On November 14 five representatives of the Union of Poles in Belarus, which is not recognized by the Belarusian authorities, were summoned for interrogation to Hrodna investigation department. Andzelika Borys and her four closed assistance was called in for questioning by the police. Andzelika Borys said that for a year she had been summoned for interrogations endlessly. This situation took place after A. Borys opposed former chairman of the Union of Poles in Belarus Tadeusz Kruczkowski, supported by the Belarusian government.
On November 13 at about 11 p.m. not far from Vitsebsk railway station a deputy chairman of the Belarusian human rights organization “Amnesty International” Vyachaslau Bortnik was detained. The human rights watchdog was on his way to Minsk after a meeting with the new members of the Amnesty International in Vitsebsk.
The leader of the All-Nation Strike Committee of Vendors, a member of the Council of Civil Initiatives Valery Levaneuski has embarked on hunger strike of protest. The political prisoner demands to stop provocations against him by the administration of Ivatsevichy colony number 22. Recently a search has been made in his ward, and after that the vendor was denied a long meeting with his family.
Last weekend in Svetlahorsk policemen searched the apartment of Vadzim Bohdan, and activist of Svetlahorsk branch of the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Language Society. Informational bulletins about the Day of Belarusian Solidarity on November 16, stickers and other printed materials were seized.
The stamp allowing going abroad in the passport of the Deputy Chairman of the Union of Poles in Belarus Jozef Porzecki was cancelled. Porzecki was summoned to a police department by investigator in the criminal case on financial irregularities in the Union of Poles. He asked to give his passport. A representative of a passports and visa services department was present in the office, and she immediately annulled the stamp and gave back the passport.
Ukrainian deputy from the party “Nasha Ukraina” Nikolay Katerinchuk has supported the Day of Belarusian Solidarity. “This initiative deserves attention and support. It is aimed at cultivation of solidarity with people who have been repressed for their political believes. I think that such actions should be supported, they should be held not only in Belarus, but in all countries where the democratic norms are violated,” the deputy said in an interview to the Charter’97 press-center. Nikolay Katerinchuk noted that it is possible to hold solidarity actions with Belarus in Ukraine as well.
Today marks half a year after the arrest of oppositional politician, former deputy Syarhei Skrabets. All this time Skrabets has spent in prison. First he was in Brest, and now in Minsk. Thought his criminal case was transferred to the court more than a month ago, a concrete date of the court trial’s beginning has not been defined yet.
According to the information of Lidzia Tsaluika, chief editor, to Belarusian Association of Journalists, soon the editorial office of Gazeta Dlia Vas newspaper can be evicted from the office in the town of Ivatsevichy that has been occupied by it for three years already. Ivatsevichy district executive committee intends to break the rent agreement with the newspaper. One of the committee workers who asked not to call his name informed L. Tsaluika that all local businessmen and state institutions were ordered not to lend any room to the newspaper.
Authorities in Belarus have transferred to house arrest an opposition leader sentenced to two years of corrective labour last year for violating public order by staging an opposition rally.
On 11 November Minsk Tsentralny Borough Court considered the suit of Sviatlana Zavadskaia, wife of the missing cameraman of the ORT Russian TV channel Dzmitry Zavadski against the refusal to bring a criminal case against the riot policeman Iury Davidovich, who beat her during the action held on 7 July 2005 in Kastrychnitskaia Square in Minsk to remind people about the missing opposition activists. At the beginning of the trial the judge Valiery Iesman didn’t allow the human rights activist Alieh Hulak to defend Sviatlana Zavadskaia’s interests. Then the court watched the videotape of the events. However, according to Sviatlana Zavadskaia, the tape was edited:
The founder of the Union of Poles in Belarus Tadevush Havin received the ruling of the Supreme Court of Belarus of 8 November where it is stated that Sukala V.A., chair of the Supreme Court, has considered the materials of the administrative case against Havin T.F. and on 3 November annulled the verdict of Hrodna Kastrychnitski Borough Court of 12 August according to which Mr. Havin was found guilty in violation of Article #259 of the Code of Administrative Violations (small disorderly conduct) and was punished with 15 days of jail.
"Minsk is being disingenuous when it says that if [Belarusian President Alyaksandr] Lukashenka does not get elected, an anti-Russian politician will come to power," the single opposition presidential hopeful, Alyaksandr Milinkevich, told Belapan today commenting on the Russian plank of his programme. On 10 November Milinkevich was on a working visit to Moscow which sought to "scope out a political situation".
Ake Peterson, head of the OSCE Office in Minsk, said he expected Belarus to invite an OSCE mission to observe the 2006 presidential election. "I would be surprised if Belarus didn`t extend an invitation," he said in an interview with BelaPAN.
Terming it as a "dark year" for press with 51 journalists having lost their lives in the line of duty so far, the World Association of Newspapers has claimed that Asia was the worst region in the world for practising journalism.
On November 15 at a plenary session in the framework of the 51st session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Copenhagen voting on resolution on Belarus is to take place. The text of the resolution has been passed unanimously at the meeting of the political committee of the NATO PA on November 13. The document urges Belarusian authorities to “make provisions for free, fair presidential elections in 2006 in keeping with international standards, and keep to their commitments in the framework of the OSCE and UN”. The resolution also supports the conclusions of the report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Christos Pourgourides on involvement of Belarusian officials to political abductions in 1999-2000. The authors of the document call upon the government of the country to carry out an independent investigation and bring to account the criminals.
Amid Latvia`s and Belarus` protests, Lithuania`s facility for the storage of low and intermediate level radioactive waste will probably be set out close to the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) and 3 kilometers farther from Belarus national frontier, compared with previous intentions, the Lietuvos Zinios daily has reported.
Cooperation aspects within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States will be considered in the course of a working visit of chairman of the Executive Committee – Commonwealth executive secretary Vladimir Rushailo to Minsk November 14-15.
Washington and Brussels are delaying Belarus`s bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by applying "political pressure," a top official from the former Soviet state said Friday.
Seven tons of Polish sausages have been smuggled to Belarus. The sausages were packed in nine passenger cars, which crossed the Polish-Belarusian border to be stopped by anti-corruption, border guard and customs officers several hundred meters further. Sausages are cheaper in Poland than in Belarus and are in demand because their good taste and quality. Belarusians living in border areas often hop across the border to do shopping in Poland.
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