On behalf of the detained in Kyiv Belarusians, the coordinator of the civil initiative Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, Zubr coordinator Uladzimer Kobets, one of the leaders of the European coalition “Free Belarus” Zmitser Barodka and the Zubr press secretary Alyaksandr Atroschankaw, and from us personally, we express gratitude to all journalists, politicians, human rights activists, who showed solidarity and helped to release our friends. Only thanks to your help they are free now. For you’re and our freedom! Glory Ukraine! Long live Belarus!
As modern Europe continues its march east through the former republics of the Soviet bloc, this small country on the western border of Russia is where it has stubbed its toe. Tiny Belarus — stuck as if in a Soviet time warp somewhere around 1975 — has steadfastly resisted the lure of democracy and a market economy, and dared the world to talk it out of its inefficient state-owned factories, subsidized medical care, massive military parades and Young Communist League-like youth organizations.
Officers of he Internal Affairs of Chernihiv Oblast asked with whom the Belarusians communicated in Kyiv in resent days, when the thousands-strong rallies in support of Viktor Yushchenko. They were interested in the documents that the Belarusian democrats had during detention, they asked to hear the tapes at the Dictaphones of the Belarusians. The press center of the Charter’97 was told on the phone by Zubr coordinator Uladzimer Kobets, who is in the local police precinct of Repki, Chernihiv Oblast (Ukraine) with three other democratic activists, who were detained at the border with Belarus. The four detainees have taken active part in the mass meeting in support of Viktor Yushchenko at Independence Square in Kyiv
The Belarusian democrats who participated in protests in support of Viktor Yushchenko at Independence Square in Kyiv are put on trial in Ukraine. As the Charter’97 press center was informed by the police department in Repki, Chernihiv Region, where the detained Belarusians were taken from the border, at the moment the Charter’97 coordinator Zmitser Bandarenka and Zubr coordinator Uladzimer Kobets are released. What were the charges and what the sentence was exactly, would become known only after police receives the findings of the court. The courts over the Zubr press secretary Alyaksandr Atroschankaw and one of the leaders of the European coalition “Free Belarus” Zmitser Barodka continue. As we have informed, the Belarusian democrats were detained at the border of Ukraine and Belarus and got off the train. They were returning from Kyiv where they participated in rallies at Independence Square supporting Viktor Yushchenko.
EU Foreign Ministers at the meeting in Brussels jointly have adopted new sanctions against Belarus. In the list of the five representatives of Lukashenka’s regime barred entry to the EU territory, they added 15 more names. The matter concerns officials who are directly responsible for election fraud and violations of human rights during peaceful protests. As said by the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Cyril Svoboda, the approved sanctions are not very severe. “Only more severe sanctions and more harsh stance of the European Union towards the Belarusian authorities are the only thing that people like Lukashenka understand,” told Svoboda.
The battle lines are drawn and there is no quick resolution in sight, as Ukraine struggles with a fourth day of protest over its contested presidential election result. Backed by a persistent throng of supporters crowding the capital, Kyiv, opposition leader Victor Yushchenko has raised the stakes in his electoral standoff. "I appeal especially to people in military uniform... I want to say to you, we breathe one air, we have one country, and one constitution," Yushchenko said, urging the army to join a general strike aimed at forcing the government`s hand.
Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has called for a country-wide strike as part of a campaign to overturn disputed presidential election results. The call comes a day after the Central Election Commission declared his Moscow-backed opponent, Viktor Yanukovich, the winner by a three per cent margin. Stoppages are likely in factories, schools and on the railways.
Polish hero and Noble Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa flew into Ukraine to meet the country`s pro-Moscow president elect and mediate a growing political crisis that saw teachers strike and street rallies stretch into a fourth day.
Government and opposition newspapers in Ukraine continue to reflect the passion of their cause as the political crisis in Ukraine shows no sign of abating. A woman minister appeals to Viktor Yushchenko in a pro-government daily to hold negotiations for the sake of peace, while a leading independent daily is relieved that there has so far been no bloodshed. In neighbouring Russia, commentators see the challenge to the electoral system as a healthy phenomenon which Russians would do well to emulate, and the belief is also expressed that Moscow will pay a price for backing the wrong candidate.
Tarasyuk, a close aide to liberal opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who says he was robbed of victory in last Sunday`s election by large-scale fraud, said on Thursday Russian spetsnaz commandos were near presidential buildings in Kiev.
Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko’s team said on Thursday it had filed a complaint to Ukraine’s Supreme Court over the conduct of officials overseeing a contested presidential election, the Reuters news agency reports.
The coordinator of the civil initiative Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka has just been taken to the court of the settlement of Repki, Chernihiv Oblast (Ukraine). Before that he had been interrogated by the officers of the Internal Affairs Department of Chernihiv Oblast. The Belarusian is charged with alleged failure to submit documents to Ukrainian border guards. As we have informed, four Belarusian democrats, (the coordinator of the civil initiative Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, Zubr coordinator Uladzimer Kobets, one of the leaders of the European coalition “Free Belarus” Zmitser Barodka and the Zubr press secretary Alyaksandr Atroschankaw), who took part in the rallies at Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) in support of Viktor Yushchenko, were got off the train by SWAT at the border with Belarus. The Belarusian democrats were taken to the local police department of the settlement of Repki, where they are staying till now. They were treated badly during detention. Zmitser Bandarenka’s arm is dislocated.
On November 25 at 2 p.m. in Minsk city court (Dunin-Marcinkevich Street,1) a complaint of Volha Zavadskaya against the Court of Central district of Minsk is to be considered. the Court of Central district of Minsk has refused to consider her appeal to the actions of the Republican Office of General Prosecutor. V.Zavadskaya tried to take to court officials of the Prosecutor’s Office that had ignored her demands to resume consideration of the case of her son Dzmitry Zavadsky’s abduction, the BAJ press service informs.
Deputy chairman of the “Young Front” organization, Alyaksey Shein, who traveled in the same train with the Belarusian democrats, detained at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, told to the Charter’97 press center that he overheard that the Ukrainian border guards were given instructions on walkie-talkie: “Look for Zmitser Bandarenka and Anatol Lyabedzka”. Anatol Lyabedzka, the United Civil Party leader, didn`t travel on that train, and the coordinator of the civil initiative Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, as we have informed, was detained and got off the train with three other Belarusian democrats. All detainees have taken active part in the mass meeting in support of Viktor Yushchenko at Independence Square in Kyiv. At the moment they are in the local police precinct of Repki, Chernihiv Region. We ask journalists, human rights activists and politicians to show solidarity and help to release the Belarusian activists. The phone number of the police precinct were the arrested are kept: 8 10 38 046 41 - 2-15-63 (standby unit),8 10 38 046 41 -2-15-60 (local police precinct chief officer), 8 10 38 046 41 -2-15-61 (deputy chief officer of the local police precinct).
“Yanukovych’s regime has come into play. The incident with Zmitser Bandarenka, Uladzimer Kobets, Zmitser Barodka and Alyaksandr Atroschankaw is the first move that shows what the Ukrainian regime will be like in case Yanukovych would become firmly established as a president. I would like to remind that Yanukovych and Kuchma had promised that they are going to take strong measures to exclude violence. And at the same time, under the screen of night, furtively, with the use of violence, activists of democratic forces who expressed their support to democracy in Ukraine were detained. Whatever reasons for detention of our friends were declared, it is clear that this lawless action against them took place for their support of Yushchenko. I call upon all politicians, journalists, human rights watchdogs, both Ukrainian and Belarusian, to show solidarity and help in release of our comrades,” told the coordinator of the European coalition “Free Belarus”, international coordinator of the civil initiative “Charter’97” Andrei Sannikov, commenting on the detention of the coordinator of the civil initiative Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, Zubr coordinator Uladzimer Kobets, one of the leaders of the European coalition “Free Belarus” Zmitser Barodka and the Zubr press secretary Alyaksandr Atroschankaw at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.
As the press center of the Charter’97 was informed in the local police precinct of the village of Repki (Ukraine, Chernihiv Oblast), the Belarusian democrats were detained at the border of Ukraine and Belarus and got off the train allegedly for failure to submit documents to Ukrainian border guards. The coordinator of the civil initiative Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, Zubr coordinator Uladzimer Kobets, one of the leaders of the European coalition “Free Belarus” Zmitser Barodka and the Zubr press secretary Alyaksandr Atroschankaw are kept in the police department for more than 12 hours already. The lawyer has not been invited for them; there is no telephone connection with them. The police informed that soon the Belarusians could be tried, and they could be sentenced to 15 days. The headship of the local police precinct of Repki refuses to talk to journalists.
Ivonka Survilla, the Canadian-based president of the Belarusian National Republic`s Rada (Council), has congratulated the West-leaning Viktor Yushchenko on what she calls his election as Ukraine’s president. “On behalf of the Belarusian National Republic, I have the honor to congratulate you on the victory and express the most sincere support for the efforts you have been taking to establish democracy in Ukraine,” she says in her message. “We believe that both Ukraine and Belarus will take their rightful place in the family of European democracies.”
Belarus’ opposition leaders have thrown their support behind Ukraine’s West-leaning presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko in a bitter election dispute that threatens to divide that country. Ukraine’s election officials on Wednesday declared pro-Kremlin Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner of last week’s presidential runoff election that many countries denounced as rigged.
Members of the delegation of Belarusian democrats on its way from Kyiv to Minsk were got off the train by Ukrainian special forces officers at the Ukrainian border in the settlement of Gornostaevka. The coordinator of the civil initiative Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, Zubr coordinator Uladzimer Kobets, one of the leaders of the European coalition “Free Belarus” Zmitser Barodka and the Zubr press secretary Alyaksandr Atroschankaw were detained. It is known that during the detention the Belarusians were treated roughly. According to the latest information, Zmitser Bandarenka’s hand was dislocated. For the whole night the Belarusians were held in the police department in the village of Repki of Chernihiv Oblast. They are threatened by arrest of 15 days. The detainees had been participating in the rally of Viktor Yushchenko’s supporters at Independence Square in Kyiv for four days.
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