A United Nations human rights investigator on Friday warned that Belarus was sliding into totalitarian rule and said he saw little hope that presidential elections due in 2006 would be free and fair.
The capital of Lithuania will host a seminar on democracy in Belarus, to be attended by legislators from the NATO member countries, representatives of other international organizations, Belarusian opposition and Lithuanian governmental institutions.
The two-day seminar, which is starting today, has been organized by the Seimas and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA).
During an international seminar yesterday, organized by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the Lithuanian Seimas, the European Parliament (EP) member Aldis Kuskis (New Era) called for a greater unity among parliament members and a systematic work on resolving problems in Belarus.
Belarussian opposition forces are determined to push for democratic changes in the country, Belarussian Popular Front Chairman Vintsuk Vyachorka said at a seminar in Vilnius on Friday. "There is no need to talk about the colors of a revolution. We know that it will be Belarussian," Vyachorka said. "We understand that we should make changes with our own hands," he said.
Former Polish President Lech Walesa, whose Solidarity movement in Poland helped topple communist regimes across Eastern Europe, said that pro-democracy movements in former Soviet republics should move cautiously.
Minsk will agree to any candidature proposed for the post of Russia`s ambassador to Belarus, said Vladimir Grigoryev, the Belarusian ambassador to the Russian Federation, according to Russia`s RIA Novosti news agency.
Belarus and Russia are to resist potential menace by its combat capacities, Defence minister of Belarus General-colonel Leanid Maltsau believes. “Armed forces of our state in the union with the Armed Forces of Russia are to provide such a level of combat readiness and have such a combat might that no one would have a temptation to pressurize us,” he said addressing officers of military units of Hrodna military district. “For that end it is necessary for every serviceman to be aware of a personal responsibility for defence of Fatherland,” he added. L.Maltsau also said that “an informational war has been waged against Belarus”.
On September 26 co-workers of the hunger strikers are going to submit an appeal to Brest regional executive committee. The appeal contains a call to the authorities to cancel sanctions against the entrepreneurs, including arrest of the minibuses (“marshrootkas”) that are used in the city.
The entrepreneur from the Belarusian city of Vaukavysk Mikalai Autukhovich is on hunger strike for the six day. It is the third hunger strike within the last two years for him. He is sure that another attack against his business by tax inspection and local authorities has started.
Belarus disavows the intention of Ukraine to promote Belarus’ democratization and its relations with the European Union. Belarusian Foreign Minister Syarhei Martynau said about that in his interview to journalists in Kyiv, “Ukrainski Novini” informs.
After the new amendments to the law “On Political Parties” has entered into legal force, the Justice Ministry is going to take measures of influence to the parties that are “working outside legal framework”, Justice Minister of Belarus Viktar Halavanau said at the press conference in Minsk.
The head of the political and economical department of the US Embassy in Belarus Derek Hogan visited Brest on September 23. During his stay in this city representatives of the law-enforcing agencies and workers of the state TV have been keeping him under surveillance all the time.
Police and KGB searched flats of five activists of opposition in Vitsebsk. Searches were made in flats of Zubr activists Andrey Ushenko, UCP youth activist Denis Davydau and others. Representatives of authorities said that they are looking for explosives in frames of investigation of bomb attack in Vitsebsk last Thursday. But in fact they were more interested with information. KGB agents confiscated all printed materials they found. White-red-flags were confiscated as well. During the search in flat of Andrey Ushenko, they written down all phone numbers from his mobile and made a copy of information from hard drive of his computer.
Five suspects of carrying out an explosion outside a cafe in the Belarusian city of Vitebsk have been arrested, officials said. According to Interfax news agency, the country’s Interior Ministry does not see any features of a terrorist act in the bombing.
The examination of the scene of accident as well as other information allows to regard the explosion in Vitebsk as hooliganism. There is no evidence of terror activity, deputy chief of information and public relations of the KGB of Belarus Valeriy Nadtochayev said.
Student activist Iryna Toustsik recalls with pride how a little bit of playacting that lampooned President Alexander G. Lukashenko briefly landed her in jail. Protesters dressed up as doctors and patients, with the patients wearing imitations of the Belarusian president`s prominent mustache — and alluding to suspicions that authorities were responsible for the disappearances or deaths of several opposition figures.
The Czech Republic and Germany are discussing the possibility of jointly constructing a building in Minsk that would house both countries` embassies, Richard Krpac of the Czech Foreign Ministry`s press department confirmed Friday.
On September 24 policemen and the KGB (State Security Committee) officers carried out searches in apartments of Vitsebsk oppositionists. Searches have taken place in apartments of Zubr activists Andrei Ushenka, an activist of the coalition “Free Belarus” Viktar Shliakhtsin, the leader of Vitsebsk branch of the youth wing of the United Civil Party Dzianis Davydau, an activist of the “Young Front” Elena Stuk, a member of the public association “Siomaya Gran’” Stsyapan Tsishutsin.
A senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) pledges here Monday to work with Belarus to boost bilateral relations in a long-term and stable manner. China values its ties with Belarus, and the two countries have cherished a traditional relationship that has witnessed a "sound growth" since the two forged diplomatic ties 13 years ago, said Wu Guanzheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
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