Onrust en repressie in Belarus na gemanipuleerde verkiezingen #8

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In de straten van Minsk en andere steden in Wit-Rusland zijn duizenden mensen de straat op gegaan om te demonstreren tegen president Loekasjenko, die het land al 26 jaar regeert. De politie kwam in actie en pakte demonstranten op. Militaire voertuigen blokkeren wegen die naar het centrum van Minsk leiden, om mensen die daar willen demonstreren tegen te houden.

Volgens een eerste exitpoll heeft Loekasjenko bij de verkiezingen van vandaag 79,7 procent van de stemmen gekregen. De belangrijkste oppositiekandidaat Svetlana Tichanovskaja zou slechts 6,8 procent van de stemmen hebben behaald. In een voorlopige uitslag van de Centrale Kiescommissie krijgt Loekasjenko zelfs ruim 82 procent van de stemmen toebedeeld.

De hele middag stonden er bij de stembureaus op veel plekken lange rijen, ook nog op het moment dat de stembureaus dichtgingen. Veel mensen hebben dus niet kunnen stemmen. Ook bij de Wit-Russische ambassade in Den Haag hebben zo'n tweehonderd mensen vergeefs gewacht om hun stem te kunnen uitbrengen.

De hele dag al zijn overal politiemensen en militairen op de been en internet is grotendeels platgelegd. Veel mensen werden opgepakt door anti-terrorisme-eenheden, vaak zonder dat ze te horen kregen waarom. Daarmee lijkt het erop dat leger en politie het regime trouw blijven en dat protesten tegen de verkiezingsuitslag net als voorheen desnoods met geweld onderdrukt zullen worden.

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Angela Merkel to meet Belarusian opposition leader Tikhanovskaya

The German chancellor expressed admiration for the courage of Belarus’ women protesters.

By Merlin Sugue 9/30/20, 12:15 PM CET

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel will "soon" meet Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, she said on Wednesday in a speech in the Bundestag.

Her remarks came after French President Emmanuel Macron met with Tikhanovskaya — who fled from Belarus to Lithuania after last month's disputed election — in Vilnius on Tuesday.

In her speech, Merkel expressed admiration for the women protesters of Belarus, who have played a prominent role in the demonstrations, and their fight for "a free life" that's "free from corruption."

“I can only say that I admire it and find it really impressive," said Merkel, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany.

The German chancellor reiterated that the European Union did not recognize longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko as the winner of the August election and would therefore review its relationship with Minsk during this week's summit of EU leaders.

She called on Lukashenko to “enter a dialogue with the people without interferences of the east or the west” and condemned the violent crackdown on the protests.

Merkel did not say where and when she would meet Tikhanovskaya, but the Belarusian politician's spokeswoman told Reuters she would visit Berlin on October 5-6.

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Op vrijdag 25 september 2020 12:52 schreef nezalezhnost het volgende:
[ instagram ]

De Free Union of Belarusian Athletes doet in een Engelstalige video een beroep op sporters, supporters en iedereen op aarde.

In deze post kondigde ik op 2 september de komst van de vereniging al aan.

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Putin reaffirms position of inadmissibility of interference in state domestic affairs

Russian President has had a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron

MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has had a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to reaffirm Russia’s position that attempts to interfere in domestic affairs of a sovereign states as well as foreign pressure on legitimate authorities are inadmissible, the Kremlin press service reported following a phone call initiated by the French side.

"The situation that emerged following the Belarusian presidential elections was also touched upon. The Russian side reaffirmed its principled position that it is inadmissible to attempt any interreference in domestic affairs of a sovereign state or put pressure on legitimate authorities from overseas," the statement reads.

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Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Lukashenko laughs off European leaders’ sentiments

Former Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has been making her rounds, meeting with European leaders. Her most recent meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron was aimed at trying to persuade President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus to engage in dialogue with civil society by way of mediation through other countries. Meanwhile, experts doubt the EU's ability to influence Lukashenko, who has chosen scorched earth tactics, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. At the same time, Members of the Coordination Council are looking for ways to approach Russia.

