Yesterday in the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna the leaders of the civil initiative “Freedom to Political prisoners!”, members of the “Free Belarus” Igor and Pavel Marynich had a meeting with representatives of the European countries’ and US missions to the OSCE, and with The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti. The sons of the well-known politician Mikhail Marynich, sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment, informed the representatives of the OSCE about the details of their father’s case, about the cases of other political prisoners in Belarus, about the problems of civil society in Belarus, and about the activities of the Council of Civil Initiatives “Free Belarus”.
“We told that the case of our father is only a tip of the iceberg. Besides, mass detentions and beating during peaceful demonstrations, criminal prosecution for criticizing of top officials, huge fines for dissemination of alternative information, pressure on independent press, widespread human rights violations are common in Belarus,” told Igor Marynich to the press center of the Charter’97 about the results of the visit to Austria. As said by the son of the political prisoner, the leaders of the US and European Union countries’ missions to OSCE expressed solidarity with Mikhail Marynich, and promised to raise the question of political prisoners in Belarus at the meetings with their governments.
“There are invisible front lines in fight for freedom and sovereignty of the Fatherland not only in the military, but also in political, economic and informational spheres,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said on February 23 at a grand rally in Minsk marking Fatherland Defenders’ Day.
“When we discussed the situation with elections in Moldova, we noted that the observers could not work in some regions of the country, and we are not sure that the elections there had been democratic and transparent. As for Belarus, we faced a situation when the whole territory of Belarus was inaccessible for observers. That means, at the moment the access of democracy to the territory of your country is essentially impossible,” told US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar to the group of Belarusian journalists who had arrived to the USA for a study trip. At the same time, Senator Lugar expressed hope that sooner or later the democratic reforms are to start in our country: “Anyway we are to knock on this door unceasingly, notwithstanding the fact that we could be pushed out again”.
The last years have become determinative for realization of the most important decisions in the area of military construction in Belarus, told Alyaksandr Lukashenka at the reception on the occasion of the Day of Motherland’s Defenders and Military Forces. The result of the work, as said by the head of the state, was “a successful reforming of the Ministry Forces, bringing them into compliance with the demands of the modern military and political situation, taking in consideration possible military threats and economic possibilities of the state”. Lukashenka underlined that “NATO’s move to the East was not unexpected for Belarus. The policy of double standards of some states that used to talk to others only from a position of strength is not strange for us any more as well. But international conflicts arise from that. Such dictate gives rise to outbreaks of international terrorism , the bloody omen of the new century”. That is why Belarus is simply forced to continue to place high emphasis on the problems of its defence capability strengthening, Alyaksnadr Lukashenka believes.
Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev on Wednesday greeted Belarusian military servicemen on Fatherland Defenders’ Day. “Over the four-year period of its reorganization, the Armed Forces have been brought on a level with the current military and political situation, changes in the essence of war and the nature of warfare, which reliably ensures the country’s military security,” the official said in his message of greetings. “Belarus’ Armed Forces are currently undergoing the final stage of reform. The course of their training, the results of complex operational and operational and tactical exercises prove that we have chosen the right path of military reorganization,” General Maltsev said.
The minister played up Aleksandr Lukashenko’s role in making Belarus a safer place.
Yesterday late at night the information was received about discharge from office of the lecturer of the faculty of languages and literature of the Belarusian State University Ales Pashkevich, who is the chairman of the Union of Belarusian Writers, and of the scientist Aleh Lojka, former dean of the faculty of languages and literature, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Science of Belarus.
Representatives of six opposition parties met with Oleg Kravtsov, deputy minister of justice, on February 22 to discuss the ministry`s directive that all parties should relocate their cells from residential to office buildings.
On 22 February taxation committee officers appeared in the human rights activist’s Zmitsier Salauiou office and told the people there that “certain agencies are interested in what you do”. Also, the officers wanted to know whether the human rights activists provide paid legal services. The check-up was conducted by Zmitsier Tsymbaliuk, Andrei Aliekseienak, and Vital Ushakou.
90% of the leaders of public opinion and experts believe that the parliamentary elections and referendum in 2004 were neither free nor fair. Such information was received by the Republican public association “Independent Institute of Social and Economic and political research” (IISEPR) after summarizing the results of the opinion poll carried out in the end of January. More than 60 policy makers, mass media leaders, scientists and businessmen were questioned, representing equally state-run and non-state sector.
The Committee on International Affairs and Relations within the CIS in the House of Representatives, at its February 23 meeting, decided to recommend a Belarusian-Polish interstate visa travel agreement for ratification. Signed on August 26, 2003, the agreement took effect on October 1, 2003, Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Gerasimenko said at the meeting.
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