A young activist Yuliya Sivets was detained today in Homel by district policemen and taken to Homel regional prosecutor’s office. An official warning was issued to the girl for “acting on behalf of an unregistered organization”. The warning concerns her cooperation with Homel-based youth center Hart. An activist has been warned that in case of repeated offence criminal proceedings would be initiated against her.
Dzmitry Oreshkin, the head of the Mercator think tank Merkator (Russia), commenting on the integration process of Russia and Belarus to Moskovskie Novosti, said: “Russia has let Belarus slip through fingers – the country has become independent already”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has never occurred in such a plight, the popular Russian Internet resource www.NEWSru.com reports. The leaders of the former USSR republics, today abbreviated as CIS, were to arrive today in Moscow for a two-day informal summit. The Russian President has invited his colleagues of the ex-USSR to discuss the world situation and CIS reforms. But, as it has become known today, literally a few hours before the summit Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko and Armenian President Robert Kocharian had refused to arrive in Moscow. Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has already informed Moscow he would not take part in the summit.
The successful start of the campaign for free distribution of information online initiated by the British branch of Amnesty International, the organization launches this campaign worldwide on the web-site www.irrepressible.info. The ultimate goal of the campaign is to restore the function of progress tool that the Internet had, regardless of the growing support rendered by governments and IT companies for censorship and repressions.
On July 23 Alyaksandr Lukashenka is to meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, BELTA was informed by the press service of the Belarusian president.
The leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka has appealed from a judgement of the Tsentralny district of Minsk on his administrative arrest. He told about that in a message received by the UCP press service from the remand prison in Akrestsin street, where the politician is serving the sentence. The chairman of the National committee of democratic forces emphasizes that the court had not taken steps for establishing the real picture of the events, and that the verdict was based on testimony of riot policemen solely. Anatol Lyabedzka expressed surprise that judge Alyaksei Bychko had not viewed the video filming of the rally and arrest make by policemen, which could show riot policemen’s false testimony.
The slow dying of the CIS has naturally cut the interest to its summits. Everything is already clear about the CIS, isn’t it? If so, why try to steam crystals of sense from watery statements of the participants or look for a hidden meaning in their group photos? The public in the former Soviet republics have put up with the thought that the CIS is a form of an amicable divorce and have been observing CIS summits with growing indifference.
Macedonia is among ten states that joined economic sanctions imposed by the European Union against 36 high Belarus officials, including the country president Alexander Lukashenko.
The head of the working group on Belarus of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, a deputy chairperson of the faction of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) on foreign policy Uta Zapf has called the former candidate for presidency in Belarus, Alyaksandr Kazulin, a political prisoner.
The President intends to nominate Karen B. Stewart, of Florida, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Belarus. Ms. Stewart, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as Director of the Office of Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus Affairs at the Department of State. Earlier in her career she served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Minsk and Deputy Chief of Mission in Laos. Ms. Stewart received her bachelor`s degree from Wellesley College and her master`s from the National Defense University.
Us Ambassador George Krol said at a press conference on July 14 that a response of the US to the verdict to activists of an unregistered organization “Partnerstva” would be slashing. As could be understood from the comment of Prosecutor General of Belarus Pyotr Miklashevich on the statement of the US Ambassador and possible joining the US sanctions by the EU, that would not influence the verdict of the court.
The young activists of Belarus, victims of the police despotism during the G8 group summit, pose the following question in the letter to head of the St.Petersburg department of the Belarusian Embassy Zmitser Sivitski: “Why doesn’t the Belarusian Embassy protect the rights of its citizens?”
The full text of the letter is available below. The Belarusian activists informed a correspondent of PRIMA-News about their intention to apply to the Russian Embassy to Belarus on the occasion of the police despotism.
Every week police officers come to young opposition activist from Ragachou Katsia Zhylinskaya to pass the summons to court. The girl is likely to be fined with up to 50 basic values.
The case of Yuras Ivaniukovich, who had written “Long live Belarus!” and “Belarusian TV lies!” on a board of the Belarusian Embassy in Moscow, has been rescheduled for August 17.
The hunger strike of owners and drivers of taxi in Brest continues for the 15th day. 13 persons are taking part ion it now. One of the protesters, Lubou Laurukovich, can move with difficulty, and Lubou Razanovich had another hypertensive attack, Radio Svaboda informs.
In Barysau on the bridge over Byarezina River, young activists of the city hang up a national white-red-white flag. It is not the first action of this kind in Barysau. National flags and streamers are regularly put up in different parts of the town. Emergence of a national flag at 100-meter water tower was the most outstanding event of all.
The European Commission has confirmed it will recommend expelling Belarus from the EU`s low-tariff trade regime - the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) - in September, but pushed back formalities for two months due to "technical reasons."
The court hearing on the subject of forceful purchase of the building in Minsk, Kovalyova, 72, which belongs to «New Life» church, which was stopped, has been reopened again.
Canada includes Belarus to the list of countries with which trade is limited. It would not cause much troubles to Belarus as such, but it demonstrated that the West is ready to impose sanctions, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. Meanwhile the EU, an important trade partner of Belarus, considers a possibility of including Belarus from the Generalized System of Preferences, which could promote isolation and cost Minsk 300 mln dollars.
Dear Colleagues. Remember, please, you are expected to refer to the Charter`97 Press Center when using the site materials. News export , javascript-informer
, javascript-informer
