After policemen with the held of community service workers removed a streamer “Hunger Strike”, Salihorsk protesters decided to place a white-red-white flag on the balcony, the United Civil party press service informs. “It has drawn attention of the citizens of the town,” Ivan Shyla said. “And it certainly caused anger of policemen and authorities. They called in a crane again. But we hid the flag”.

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Political prisoner Mikola Statkevich would not be transferred from a corrective labour colony to a place with less strict custodial control. Instead of that policemen continue to restrict liberty of the leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada) additionally in the days when considerable political events are taking place, the Radio Svaboda reports.

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It has happened in April, but there haven’t been any official reports about Vladimir Grigoryev’s illness. Today the Radio Svaboda confirmed information about the illness of the diplomat, and that the ounsellor Vasily Rudenok is appointed a Charge d’Affaires of Belarus in Russia.

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Foreign Minister of Belarus Syarhei Martynau (Martynov), addressing the session of the Coordination Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) during a visit to Malaysia stated that the Non-Aligned Movement could become a new force in the international politics. Martynau believes that Belarus as a member of the NAM could give this organization “European prospects”. So far Belarus is the only European country member of the NAM.

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An entrepreneur Mikalay Autukhovich continues a dry hunger strike for an eighth day. To the court sessions he is accompanied by a prison doctor, www.pahonia.promedia.by reports.

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On Monday, May 29, four members of the Young Front from Salihorsk, brothers Ivan and Illya Shyla, Maxim Syamenchyk, Yauhen Myadzvedzeu and Syarhei Patskevich went on a hunger strike protesting against criminal prosecution against the Young Front members.

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Hrodna activists of the Young Front Yauhen Skrabutan, Zmitser Tseslyaronak and Yauheniya Shastserykova joined the hunger strike with a demand to stop criminal prosecution against the Young Front activists and to release all political prisoners.

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9 activists of the Minsk branch of the Young Front have joined the hunger strike with a demand to stop a criminal prosecution of the movement’s leaders and release all political prisoners.

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Activists of Salihorsk branch of the Young Front have lit dozens of candles at the central square of the town as a sign of solidarity with the leaders of the Young Front who have been hurled into prisons now, and with those advocates of changes who are persecuted by authorities for their political activism.

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The ICFTU, ETUC and WCL have written to European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, and many of their affiliates have written to the countries in the European Union committee that decides which countries will benefit under their Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), urging them to suspend Belarus`s trade preferences due to the serious nature of the Lukashenko regime`s trade union rights violations.

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The prosecutor’s office of Belarus continues operational procedures in searching a disappeared cameraman of the Russian TV channel ORT Dzmitry Zavadski, Prosecutor General of Belarus Pyotr Miklashevich told at a press conference. “At present the whereabouts of D. Zavadsky are unknown, but the prosecutor’s office of Belarus continues search. A number of episodes in this case were investigated, and some of them are checked now. We haven’t managed to locate the whereabouts of D. Zavadsky until now,” told the Prosecutor General of Belarus.

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The meeting was held without Mr. Svizunou who was taken to hospital with a heart attack. The independent deputy of the city council Ales Chihir reports that Mr. Svizunou’s boss Siarhei Nikitsin accused him of ignoring orders and missing the meetings. Mr. Chihir tried to postpone the meeting because of Mr. Svizunou’s absence, but all in vain. The deputies agreed to the point of the general director of the using service.

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Salihorsk police removed a streamer “Freedom to political prisoners!” which was on the balcony of the apartment where the hunger strike of the Young Front activists from Salihorsk is held. As the Charter’97 press center was informed by one of the participants of the hunger strike Ivan Shyla, a lift crane arrived, and workers removed the streamer on the order by policemen.

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Today is the 7th anniversary of the tragedy in the underpass of the metro station “Nyamiha”. The tragedy has taken place on May 30, 1999. ON that evening more than two thousand mostly young people aged under 18 returned from a beer festival and a concert held in front of the Palace of Sports. A sudden shower caused panic among the crowd. The folks streamed into the near-by subway underpass of “Nyamiha” (“Nemiga”) metro station, which resulted in a bloody stampede leaving 54 people, mostly young girls, dead and some 250 injured. According to witnesses, everything ended in 10 minutes. Most of the deaths were caused by asphyxia. About a hundred of people were hospitalized with different traumas.

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