Minsk reacted to the meeting between Tikhanovskaya and Macron with its usual indifference, according to the newspaper. Belarus is rolling out its sanctions against Baltic countries, most actively supporting the Belarusian protesters and the opposition's figureheads. At the same time, the United Kingdom and Canada are imposing restrictive measures against Lukashenko, his son Viktor, and the heads of law enforcement agencies involved in violence against civilians.

The expert community does not believe that Europe’s leaders can successfully influence the situation in Belarus. According to experts, the path chosen by Lukashenko to maintain power means that there is no turning back and no dialogue whatsoever.

"Macron's meeting with Tikhanovskaya is purely symbolic support for Belarusian society in its conflict with the regime. It can have very little effect on the situation in Belarus," political scientist Valery Karbalevich told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "The EU will not be able to act as a mediator for the simple reason that Alexander Lukashenko categorically refuses to enter into any negotiations with opponents inside the country. Therefore, all of the EU’s efforts in this regard will have no effect," he added.

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U.S. held back on Belarus sanctions, hoping for joint move with EU

Reuters September 30, 2020

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has held off on joining Britain and Canada in imposing sanctions on Belarus in hopes the European Union can overcome an internal dispute, paving the way to coordinated U.S. and EU sanctions, four sources said on Wednesday.

The EU had vowed in August to impose sanctions on Belarus for alleged fraud in its Aug. 9 election and for human rights abuses since, but Cyprus, one of its smallest members, has prevented this.

Cyprus has maintained it will not agree to the Belarusian sanctions unless the EU also puts sanctions on Turkey because of a separate dispute over Turkish drilling for oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Six sources told Reuters last week that Britain, Canada and the United States planned to impose sanctions on individual Belarusians in a coordinated move. Only London and Ottawa followed suit on Tuesday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, three sources on Wednesday said Washington refrained because it believed the EU might achieve consensus at this week's European Council meeting.

One source in Washington familiar with the matter told Reuters that a U.S. package, including human rights sanctions, was essentially ready, but the timing of any announcement was uncertain.

The sanctions aim to impose consequences for the disputed election, which the opposition says was stolen, and for the treatment of protesters in Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled for 26 years.

More than 12,000 people have been arrested since Lukashenko, who denies electoral fraud, was named the election's landslide winner. Major opposition figures are either in jail or in exile.

A Cyprus source said there was a "political agreement" on Turkish sanctions at an informal EU foreign ministers' meeting in Berlin in August and Cyprus remained ready to implement it though it was not clear precisely what the source meant.

"It's not a question of softening or hardening of (Cyprus') position, the source said.

After the meeting, Germany's foreign ministry said ministers agreed on their "solidarity with Greece and Cyprus" but stressed that constructive dialogue with Turkey was vital to resolve "contentious issues in the eastern Mediterranean."

The embassy of Cyprus in Washington, the White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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BAJ and media urge authorities to withdraw lawsuit against TUT.BY and stop pressure on media

01.10.2020 Source: BAJ press service

Joint statement of the Belarusian Association of Journalists and media

On September 18, the Ministry of Information filed a lawsuit to the Economic Court to shut down “TUT.BY” as an online publication. The Ministry of Information claims, the grounds for the lawsuit are four warnings “due to violation of articles 4 and 49 of the Law on Mass Media" by TUT.BY. The warnings were issued by the Ministry of Information itself, the facts of violation of the law were not established by court, while the deadline for the appeal against three of the warnings has not yet expired, although the Ministry claims the opposite in its press release.

By his order of September 29, 2020, Minister of Information Ihar Lutski suspended production of the online publication “TUT.BY” from October 1, 2020 until December 30, 2020.

