Something in the Air 17:13, 18/11/2004, By Alyaksandr Kudrytski, Transitions Online
As thousands of foreigners streamed out of Ivory Coast in the wake of mob attacks and a government air raid on a French base, French and Belarusian officials gave dramatically differing statements on alleged Belarusian involvement in the troubled West African state. The first report of Belarusian citizens allegedly being involved in the renewed outbreak of conflict in the country appeared in
“It’s a shame,” in this way Latvian Culture Minister Helena Demakova characterized political situation in neighboring Belarus in her conversation with "Die Presse" correspondent. Demakova is non grata person in Belarus, as she wanted to provide support to civil society development in the framework of the OSCE.
The U.S. State Department`s report on human rights in Belarus shows "bias and preconceived notions in the U.S.` evaluation of the political and economic situation" in the country, Belarussian Foreign Ministry press secretary Andrei Savinykh told journalists on Thursday.
Wife of the leader of the National Strike Committee of Entrepreneurs, member of the European coalition “Free Belarus” Valery Levaneuski, who was sentenced to two years of colony for libeling president, addressed to Prosecutor General and a number of other state bodies and officials with a demand to decide the issue of the confiscated property amounting to more than 15,000 USD. Besides, during the search carried out by Hrodna KGB department, 10,000 USD disappeared from the flat of the Levaneuskis.
On November 18 Alyaksandr Lukashenka dismissed leaned Yeryn (Erin) from the position of chairman of the KGB (State Security Committee), the BelTA was informed by the head of state’s press service. Lieutenant General Yeryn was reverted to the control of the KGB.
Editor-in-chief assistant of the “Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta” Iryna Khailp has received a writ summoning her to the Office of Public Prosecutor of Partyzanski District of Minsk. The journalist told about the Charter’97 press center. It was stated in the writ that Iryna Khalip is summoned to the prosecutor’s office as a witness, however, she was not told the reason. Iryna Khalip supposes that it could be connected to the summons to Minsk prosecutor’s office last week. Then the attorneys asked her about her articles in Russian “Novaya Gazeta” about the recent parliamentary elections and referendum.
A French soldiers` advocacy group on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo for a “premeditated voluntary homicide”. The ground for that was an air strike November 6 that killed nine French peacekeepers. The two pilots would also be named in the suit brought by the advocacy group. French Defence Minister Michele Alliot Marie alleged that they were Belarusian mercenaries.
The prosecutor’s office of Minsk’s Zavodskoi district on November 17 questioned Belarusian journalist Aleksandr Koktysh who took part in a news conference held in the office of the Moscow-based daily Moskovsky Komsomolets in late October on the occasion of Belarus` parliamentary elections and referendum.
Vintsuk Vyachorka, leader of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), intends to appeal to Aleksandr Pavlovsky, chairman of the State Border Troops Committee, in connection with repeated incidents occurring to him while he was crossing the border, BPF spokesman Yury Zenkovich told BelaPAN.
Plutos Market, a private publishing company in Minsk, on November 17 destroyed all printed copies of a new issue of the private weekly Mestnaya Gazeta that was expected to go out after a month-long suspension imposed by the information ministry and a 20-day hunger strike staged by the newspaper owner.
The fuel and energy balance between Russia and Belarus will be signed at the beginning of December 2004, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko told RBC in Minsk today. According to him, the volumes of Russian gas supplies to the republic and the price for them remain unsettled. Belarus supposes that the volume of gas supplies will amount to 21.5bn cubic meters in 2005, Semashko reported. Russia is ready to deliver 20.5bn cubic meters, he said. The Deputy Prime Minister drew attention to the fact that Russian gas supplies to Belarus had been advancing over the past few years. As such, Russia delivered 18.4bn cubic meters of gas in 2003 and 19.7bn cubic meters this year.
The administration of Minsk`s Moskovsky district on November 17 denied re-registration to the New Life Church community affiliated to the Association of Full Gospel Christians.
The authorities claimed that they could not register the Protestant community at the number 71 building Kovalyova Street because the building is in very bad condition, Vasily Yurevich, leader of the community, told BelaPAN. According to him, regulations currently in force do not set any requirements for a building at which the legal address of a religious community may be registered.
BelAZ is dissatisfied with Russia’s prices for metal and components, said a top-ranking manager with the Zhodino, Minsk region, based state-owned dump truck enterprise, while meeting with a group of Russian reporters on November 17.
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