, in the hostel of the University. They are told that if somebody of the class would refuse, everybody would have to study on Saturday, 16.10.04, and if everybody would vote now, all classes on Saturday would be cancelled,” – the Cahrter’97 press center have received this message by email today.
Over 34,000 anti-Lukashenko leaflets were discovered in a pro-democracy candidate`s apartment in Brest this past weekend. The leaflets, printed in Russia`s Siberian city of Tyumen, were seized by police officers who searched the apartment rented by the Belarusian Popular Front`s Dmitry Shimansky after being tipped off, the press office of the Brest regional police department told BelaPAN.
Preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections and referendum have seen mass violations of international standards, an independent observer told reporters in Minsk on Monday. As the observer, Nikolai Astreiko, said, his observation group reported more than 600 violations at each stage of the election process during three months. In particular, Mr. Astreiko said, authorities have put relentless pressure on opposition candidates, their nomination groups, and voters.
A policeman have detained two members of youth organization “Association Of Belarusian Students” for handing out leaflets with an appeal not to take part in early voting.
Police officer who was tormenting under-aged “Zubr” activist identified. According to press-service of Zubr movement it was inspector for juvenile of Zavadsky district police captain Novikov.
The United Civil Party has lodged a complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus with a demand to prohibit demonstration of video clips contain incorrect information on the order of filling in a voting paper at the referendum.
Today, on October 12, an early voting in the elections of the Chamber of Representatives and republican referendum has started. Basically, only those who for some reasons cannot come to the polling station on the Election Day, October 17, are to take part in the early voting. For instance, go to a business trip. But more and more readers are calling our editorial office recently, complaining about their bosses, who urge them to take part only in the early voting, at these particular days. And since yesterday not only radio and television, but even the public transport inform that it is possible to vote before October 17.
On 7 and 8 October the police of Homel and Homel region conducted several actions with “participation” of members of the liquidated Homel regional public association “Civil Initiatives” and the unregistered “Civil Alternative”. The police suspected them in theft of things and a car and also looked for a bomb at the organization office.
Polling station commission No. 33 of Orsha city electoral circuit No. 26 refused to accept the documents of Mr. Peralshteyn as observer at it (he was nominated by F. Skaryna Partnership for Belarusian Language). The commission members explained that they decided to limit the number of observers at the polling station to four persons and have already registered four people there when Perashteyn applied for registration. It contradicts to the demands of the Electoral Code that doesn’t provide limitation of the number of observers at a polling station.
At 4 a.m. on 11 October the police detained Yury Chavusaw for posting fly-sheets against the referendum. The detainee was taken to Minsk Savetski Borough Board of Internal Affairs, where the report for violation of article 143 of the Code of Administrative Violations --“violation of the rules of the accomplishment of settlements” and confiscated 250 anti-referendum fly-sheets. In two hours they let Chavusaw go.
As the Interfax agency informed, at least 34,000 copies of leaflets with anti-president agitation were confiscated by police last weekend in the private apartment of a candidate in the Brest Central precinct, member of the Belarusian Popular Front Party (BPF) Dzmitry Shymansky. Among the confiscated printed materials there were 11 thousands of the leaflets of the “Five Plus” coalition. Shymansky, according to the Interfax information, reported to the police that the leaflets were left for safekeeping at his place a month ago, and he had nothing to do with them. According to the imprint, the leaflets were printed in Russia, in the city of Tiumen. Police is going to hand over the leaflets to the precinct election commission, where Dzmitr yShymansky is running.
The candidate to the Chamber of Representatives who runs at electoral circuit No. 80, pastor of the Full Gospel Church “Word of Truth” Mikalay Kozel is pressurized by the law machinery. On 5 October Mikalay Kozel was proposed to come to the police in connection with the application of the vice-head of the executive committee on social work A. Kryvarot, who accused the church “Word of Truth”, representative of the charity foundation “House of Hope” of having used the hall of secondary college No. 42 for liturgy at 12.20 on 3 October.
Vitsebsk entrepreneur who asked not to mention his name, was to have taken 8 000 copies of the book “Occasional President” by Pavel Sharamet and Sviatlana Kalinkina from Moscow to Vitsebsk. To his mind, his car was watched, because as soon as he stopped to make some trifle car repairs near the village of Babinichy, the police from Vitsebsk District Police Board and the department of economical crimes came there. They detained him and confiscated the books. The entrepreneur hoped they would either return the books or at least draw a report for their confiscation. The police refuse to do it, but many policemen have already read the book.
Patriarchal Exarch Filaret, head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus, expressed certainty that Aleksandr Lukashenko`s proposal on lifting the constitutional two-term limit on the presidency would be approved at the October 17 referendum.
A senior election official stressed that all polling stations have been prepared for the early voting process scheduled to begin on October 12. The country`s 6,619 polling stations, as well as 40 polling places abroad will open on Tuesday at 10 a.m., Nikolai Lozovik, secretary of the central election commission, told BelaPAN.
Some 100 reporters with media outlets based in Russia’s provinces have embarked on a tour across Belarus, according to the press office of the Belarusian embassy in Russia.
Election committees of the 95th and 96th precincts have cancelled registration of the candidates of the United Civil Party (UCP), Valiantsina Palevikova and Aliaksandar Dabravolsky. Palevikova and Dabravolsky explain these actions of the election committees by a secret understanding of the authorities, and are going to challenge the decisions of the precinct commissions in the Central Election Committee.
The two Belarusians who were staying at the Taba Hilton Hotel on the Sinai Peninsula did not suffer when the hotel was targeted by terrorists on Thursday night, Ruslan Yesin, a spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, told BelaPAN.
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