The Permanent Council of Pro-Democracy Forces, consisting of the representatives of leading democratic parties of Belarus, has made a statement in support of opposition activist, former deputy and leader of the parliamentary group “Respublika” Syarhei Skrabets. The Permanent Council of Pro-Democracy Forces called the criminal action brought up against Syarhei Skrabets a political persecution for his oppositional activities. Participants of the council support the demands of the political prisoner, which he announced when he started hunger strike, and demand his immediate release. Organizations- participants of the Permanent Council of Pro-Democracy Forces fix the regime and personally A. Lukashenka with liability for the consequences of S.Skrabets’ hunger strike.

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In April this year the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), in line with Belarusian legislation, submitted documents for registration of financial aid of USD 1,000, received from International Helsinki Federation, which full member the BHC is, to the Department on Humanitarian Activities of the Administrative department of presidential affairs, in order to clear the aid from taxes. As stated in the plan, the aid was intended for organizations’ activities under its statute: rent of the office, phone, annual congress, stationary goods. By the letter of June 10 the Department informed: “It is impossible to comply with your request, as the aims for which the foreign aid is to be used, does not correspond to the aims indicated in the paragraph 4 of the presidential decree of 28.11.2003, “On receiving and use of gratuitous foreign aid”.

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Last week the transmission of the last Ukrainian channel “Inter-plus” was banned in Belarus. Director of the Belarusian “Communication Service” Aliaxei Razantsau, the owner of the cable television network that broadcast the Ukrainian channel, said that “Inter-plus” and other channels “were banned by the Ministry of Information”, Obkom reports.

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The Latvian association “Open Belarus” and the Latvian Transatlantic Organization (LATO) called the Latvian politicians, functionaries and the Mass Media to pay heed to Belarus where the repressions against opposition activists have been reinforced recently. An open letter was distributed among Latvian non-governmental organizations. The letter contains the information about the recent events of the Belarusian political life: huge number of political prisoners, repressions against the independent newspaper Narodnaya Volia and expulsion of the youth organizations activists from the educational establishments. Here is the text of the open letter.

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Today in the capital of Norway, Oslo, a presentation of the award for freedom of expression in Eastern Europe, founded by Norwegian foundation for freedom of expression and German “Zeit” foundation. The award amounting to 140,000 Euro in total was presented to the BelaPAN agency, newspaper “Vitebskiy Kurjer”, Russian newspapers “Novoe Vremya” and “Chechenskoe obschestvo v Ingushetii”, Russian journalist Semion Novoprudskiy and Georgian daily “Rezonansy”. German president Horst Kohler took part in the ceremony.

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Activist of Belarusian opposition, former deputy and leader of deputy group Syarhei Skrabets, continues hunger strike in Brest remand prison for the 32nd day. In this way the political prisoner protests against illegal arrest and groundless accusation. Meanwhile, on June 14 Brest Prosecutor’s Office refused to change the restraint measure for him. The lawyer of the politician, Mikhail Khomich, told that Syarhei Skrabets is intended to be on hunger strike “till the end”.

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Yesterday’s protest against renaming of Masherau and Skaryna Avenues was carried out in a new way. The participants divided into several groups and the action was held in three stages.

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The editorial office of the independent newspaper “Vitebskiy Kurjer” was order to vacate the premises in the building of cultural and business center of open joint stock company “KIM”. As the public association “Belarusian Association of Journalists” was informed by the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Uladzimir Bazan, the building was taken into the public sector recently.

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The leader of National Strike Committee of Vendors, member of the Council of civil initiatives “Free Belarus” Valery Levaneuski suspended hunger strike of protest. Family of the political prisoner has received a letter from him. He writes that he had decided to stop hunger strike because of health problems. However, Valery Levaneuski is going to go on hunger strike every month, until he achieves his aim, told the son of vendors’ leader, Uladzimir Levaneuski.

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tsimashenka deems in case of need the Ukrainian method of revolution can be adopted by other countries, including Belarus. Tsimashenka said this after her speech at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western-European Union in Paris, as “Ukrainian Truth” repots.

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The Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Adrian Severin, issued the following statement today in Geneva:

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A Belarusian political analyst recently compared the Lukashenka regime`s repression of its political opponents to cooking a live frog in a kettle. If a frog is thrown directly into boiling water, it will almost certainly jump out and save its life. But if a frog is put into cold water and heated gradually, the poor creature will boil to death largely unaware. The latter method, the analyst argued, perfectly reflects the way in which Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka`s regime has been dealing recently with political dissent.

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At the end of a private Oval Office meeting this week, President Bush asked a North Korean defector to autograph his book recounting a decade in a North Korean prison camp. "If Kim Jong Il knew I met you," Bush then asked, referring to the North Korean leader, "don`t you think he`d hate this?"

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The European Union Tuesday strongly condemned the recent arrests of opposition leaders in the former Soviet republic of Belarus. In a statement worked out by EU foreign ministers, and backed by Ukraine, Turkey and other neighboring countries, the bloc said it was concerned at the "growing oppression" of opposition forces, trade unions and independent journalists, and called for the immediate release of political prisoners.

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Aliaxandar Lukashenka signed Decree # 274 “On ratification of the Resolution of the order of foreign official business trips”, the head of the Press Service of the President reported. The decree determines a range of the people empowered to decide on the candidatures to be sent to foreign business trips and also the people who may be sent to a foreign business trip with the consent of the Head of state only; the list of the documents that stipulate the decisions of foreign official business trips and terms of placing the given documents for consideration of an appropriate state institution, state organization, functionary; the duration of these business trips.

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The controversy surrounding the recent sale of a Marc Chagall painting through the Belarusian auction house Paragis has created quite a stir on the antique and fine arts markets of Russia and Europe.

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