In this regard, the Belarusian Association of Journalists and Belarusian media state the following:

Yes, the Belarusian legislation allows the Ministry of Information to suspend production of a publication or to file a lawsuit to shut it down. Partially, this was balanced out by the Ministry's policy to restrain from abusing these powers in recent years. Still, on the ground of its lawsuits courts ruled to close Svaboda newspaper in 1997, Pahonia newspaper -- in 2001, and Zhoda newspaper in 2006. In 2011, the Ministry of Information filed a lawsuit to close Narodnaya Volya and Nasha Niva newspapers, but withdrew it following the response of Belarusian society and international community. It is noteworthy that almost all lawsuits to shut down mass media were linked to presidential elections, this way or another. Meanwhile, it is the freedom of political discussion that is most protected by international law. The pressure on TUT.BY and the restriction of access to independent websites, carried out by the Ministry of Information, constitute a gross violation of the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus

Hindrances for most popular media in Belarus not only violate the freedom of reporting, but also restrict the right of people to receive information on the situation in the country and demonstrate disregard for its citizens. Moreover, restrictions on serious media resources would inevitably lead to a situation where citizens, unable to receive verified information from the media, would turn to unverified information, rumors or propaganda (including the sources undermining the information security of the Republic of Belarus).

We:

- urge the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus to withdraw the lawsuit to close TUT.BY online publication and cancel the decision to suspend it;

- demand to revoke the decision to restrict access to websites covering socio-political problems in the country, and to remove obstacles in the production and distribution of independent print media;

- call to put an immediate end to the harassment of journalists and the media for doing their professional activities and to lift all unconstitutional restrictions on freedom of speech in Belarus.

October 1, 2020

The Belarusian Association of Journalists

Onliner.by

Nasha Niva

Citydog.by

BelaPAN News Agency

European Radio for Belarus

RFE/RL

BelGazeta

Svobodnye Novosti Plus

Ejednevnik

Novy Chas

REFORM.by

Salidarnasts

Association of Regional Press Publishers "United Media"

The joint statement is open for other media To sign the statement, please email us at press@baj.by. The statement will be sent to the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus and other state bodies

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US lawmakers to debate bill on human rights in Belarus

According to the document, the US authorities do not recognize Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate President of Belarus

TASS, October 1. Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee have submitted a bill on democracy and human rights in Belarus to the US House of Representatives, the committee said in a statement Wednesday.

"We stand with the historic numbers of peaceful Belarusian protesters that continue to flood the streets to demand a more democratic country. Their voices must be heard and the Belarusian authorities using violence, arbitrary detentions and repression in an attempt to stifle their calls to chart their own future must be held accountable," House Foreign Affairs Committee Republican Leader Michael McCaul commented on the bill.

According to the document, the US authorities do not recognize Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate President of Belarus and call to hold new presidential elections in accordance with OSCE standards as well as total release of all political prisoners. Moreover, the bill makes it possible to expand the list of Belarusian and Russian citizens who can have sanctions imposed on them linked to their opposition to activities of independent media.

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One of largest investors of Dubai comes to Belarusian market

1 October 2020

A guest from the United Arab Emirates, a long-standing and friendly partner of the Belarusian state, is in Minsk today. President Alexander Lukashenko discussed upcoming investment projects with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company Emaar Properties. Muhammad Ali Al-Abbar came to our capital a year ago. It was just about investments in the real sector of the economy. The billionaire returned with investments in several projects at once. One of them is "Smart City". These are buildings in the northern part of Minsk. Over 4 billion euros was invested. The construction of social facilities is also planned.

Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus: "I would like to note punctuality and commitment. We agreed to work together a year ago. Then a number of projects were conceived, which you took into consideration. The times in the world are not easy now, the challenge to humanity in many areas. The investments that you are planning are very useful to us. I remember your promise to build here the most beautiful buildings that will be the hallmark of the Emirates in the center of Europe. I am ready to discuss today all the issues that have arisen, and if there are problems, I am ready to solve them immediately."

Muhammad Ali Al-Abbar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Emaar Properties: "Thank you for taking the time for this meeting, and I am glad to return to Minsk. First of all, I would like to thank you for the warm welcome shown on the Belarusian land."

Muhammad Ali Al-Abbar is a co-owner of investment, real estate and logistics companies. His business is present in 50 countries around the world. Now Belarus is among them. Emaar Properties has implemented the largest construction projects in Dubai, including the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, and one of the largest shopping and entertainment centers, Dubai Mall. The Smart City project will be launched tomorrow.

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Investor: Decision of Belarus not to stop economy because of COVID-19 proves its effectiveness

A guest from the United Arab Emirates, an old and friendly partner of the Belarusian state, is in Minsk today. President Alexander Lukashenko discussed with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Emaar Properties the upcoming investment projects. Muhammad Ali Al-Abbar came to our capital a year ago. It was just about investments in the real sector of the economy. The billionaire returned to invest in several large projects at once. One of them is "Smart City". This is a development in the northern part of Minsk with modern education and healthcare facilities. Over 4 billion euros was invested.

Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus: "The world is complicated nowdays, humanity is challenged in many areas. There is a struggle for an investor. The investments that you are planning are very useful to us. I remember your promise that you will build here the most beautiful buildings that will be the hallmark of the Emirates in the center of Europe. I am ready to discuss today all the issues that have arisen, and if there are problems, I am ready to solve them immediately."

Muhammad Ali Al-Abbar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Emaar Properties: "I am glad to return to Minsk. I would like to congratulate you on many things. First, on a practical victory over the virus. The policy you have chosen in this regard, has proven its effectiveness. I communicate with many leaders. They say that the damage caused by the closure of the economy for one month cannot be restored. The President of Serbia asked me to convey to you the warmest greetings, and I congratulate you on my own behalf on winning the elections. We have never doubted the result, we have always appreciated the policy that you are pursuing, the achievements that your country has in terms of living standards of the population, security, and other parameters."

The Smart City project will be launched tomorrow.

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EU leaders overcome Cyprus veto, agree to Belarus sanctions

By LORNE COOK October 2, 2020 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders agreed early Friday to impose sanctions on dozens of senior officials in Belarus accused of falsifying presidential election results and leading a crackdown on peaceful protesters, after unblocking a veto against the move by one of the EU’s smallest member countries.

In an embarrassing standoff, Cyprus had insisted that its EU partners take action against Turkey for its energy exploration work in disputed waters off the Mediterranean island nation’s coast before it would agree to the Belarus sanctions.

But after several hours of talks into the night, the leaders agreed on a strong statement of support for Cyprus, as well as for Greece, and a stern warning to Turkey that it could face punitive measures if it continues the undersea drilling work.

“We have to decided today to implement the sanctions,” European Council President Charles Michel told reporters after chairing the summit in Brussels. “It’s very important to do what we decided a few weeks ago,” and to send a signal that “we are credible.”

Michel said that a special written procedure would be launched on Friday to impose sanctions on about 40 Belarus officials.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko “is not on the current list. But we will follow the developments,” Michel said. The leader once dubbed Europe’s last dictator could be added to the list at a later date, should he refuse to enter into talks with the opposition, EU diplomats have said.

The political row has tarnished the EU’s image. It is also unusual in that all 27 EU member countries, including Cyprus, reject the result of the Aug. 9 election that returned Lukashenko to power for a sixth term. They all want a new election and agree that sanctions should be slapped on several officials.

Ahead of the summit, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said “it is bad that we cannot make it work.”

Throughout Thursday evening, the leaders debated what approach to take in the EU’s increasingly tense ties with Turkey over its drilling in the Mediterranean Sea, its roles in the conflicts in Libya and Syria, and as a sometimes troublesome source of migrants trying to reach Europe.

In a summit statement, they agreed that if Turkey continues to react positively in talks with Cyprus and Greece the bloc will “launch a positive political EU-Turkey agenda” with trade and customs incentives, and they held out the prospect of more money and benefits for continued cooperation on migrant flows.

If not, the leaders warned, “the EU will use all the instruments and the options at its disposal,” to “defend its interests and those of its Member States.”

“It is now Turkey that has to prove that it wants to go the constructive road with us, and this is the offer tonight. But we are very clear that in the opposite case we have all necessary tools at our disposal,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

French President Emmanuel Macron was staunch in his support for his European partners, saying that “solidarity is non-negotiable” when it comes to Cyprus, but also to Greece in its long-running dispute with Turkey.

“When a European Union member state is attacked, threatened, when its territorial waters are not respected, it’s the duty of Europeans to show their solidarity,” Macron said.

As it turned out, Cyprus was making its stand at a summit that came on the 60th anniversary of its independence.

In a televised address to the nation, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed his “sincere gratitude to all European Union member states for their staunch support and solidarity in light of Turkey’s provocations.”

But Anastasiades said he wanted the EU to take “a more tangible and effective stance to bring about an end to gunboat diplomacy and for the crisis to be succeeded by dialogue or recourse to the international court on the basis of international law and the law of the sea.”

Making the same point, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, “the time has come for Europe to discuss with courage and honesty what kind of relationship it truly wants to have with Turkey. One thing is certain: Turkish provocation, whether this is expressed through unilateral actions or extreme rhetoric, can no longer be tolerated.

In Ankara, meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described his country’s operations in the eastern Mediterranean its most important “naval struggle of the past few centuries.”

During a speech in parliament, Erdogan said the EU had turned into an “ineffective, horizonless and shallow” structure and become a “slave to the conceit” of Greece and Cyprus. However, he also said that Turkey is committed to resolving disputes through dialogue.

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House Members Introduce Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act

October 1, 2020

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to the Alexander Lukashenka regime’s violent crackdown and political repression following the fraudulent August 9, 2020 election, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman Eliot L. Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-TX) Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (R-OH), Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), and Congressman William Keating (D-MA) introduced the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020. The Act would provide for the promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Belarus as well as support the aspirations of the Belarusian people to preserve the independence and sovereignty of their country in the face of the threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

“The world is recognizing what the struggling—but courageous—people of Belarus have been saying loud and clear since August 9 with their massive rallies: the recent election was fraudulent, and has no credibility with anyone save Lukashenka, and perhaps Russia,” said Rep. Smith, who noted H.R. 8438 updates and reauthorizes his previous legislation enacted in 2004, 2006 and 2011 to advance and promote democracy and human rights in Belarus. “This bipartisan bill renews sanctions on Belarusian Government officials who have obstructed the country’s democratic transition. It gives much-needed support to the besieged Belarusian media, and to the IT sector. Some of the unlikely heroes of this struggle are Belarusian hackers, who have cracked Lukashenko’s firewall, and have been able to broadcast truthful accounts to the Belarusian people of the news of the day. This bill also commissions several much-needed fact-finding efforts to get a better picture of the situation on the ground. The Belarusian people are fighting to preserve the independence and sovereignty of their country in the face of the threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.”

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Engel said, “Lukashenka has demonstrated time and time again that he is a brutal dictator interested only in the preservation of his own interests and maintaining his grip on power – no matter the cost. We continue to stand with the peaceful protestors in Belarus, who have turned out in historic numbers demanding a freer, more democratic nation and a free and fair election. With this legislation, the United States Congress once again sends the bipartisan message that the United States will not tolerate Lukashenka’s brutality and illegitimate claims to power. The will of the Belarusian people must be respected, and I am proud to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to send that message to Lukashenka, the people of Belarus, and the Russian dictator next door.”

“We stand with the historic numbers of peaceful Belarusian protesters that continue to flood the streets to demand a more democratic country. Their voices must be heard and the Belarusian authorities using violence, arbitrary detentions and repression in an attempt to stifle their calls to chart their own future must be held accountable,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Republican Leader Rep. McCaul. “This Act sends an unmistakable message to the Belarusian dictator and his supporters in the Kremlin that the United States will neither accept Lukashenka’s illegitimate rule nor allow Belarus’ sovereignty to be handed over to Russia against the will of the Belarusian people.”

Rep. Kaptur said, “As a longtime supporter of liberty in Central and Eastern Europe, I am pleased to co-lead this bill to demonstrate resolute bipartisan support for the Belarusian people against the tyranny of the Lukashenko regime. This measure will provide for robust sanctions against human rights offenders, and hopefully pave a path toward new elections and peaceful transitions of power. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to boost U.S. assistance for Belarusian civil society through upcoming spending bills.

Rep. Kinzinger said, “I’m proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation that formally condemns the fraudulent August election in Belarus and shows strong U.S. support for the sovereignty of the Belarusian people. We stand with the freedom-loving people around the world, especially those who are oppressed. Our legislation calls for the crackdown on peaceful demonstrators to end, for all those who have been unjustly detained to be released, and for a transparent and fair electoral process. With foreign assistance parameters and coordination with our European partners, our efforts here can help ensure the voices of the Belarusian people will be heard.”

Rep. Keating said, “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation to affirm our continued support for Belarusians working tirelessly towards democracy,” said Congressman Bill Keating, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment. “Their asks are simple. Belarusians want a government that is accountable to the people, that adheres to the rule of law, that respects their human rights, and that conducts itself in accordance with not just European, but global standards and norms. We must pass this legislation to show the Belarusian people that we hear their calls for democracy and justice, and that America stands beside them.”


Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020:

Reauthorizes the 2004 Belarus Democracy Act for the third time following the fraudulent August 9, 2020 election and the Lukashenka regime’s violent crackdown on the peaceful protests;
States that it is U.S. policy to
• reject the fraudulent August 9, 2020 Belarusian presidential election;
• refuse to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimately elected leader of Belarus;
• call for a new presidential election in Belarus that complies with OSCE standards;
• continue to call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Belarus, including U.S. citizen Vitali Shkliarov and leading opposition figure Maryia Kalesnikava;
• refuse to recognize any incorporation of Belarus into a so-called “Union State” that is under the control of Russia;
• Expands the list of Belarusian authorities who may be subject to U.S. sanctions beyond the country’s senior leadership and security services to include those directly responsible for the crackdown on independent media;
• Further strengthens the current human rights sanctions regime on Belarus to include Russian individuals complicit in the political repression in Belarus and the crackdown on independent media;
• Authorizes U.S. assistance to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Belarus and calls on the Administration to reevaluate and increase U.S. assistance to Belarus in light of the current political crisis;
• Calls on the President to provide the United States Agency for Global Media with a surge capacity for its programs and activities in Belarus;
• Requires a U.S. strategy to promote expanded broadcasting, internet freedom and access to information in Belarus;
• Calls on the United States to continue to coordinate with the European Union, its member states, the United Kingdom and Canada to support the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people and to deter Russia’s attempts to undermine Belarus’ sovereignty and independence; and
• Requires the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, to submit two reports to Congress on
• Russia’s efforts to undermine Belarus’ sovereignty and independence; and
• the assets owned by Lukashenka.

It is anticipated that the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020 will be marked up by the House Foreign Affairs Committee tomorrow, which would then allow the bill to move to the floor for a possible vote by the full House of Representatives.

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“Non-violence is a weapon of the strong.” Mahatma Gandhi
Today is the International Day of Non-Violence. It is observed by the United Nations annually on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. Non-violence is a method of combatting violence without resorting to violence - through commitment, solidarity, creativity, education, negotiation and peaceful action. For the past four and a half months, we have witnessed how the people of Belarus live the principle of non-violence in their demands that their fundamental civil and political rights be observed, in their aspiration that their country be ruled by law. For that we admire them, and we take this opportunity to call on every person in authority to follow suit. In the words of Martin Luther King, “Non-violence seeks to defeat injustice, not people.” It is the only way to a safe, free and prosperous future for Belarus.
The heads and representatives of the Minsk-based diplomatic missions of the EU and its Member States, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the US.

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European Council approves Polish plan for Belarus - PM

The European Council at its extraordinary two-day summit that started in Brussels on Thursday approved the Polish plan for economic support for a democratic Belarus, PM Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Friday morning.

