Former Foreign Trade Minister of Belarus, Ambassador and deputy of the Supreme Soviet Mikhail Marynich is against the life-long rule of Alyaksandar Lukashenka, told the son of the imprisoned politician, Ihar Marynich, to the Charter’97 press center. “In the conditions of dictatorship it is impossible to hold fair elections and referendum. If father were free, he would definitely oppose the idea of this referendum calling, which splits our society and aligns our country together with the rogue countries. I am also sure that he in this difficult situation he wants all democratic forces of Belarus to unite and resist the dictatorship together,” told Ihar Marynich.
A district election commission in Minsk on Thursday cancelled the registration of parliamentary candidate Aleksei Mikhalevich, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front.
The election commission of the number 2 Tsentralny district in Brest cancelled the registration of two candidates, reducing the number of contenders on the ballot to six.
Three campaign aides for nonpartisan candidate Oleg Tychina running in Lepel, Vitebsk region, have been denied the right to vote away from their place of residence.
LYMEC, the European Liberal youth organization, has launched a series of demonstrations across Europe against Aleksandr Lukashenko`s proposal to lift the presidential term limit. The campaign was initiated by Russia`s Yabloko party during late September`s Liberal youth forum in Tallinn, with LYMEC serving as the coordinator, Vice President Pietro Paganini told BelaPAN.
The Embassy of the United States wishes to comment on the series of programs appearing recently on Belarusian state television purporting to report negatively on the behavior of American Embassy personnel serving in Belarus. In particular the Embassy rejects accusations aired on such programs as “Center of Attention” claiming American diplomatic personnel have engaged in disreputable, illegal or subversive activities in Belarus.
Investigation agencies of the Committee of State Security (KGB) has ordered additional medical check of the health of former Foreign Economic Ties Minister Mikhail Marynich who was placed to the KGB special pre-trial detention center on April 26 this year. As Vera Stramkouskaya, lawyer of M.Marynich told to the Charter’97 press center, Mikhail Marynich, categorically refused to undergone the examination, as he is afraid that its results would be falsified. Additional examination of experts, as said by Vera Stramkouskaya, is unjustified, as the latest medical check was carried out in July this year. Doctors found that he suffers from a number of chronicle diseases. Since that time Marynich’s health got worse. A complaint to the Prosecutor’s office is to be lodged relating the additional medical check.
Member of the Federal Political Council Boris Nemtsov told that Belarusian president Alyaksandar Lukashenka “cannot receive desirable outcome of the referendum on his third term without falsification of the results”.
The deputy of the chamber of representatives Ihar Basalyk, who runs in the 79th election district of Vyalejka, is a witness of that. Ihar Basalyk, carrying out meetings with voters in village Kryvichy of Myadzel region, was a witness how people were forced to come to early voting.
One of the most influential American organizations, that promotes the values of democracy and freedom – Freedom House – has made a statement denouncing dictatorship of Lukashenka. In the statement of the organization the attention is drawn to the words of Belarusian leader, told recently, on October 6: “We have enough power and techniques for total victory at the elections and referendum”.
The new issue of the newspaper of the Party of Communists of Belarus (PCB) “Tovarisch” (“Comrade”) was not published by the state printing-house, though the order was preliminary taken and the workers started to perform it.
The Information Ministry of Belarus has suspended for a month issuing of the non-state newspaper “Mestnaya Gazeta”. The editor-in-chief Andrey Shantarovich explain this by the election and referendum campaigns, and promises that the newspaper will be issued under another title soon.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has spoken against the participation of businessmen in parliamentary elections. "Not a single entrepreneur will make it to parliament today. Power should not be mixed up with a pot of money," he told a news conference in Minsk.
“Zubr” activists hanged over placard with words “Say NO to Lukashenka!” yesterday at 6 pm at Skaryna avenue. The placard was hanged over animated crossroad in residential area “Uruchye” in Minsk. The placard was hanging for 45 minutes. Than several police cars arrived and it was taken out by people in civil. The action was dedicated to upcoming referendum according life-long governing of Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
Belarus` pro-democracy intellectuals have called on the European Union, the United States and the CIS countries to express their attitude toward the October 17 referendum. In their statement, a group of prominent scholars and cultural figures have criticized the plebiscite that would allow Aleksandr Lukashenko to run for another term.
The Chairperson of Vitsebsk-Horki district electoral commission, Sviatlana Mianzhynskaja, refused to give information to the journalist of non-governmental newspaper “Vitsebski kurjer” – Uladzimir Zhyhulow. The newspaper “Narodnaja volia” informed about that on October 9. Mianzhynskaja agreed to speak to the journalist but afterwards said that she will not answer any questions of the journalist as she “does not want to have anything in common with press”. “Until CEC makes a decision I will not say anything ", declared the chairperson of the commission.
Human rights activist Ales Belyatsky accused the election authorities of compelling voters to cast referendum ballots. According to the activist, several early voters have already complained that they were not given an election ballot unless they agreed to take a referendum ballot.
DEEP in a forest near the Belarussian capital, the hateful figure of Felix Dzerzhinsky looms ominously once again over the land where he was born. They tore down the statue of Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Soviet secret police, in front of the KGB’s Moscow headquarters in 1991 in one of the defining moments of the Soviet Union’s demise.
The United States will continue to support democratic development programs in Belarus irrespective of the outcome of the country’s parliamentary elections, said Gretchen Birkle, senior coordinator for democracy, human rights and labor with the US State Department at a video conference between Washington officials and Belarusian reporters on Wednesday.
The United States will form its opinion about the outcome of Belarus` parliamentary elections taking all views into account, said Gretchen Birkle, senior coordinator for democracy, human rights and labor with the US State Department, at a video conference between Washington officials and Belarusian reporters on Wednesday.
Minsk, 14 October. The Belarus Democracy Act was passed by the United States Congress in an effort to encourage and support those who do want to see democracy and human rights come in Belarus, said Paula J. Dobriansky, US under secretary of state for global affairs, at a video conference between Washington and Minsk on Wednesday.
A representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) used an OSCE conference to draw the international community’s attention to what he called the dependence of the Belarusian judiciary on the executive, the BHC press office reported.
Palestine is not alone with Belarus and its leader as allies, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said at the official opening of the Palestinian embassy in Minsk on Thursday. Dr. Shaath said that it was a special honor for him to hoist the Palestinian flag on the Belarusian soil, adding that October 14 would go down in the history of bilateral relations as a milestone.
Belarus intends to expand political and economic relations with Palestine, Belarussian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov said at a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart Nabil Shaat in Minsk on Thursday. "Belarus`s relations with Palestine began back in Soviet times and will continue," he said.
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