Statements by five renowned Belarusian politicians, who publicly declared they were eager to contend for the presidency, lay the foundation stone for the overall election campaign of the broad democratic coalition, further leading to the ultimate victory of democracy in Belarus. Today the chair of the Belarusian Federation of trade unions Vladimir Goncharik, ex-governor of the Grodno region, leader of the "Regional Belarus" Syamon Domash, chair of the Communist party of Belarus Sergei Kalyakin, ex-Minister for Defense Pavel Kozlovsky and ex-Premier of Belarus Mikhail Chigir ran a press-conference, at which they answered the questions about their activities at this stage.
Five renowned politicians - chair of the Federation of trade unions of Belarus Vladimir Goncharik, ex-governor of the Grodno region, leader of the "Regional Belarus" association Syamon Domash, chair of the Communist Party of Belarus Sergei Kalyakin, ex-Minister of Defense Pavel Kozlovsky and ex-Premier Mikhail Chigir spoke on April 25 about the mutually accepted agreement between them on the coordination of action for the achievement of a common goal - winning the presidential ballot. Today the five will run a press-conference in Minsk, telling the audience about their plan of actions for the period left before the ballot.
"BBC Radio 4" televised twice - on April 26 and 30 - their program "Abducted in Belarus", prepared with certain assistance from the "Y.S.News" agency. The program saw light within the framework of the popular project "Crossing Continents". The listeners were given an outline of the general situation with disappearances of famous people in Belarus, after which the TV host interviewed the Security Council secretary Ural Latypov, who refuted allegations that the crimes had been orchestrated upon the government`s order:
The film about the destiny and whereabouts of Yuri Zakharenko, Dmitry Zavadsky, Viktor Gonchar and Anatoly Krasovsky "Belarus in Stalin`s Shadow" was produced by the Czech television. The film`s authors - journalist Mikhal Plavets, recently banished from Belarus, director Robert Sedlechek and script writer Petr Ganovshek visited the families of the abducted persons and are intended to broadcast the documentary in their country and countries other than Czech Republic: "Our only help to the kidnapped victims of the Belarusian regime for now would be remembering and reminding others about their destiny," - say the filmmakers. The film`s opening night on Czech TV will be May 9.
The last issue of the official "Russian newspaper" comes up with an interview, which menaces Russian public with the US ambassador in Belarus Michael Kozak and calls on Russians to urgently integrate Belarus into Russia before it`s too late.
The Leninsky district court of Grodno opened preliminary hearings of the case, dealing with the eviction of the family of Syamon Domash (member of the Supreme Soviet Presidium and one of the four democratic runners for the presidency) from their own house.
The appellate court of Belostok nullified the ruling of the lower court on the extradition of the Belarusian national, businessman Andrei Zhukovets back to Belarus and ruled to free him from custody. The jury will not resume the proceedings unless the Belarusian side presents serious evidence of Andrei Zhukovets`s guilt.
The military parade, originally scheduled for May 9, was postponed to a later date - July 3 - the Day of Independence of Belarus, BELTA quotes head of the General Staff department colonel Mikhail Nevzorov as saying. The official explained this decision by the fact that usually the Victory Day parades were held during the jubilee years.
The government and the president of Belarus adopted a series of documents "in favor" of their citizens. First of all, size of the students` stipends must be fixed in order to enhance their financial well-being. As a result, the students received smaller stipends, not counting the spiraling inflation rate. Secondly, they cancelled most of the privileges, previously enjoyed by the Chernobyl liquidators. Now the government came up with the proposal to abolish early retirement for those employed in chemically unsafe industries. These immoral decisions are praised by the state media: Belarusians are being convinced that Chernobyl poses no danger anymore and that the afore-mentioned measures would help save funds for the agriculture.
The Cabinet of Ministers established in 2001 quotas for the number of fugitives, seeking refuge in the country`s different regions. Under this document, quotas for the Vitebsk and Gomel regions this year will amount to 15 people, Brest and Mogilev - 16, Grodno and Minsk - 19. The local authorities were entitled to find temporary living space for the refugees, unable to pay for it.
Yugoslav police arrested two more Milosevic`s accomplices, charging them with "financial machinations", reports the Belgrade-based radio station B-92. Neboisha Malikovic and Milan Jurovic are both leading members of the "Yugoslav leftists" faction, headed by Milosevic` spouse Miryana Markovic. Both detainees were placed in pre-trial detention ward. Malikovic is accused of power abuse in financing his party, when it was part of the ruling coalition, alongside with Milosevic`s Social Party of Serbia.
May 3, 2001 the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) named the Ten Worst Enemies of the Press for 2001, focusing attention on individual leaders who are responsible for the world`s worst abuses against the media. This year, repeat offenders Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran and President Jiang Zemin of China are joined by Liberian president Charles Taylor at the top of CPJ`s annual accounting of press tyrants.
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
