A former speaker of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus Stanislau Shushkevich comments the death of the former president of Russia Boris Yeltsin to Radio Svaboda: “I have very warm reminiscences about this man, before Belavezha, in Viskuli and after Viskuli. In many cases I was his ardent supporter, and there were no reasons to complain when I retired, and he remained a president. So I have the most wonderful memories about this man. And it seems to me that when many people in Russia say not many things have become successful because he hadn’t been acting the best way, I would say: he was the first president, and it’s really hard to act the best way. I deeply grieve over his early death”.
Russian power sources price raise has affected the Belarusian economy but “the crucial deterioration” has not taken place, yet, minister of statistics of Belarus Uladzimir Zynousky declared. Minister Zynousky considers that the new conditions of the Russian power sources deliveries negatively affected the foreign trade turnover of Belarus. For example, the crude oil deliveries from Russia decreased by one- third in the first quarter. And this resulted in downfall of the petrochemicals export from Belarus to Europe.
A campaign to protect rights of freedom of conscience has started on April, 22, 2007 in Belarus. Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox believers have joined their efforts and started collecting signatures to bring to the Constitutional Court an appeal to change the current law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”, the press-service of the New Life church informs.
Ice palaces construction is to be continued in Belarus in the towns with around 100 thousand population. This was declared by A. Lukashenka at the meeting considering the issue of participation of the Belarusian hockey team at the championship of Russia.
22 April the government delegation of the Bolivar Republic of Venezuela headed by deputy minister for foreign affairs Rodrigo Chavez arrived in Belarus.
Today Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs David Kramer arrives to Minsk on a visit. He is to arrive in Minsk in the afternoon. The visit is to last for 3 days.
Today applicants for holding the rally Charnobylski Shlyakh (“The Path of Chernobyl”) Alyaksei Yanukevich, Anatol Sidarevich, Yury Zenkovich and Valyantsina Palevikova have filed a complaint to the court of Maskouski district of Minsk for the ruling of Minsk city executive committee. The Charter’97 press-center has been informed about that by the deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front party Alyaksei Yanukevich. As we have informed, organizers had submitted an application to Minsk city executive committee with a request to sanction a rally “Charnobylski Shlyakh” on April 26 at 6 p.m. in Yakub Kolas Square.
Opposition activists in Homyel have been denied permission to hold rallies in the city on April 26 to observe the 21st anniversary of the Chernobyl accident.
Russia is ready to lend up to $1.5 billion to Belarus but claims as security the stocks of its state-run gas transport enterprise, Beltransgaz, in an attempt to speed up creation of Gazprom-Beltransgaz venture. But Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko will hardly yield to this requirement – the emergence of such venture will bring the country’s main gas pipelines under control of Russia’s gas monopoly.
Representatives of the opposition are getting ready for the Chernobyl Way, a traditional action dedicated to the anniversary of the Chernobyl Power Station disaster. Meanwhile, the authorities demanded the action organizers to pay for the militiamen work and to compensate the expenses of the city gardeners if they prove that the action participants have trampled down the grass, the Radio Svaboda reported.
Unknown have punctured tyres in the car of the head of the Committee of Assistance to the repressed “Solidarity” Ina Kulej and written on the car “Thanks for education”.
In January-March 2007 oil deliveries via Belarusian oil transportation system dropped by 16% as compared with the analogous period in 2006. According to official data, is was 21.842 mln tons, AFN informs.
According to the ministry for statistics and analysis of Belarus the highest among all the industries indicator of the output stock was fixed in the light industry. As of 1 April it comprised Br 239.3 billion or 130.7% to the average monthly output volume of the industry. The indicator for March decreased by 1%.
Austrian newspaper “Die Presse” foresees a soon crash of the Lukashenka’s regime. The newspaper quotes one of the Belarusian oppositional leaders, former minister for economic relations Mikhail Marinich “ Belarus is at the brink of crash. The population will have to tighten their belts in the next half of the year”.
According to the press-service of Valery Levaneuski, on 19 April the police returned a part of the confiscated belongings to the leader of entrepreneurs.
Human Rights Center Viasna urges the international community to refuse from including representatives of Belarus to the UN Human Human Rights Council till the Belarusian government demonstrates real respect to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Unknown criminals have broken six crosses and damaged a few in Kurapaty memorial area. Another act of vandalism has been witnessed by participants of a collective work, “talaka”, held every Saturday by members of the Conservative Christian party Belarusian Popular Front, Radio Svaboda informs.
Alyaksandr Milinkevich, chairman of the political council of united opposition forces, on April 22 took part in a conference on problems caused by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, which was held in Mazyr, Homyel region, on April 22.
On Saturday in London a researcher of Belarusian history and culture Guy De Picarda died in London. A graduate of Oxford university and Sorbonne university, Picarda studied works of Belarusian composers, life and works of Francis Skaryna, worked on the history of Bible translations into Belarusian, on problems of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania history. The Charter’97 press-center grieves over the death of this wonderful man and offers condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Guy De Picarda.
Applicants for Freedom Day rally held in Minsk on March 25, have received written warnings of Minsk city executive committee. Warnings are addressed to the chairman of the Political Council of the united democratic forces Alyaksandr Milinkevich, the leader of the Belarusian Popular Front party Vintsuk Vyachorka, an acting head o the Belarusian Social Democratic party (Hramada) Anatol Lyaukovich and a deputy chairman of the United Civil party Ihar Shynkaryk.
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