"I'm very pleased to say that yesterday, after a very long debate, the European Council approved the economic plan for a democratic Belarus that we had put forward," Morawiecki said.

"It was a consequence of our actions over the past few weeks. First, we presented the plan to our partners from the Visegrad Group (V4) in Ljubljana, then, a week ago, we presented the plan at the European Commission to President Ursula von der Leyen, and (now - PAP) she was also tasked by the European Commission, which has been put into the (summit - PAP) conclusions, to further develop the plan and present it for execution in the following months," the Polish prime minister said.

The Central European lobby group V4 comprises the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Morawiecki said the plan must support democratic changes in Belarus.

"We want to also involve in this plan international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and, in particular, European institutions: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank," the Polish prime minister said.

"Given the difficult situation in Belarus, we should be satisfied that the whole European Council agreed to such an economic plan, because it is a positive offer for Belarusian society," Morawiecki also said, thanking his V4 partners for their involvement.

The European Council on Thursday also made a decision to implement sanctions on Belarusian officials, but the list does not include President Alexander Lukashenko. The Council also condemned the violence, harassment, arbitrary arrests and detentions by Belarusian authorities against peaceful demonstrators who contest the August presidential election results, according to which strongman Lukashenko won yet another term of office as president. The EU does not recognise the result as valid.

The Council called upon the Belarusian government to put an end to the violence and repression, to release all those who are detained and political prisoners, to respect the freedom of the media and the civil society, as well as to begin a dialogue.

The V4 economic plan envisages the creation of a EUR 1 bln stabilisation fund, support for small and medium-sized companies, opening of the EU's single market to Belarusian companies and visa facilitations.

Other points of the plan include long-term infrastructure investments, negotiations of a new framework agreement with an economic angle, support for Belarusian energy security and sector reforms.

Belarus has been torn by protests since the August 9 presidential election, in which Lukashenko won a 6th term in office with 80.1 percent of the vote against main contender Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's 10.1 percent. Mass demonstrations against what is held to have been a rigged vote have been continuing ever since, sparking brutal reactions from the police and security forces. (PAP)

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Kremlin positive about EU’s decision to refrain from blacklisting Lukashenko

The spokesman noted that Russia's general attitude to the sanctions is rather negative

MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. The Kremlin believes that the European Union’s decision not to blacklist Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is a positive sign, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

When commenting on the fact that Lukashenko was not on the EU’s sanctions list, he said that he was "rather positive" about it.

At the same time, Peskov pointed out that "on the whole, we have a very negative attitude to the policy of sanctions." "In any case, it demonstrates weakness rather than strength," he explained.

"Had top state officials or the head of state been blacklisted, it would have destroyed any possibility of contacts with the country and deprived the EU of the chance to maintain dialogue with Belarus, particularly for the sake of discussing issues of mutual interest," the Russian presidential spokesman noted.

On Friday, European Union leaders agreed on a package of sanctions against some 40 Belarusian officials but held back from blacklisting President Lukashenko. According to the EU, sanctions against Lukashenko would have undermined the EU’s demand for him to launch dialogue with the opposition. However, European Council President Charles Michel reiterated that EU leaders did not recognize the outcome of the Belarusian presidential election.

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Het Belarussische Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken voert een heraccreditatie van buitenlandse media door

Het Belarussische Ministerie van Buitenlandse zaken voert een heraccreditatie van buitenlandse media door volgens de nieuwe regels, de oude perskaarten verliezen hun geldigheid op 2 oktober.

"De geldigheid van eerder afgegeven accreditatie-kaarten vervalt officieel per 2 oktober van dit jaar", klinkt het in het bericht van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken van vrijdag.

Vanaf maandag, 5 oktober, start de commissie betreffende de accreditatie van journalisten van buitenlandse media van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken haar werk in een nieuwe samenstelling.

