The government of Russia has approved the draft Belarusian-Russian intergovernmental agreement on transit of goods. The relevant resolution has been signed by head of the Russian government Mikhail Fradkov, BelTA has been informed in the press-service of the Russian government.

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Today Russia has lifted limitations on Belarusian sugar supplies within limits of the quota, director of Belarusian Sugar Company Dmitriy Kirillov told BelTA. In his words, the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation has signed an order to cancel the temporary storage of Belarusian sugar shipments at the Troyekurovskiy customs post. From now on Belarusian sugar will be shipped directly to customers.

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11 March 2005 19 nineteen deputies of the BNF opposition at the Supreme Soviet of the 12th convening announced a hunger strike protesting against the referendum on abolition of the white-red-white flag and “Pagonya”(Pursuit) emblem as the state symbols, canceling of the Belarusian language status as a single state language, integration with Russia and President’s right to dissolve the parliament proposed by president Alyaksandr Lukashenka. When after announcing the hunger strike the BNF Party deputies gathered around the speaker’s rostrum the majority of the deputies didn’t vote for Lukashenka’s proposals. But at 12 March nights the military forces were led into the Oval Hall; people in black masks (“Alfa” regiment of the KGB) slaughtered the deputies and pulled them out of the building. Chairman of the BNF opposition at the Supreme Soviet of the 12th convening Zyanon Paznyak is on the phone in New York speaking with the Radio Svaboda.

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A letter with an offer of assistance in organizing events on the day of commemoration of Chernobyl nuclear power station disaster has been sent to the chairman of Mahilyou city executive committee Viktar Shorykau and the head of the regional “vertical of power” Barys Batura by representatives of united democratic forces.

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Today amendments on some laws of Belarus on issues of political parties and other public associations have been adopted by the so-called “chamber of representatives” in the second reading.

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Giving an interview to representatives of Indian mass media today, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenka, has said he plans to visit India in the coming days to focus on issues of bilateral cooperation, first of all in the sci-tech sphere, and on those of interaction between Belarus and India within the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement.

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Almost 21 years have passed since a tragic date for Belarus - 26 April, 1986. The largest anthropogenic catastrophe in the history of humanity has inflicted an irretrievable harm to this country. About 2/3 of the radioactive wastes landed on the territory of Belarus and polluted about 1/5 of it, where 20% of the population lived. Almost all Belarus was covered by the first wave of short-term radio nuclides, a part of which was forcibly brought down on the territory of Belarus to save Moscow and Europe. All it was done under the cover of criminal secrecy and people could not defend themselves from this blow.

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Minsk city executive committee has refused to consider an application for holding a street rally on April 15 in Minsk. The rally was to be held for cancelling contract system. On that day organisers of the rally planned to hold an open-air meeting of “a core group” which would later demand cancelling the contract system in the country.

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A Vitsebsk-based civil activist Dzyanis Dzyanisau is still staying in Vitsebsk remand prison No.2 despite of standing a bail of 15 million rubles for him.

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As Alyaksandr Kazulin’s attorney Ihar Rynkevich said, recently the politician received and answer from the republican prosecutor’s office to initiate a criminal case for rigging presidential elections results in 2006.

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In Salihorsk graffiti, stickers, leaflets with demands to the authorities to release political prisoners in Belarus emerge more and more often. Young activists continue dissemination of printed materials dedicated to the fact that people imprisoned for their political believes exist in Belarus.

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A scheduled meeting of the Steering committee of the “Path of Chernobyl” has taken place. Issues of organisational and informational preparation for the rally on April 26 have been discussed. The chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front party Vintsuk Vyachorka and the head of Chernobyl commission of the BPF party Yuras Melyashkevich have made a report on preparation to the rally which is carried out by the BPF party members.

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On April 10 in Homel a young activist Volha Dzmitruk was interrogated. She studies in Poland thanks to Kalinouski Program. She was interrogated by unknown right in the car where she had been forcibly seated in the center of the city.

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The arrest on 3 April 2007 of opposition activist Andrei Klimau on charges of violating Article 361 of the Criminal code for statements allegedly made in an Internet publication is the first use of the article by prosecutors, and an indication of how the law can be used to infringe on the freedom of expression.

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