Today’s daily “Gazeta Wyborcza” writes: “The New Year has started good for Alyaksandr Lukashenka, but it must not finish good for him”. The newspaper underlines that the Belarusian and Russian authorities have been attentively watching the Ukrainian revolution with the aim to prevent the same events during the presidential elections in their countries.

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The Minsk Executive Committee refused to give a legal address in Minsk for Krychau-based newspaper “Volny Horad”. The publishers of the newspaper addressed Minks authorities after they got refusal to place the newspaper in their town. In the capital the editorial office found premises outside and asked for permission of city authorities to make agree the legal address. IN their refusal Minsk authorities referred to several articles of the Law on Press. The publisher of the newspaper Syarhei Niarouny plans to appeal against this decision in the court. Previously the newspaper had a circulation of 299 copies and according to Belarusian regulations registration was not needed to it, the BAJ press-service informs.

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In the end of December the term expired when the representatives of the executive authorities of Vaukavysk were to answer the appeal of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Mestnaya Gazeta” Andrey Shantarovich. He asked permission to edit the newspaper in this town. In November the editor and publisher Shantarovich received another one refusal from the executive committee of Vaukavysk to place the newspaper in this town. He sent a protest to the authorites, and demanded to settle the question of the editorial office immediately. The Information Ministry had demanded agreement of the local authorities to transfer the editorial office from Smarhon to Vaukavysk. A. Shantarovich is going to appeal against the refusal in the court, the Belarusian Association of Journalists informs.

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The leaders of Belarus’ major opposition parties have expressed a strong protest against what they said the unfair judgment handed down to prominent politician Mikhail Marinich. In their January 5 joint statement, the party leaders lash out at the Belarusian authorities, accusing them of cowardice and immorality in their attempt to persecute “the guiltless person” for political reasons.

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Reporters Without Borders (RSF)`s annual roundup posted on the organization`s official web site on January 5 criticizes the media situation in Belarus. "In Belarus, President Alexander [Aleksandr] Lukashenko tolerated no criticism and made every effort to systematically silence the few dissident voices," the report reads. In particular, the organization notes that in the run-up to the October 12-17 referendum and parliamentary elections, a dozen independent newspapers were shut down or suspended by the information ministry on false bureaucratic pretexts. Apart from this, the investigation into the 2000 disappearance of opposition journalist Dmitry Zavadsky was closed "despite the virtually certain involvement of the highest government officials."

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The management of the formally defunct Yakub Kolas National State Humanities Lyceum, closed down by the Belarusian authorities in 2003, is considering the possibility of transferring the educational institution from Minsk to Vilnius, Principal Vladimir Kolos told BelaPAN. “As long as the existence of Belarusian and Belarusian-language education in Belarus is under threat and pressure from the authorities, we have to organize the educational process in normal conditions outside the country,” he said.

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Norwegian PEN is planning to lead a delegation of writers and publishers to Belarus in February 2005 to strengthen support for colleagues in the former Soviet republic. The IFEX member will visit the country from 15 to 20 February and meet with representatives from the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and the Belarusian PEN Centre.

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Anatoly Shumchenko, chairman of the Perspektiva business association, predicted that small businesses would continue shrinking in number in 2005. “The main enemies of private businesses remain the same, these are shaky economy, low purchasing power and numerous audits,” he said in an interview with BelaPAN.

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Belarusian Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev said that Belarus and Russia might hold a large-scale exercise involving a large joint force in the future. The Belarusian-Russian joint regional group of forces has a numerical strength of more than 200,000 servicemen, General Maltsev said in an interview published by Russia’s newspaper Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye. Both Belarus and Russia have already finalized all procedures governing the operations of the joint force, according to the official. “Approaches to performing operational tasks, above all reconnaissance and material support of the troops also are being fine-tuned. A number of documents facilitating this work have already been signed and we have been cooperating in these spheres. That’s why I can note with confidence that the Belarusian-Russian regional force exists in reality, operates and improves its operations,” he said.

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The whereabouts of all 60 Belarussian citizens that were in Southeast Asia at the moment when a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the area have been established, spokesman for the Belarussian Foreign Ministry Ruslan Yesin told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

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