"Wij plannen ook om vanaf maandagmorgen de aanname van verzoeken online te openen. Voor het insturen van documenten voor de accreditatie is het benodigd om bij het onderdeel van de persdienst op de offici�le site van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken een formulier in te vullen afhankelijk van de soort: voor een tijdelijke of een permanente accreditatie. Alle eerder ingediende verzoeken zullen in eerste instantie bekeken worden. Het is niet noodzakelijk om herhaald een verzoek in te dienen. In overeenstemming met de normen van de nieuwe regulatie wordt er bij accreditaties prioriteit gegeven aan staatsburgers van staten, waar de buitenlandse media gevestigd zijn", verduidelijkte het ministerie.

Het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken heeft een nieuwe redactie ontwikkeld van de regulatie betreffende de accreditatie van journalisten van buitenlandse media. Op vrijdag 2 oktober werd het betreffende besluit van de ministerraad genomen. "Binnenkort word het besluit gepubliceerd op de site van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zeken", meldt de instelling

Het vorige besluit werd in 2008 aangenomen, maar volgens de mening van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse zaken voldoet dat niet meer aan het niveau van de ontwikkeling van de mediaindustrie en nieuwe tendenties in de wetgeving.

"Het document bevatte een reeks aan verouderde regels, in de praktijk niet toegepaste normen en discriminerende punten. Wij hebben aandachtig het beleid gestudeerd van onze buurlanden (Polen, Letland en andere), maar ook dat van staten, die zich traditioneel positioneren als opponenten van de vrijheid van meningsuiting (bijvoorbeeld Frankrijk). De recommandaties inzake het instituut van de accreditatie van de OVSE en de Commissie van Veneti� werden tot kennis genomen. Ook is er rekening gehouden met afzonderlijke kritische opmerkingen, waaronder opmerkingen inzake de situatie met de onmogelijkheid van het volledig functioneren van de commissie betreffende de accreditatie van journalisten van buitenlandse media van het Belarussische Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken wegens de epidemiologische situatie", merkte het Ministerie op.

Momenteel is de bezetting van de commissie vernieuwd en worden er nieuwe vormen van haar werk ingevoerd voor een toekomstige minimalisatie van invloed op het proces van het verkrijgen van accreditatie door force majeur omstandigheden. Zo zijn de procedures voor het indienen van documenten voor de accreditatie (voor zowel tijdelijke, als permanente accreditaties) en het verkrijgen van de tijdelijke accreditatie omgezet in een elektronisch formaat.

Behalve dat, hebben journalisten de moeilijk gekregen om zelfstandig de accreditatie-kaarten voor een tijdelijke accreditatie uit te printen. Het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken meldt een significante verkorting van de duur voor het bestuderen van documenten die worden ingediend voor de accreditatie: van 20 dagen naar 5 dagen voor een tijdelijke accreditatie en van 2 maanden naar 30 dagen voor een permanente accreditatie. Ook is de mogelijkheid voor het verlengen van de permanente accreditatie voor de duur van maximaal 3 jaar ingevoerd (eerder was het maximaal tot 1 jaar mogelijk). Het werk van freelance journalisten is in wettelijke kaders gegoten in de interesses van de buitenlandse media.

quote:

Minsk imposes symmetrical sanctions against UK, Canadian officials

On September 29, governments of the UK and Canada imposed sanctions against Belarusian president Alexander Lukahsenko and other officials, including Minister of the Interior Yuri Karaev and Central Electoral Commission head Lidiya Yermoshina, as well as Lukashenko’s son

MINSK, October 2. /TASS/. Belarus imposes symmetrical sanctions against UK and Canadian officials, Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz announced Friday.

"As we announced previously, we introduce symmetrical restrictions against a number officials of the UK and Canada," Glaz said.

He pointed out that Minsk noted the dualistic approach of these countries to the ongoing situation.

"We noted that these countries adopted a sanctions list; we believe these messages to be absolutely false and counter-productive. In particular, the UK and Canada introduced similar measures in 2006; they achieved no result and were subsequently cancelled. