Alyaksandr Lukashenka declares that the Belarusian mass media are to react more expeditiously to informational invectives from abroad. “There are striking examples on TV, radio, in printed media, but the comprehensive system is absent,” told Lukashenka at the meeting with the staff of his administration on Thursday and speaking about the importance of counterpropaganda.
“It is not by chance that the commander of Minsk Riot Squad (SWAT) Colonel Padabed was included in the black list of the EU, it is natural. We know the fate of Vilnius and Riga SWAT, whose officers were convicted of criminal offenses, and part of them are still on the wanted list of the Interpol. One of the main functions of SWAT at the territory of the post-Soviet countries is suppression; repression; neutralization of oppositional protest rallies. Since many post-Soviet countries are headed by dictators, the main criterion for heading these special detachments is implicit obedience to any order of the dictator,” told the coordinator of the civil initiative Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, commenting on introduction of visa ban to Minsk SWAT commander Yuri Padabed. “There are kilometers of videotapes with evidence of cruel beating of peaceful citizens by Minsk SWAT. And these recordings have many times shown by top world and Russian TV channels. There is evidence, there are victims of battery and torture by SWAT and their commander personally, and not only during the demonstrations, but during their conveying to police departments and prisons, and also in police departments. I am sure that police and SWAT officers who violated the Belarusian laws, and who are guilty of criminal actions against non-violent citizens are to take place inevitably. It is certainly impossible during the rule of Lukashenka, Shejman, Navumaw, but they are to take place rather soon,” told Zmitser Bandarenka.
Opposition youth leader Pavel Severinets was questioned at the interior ministry’s Investigative Committee on Wednesday in connection with the street protests staged by pro-democracy forces in the wake of the October 17 parliamentary elections and referendum.
The Council of the National Assembly’s House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a plan to implement directions given by Aleksandr Lukashenko during his November 17 address to the newly elected legislature.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka told that he would not allow the split of power in the country and repetition of the events taking place in the neighboring states. “Now Belarus is experiencing colossal political pressure. As our competent bodies inform me, new elements appear in this tactics, the stake is made not only on political parties, but on recruiting public agents to opposition as well,” observed Lukashenka, presenting the new chief of staff Viktar Shejman to the employees on Thursday.
“There won’t be people among workers of the Trade Union Federation who are engaged in politics, who want to overthrow the establishment and president”, told the chairman of the Trade Union Federation of Belarus Leanid Kozik, delivering a speech at the 6th plenary session of the Trade Union Federation Council in Minsk on December 8.
The leader of the United Civil Party (UCP) Anatol Lyabedzka was to testify December 8 in the Prosecutor’s Office of Minsk. As it turned out, the information of the BelaPAN agency that a criminal action has been initiated against him for slandering of the president is not true. As the agency specifies, the politician told that the reason for summoning him was a criminal action initiated for slander at the press conference on October 14 in the UCP office. The leaders of the oppositional parties, including Lyabedzka, told about possible methods of vote fraud at parliamentary elections and referendum. The case regards violations of the article 188 Part 2 (Slander) and Article 367 Part 1 (Slander against the president of the Republic of Belarus).
The United States said it will ban Belarusian officials accused of fraud in an October referendum and parliamentary elections from entering US territory. The State Department said in a statement that the measures would be taken in coordination with a recent decision by the European Union to restrict visas for Belarusian officials, but did not name the people affected by the move.
An enlarged list of Belarus’ government officials barred from the territory of the European Union is expected to be unveiled by the EU Council on December 13, Nicolas Kerleroux, spokesman for the EU Council told BelaPAN on December 8.
Minsk, 8 December. The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), which represents about 2,500 staff members of non-state and state media outlets in Belarus, has received a negative answer from the Ministry of Information to its request for a meeting.
Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin are expected to have a meeting in January to discuss matters relating to the establishment of the Belarusian-Russian Union State, Pavel Borodin, state secretary of the Union State, told reporters in Moscow on December 6.
Belarus` prosecutorial agencies should work with the media "on a transparent basis," Aleksandr Lukashenko`s press office quoted him as saying while introducing the new prosecutor general, Pyotr Miklashevich, to the staff of the Prosecutor General`s Office on December 8.
One of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition Mikhail Marynich addressed with an open letter to the leaders of the G8 countries in the hope of finding protection of his constitutional rights. Former Minister of External Economic Links, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus, deputy of the 12th Supreme Soviet, Mikhail Marynich is placed to the pre-trial detention center of the KGB (State Security Committee) on April 26, 2004. “The main reason for institution of a criminal action against me was my active citizenship, my dissent with political and economical line carried out by the president of Belarus, who had brought the country to self-isolation, non-legitimacy of authorities, neediness of the population. Because of my democratic views, my desire to return respect to the law and human rights, to build Belarus that would be recognized in the world, I am subject to illegal persecution, moral and physical humiliation,” states the political prisoner. The trial is to start on December 23. The text of the letter received by the G8 leaders follows.
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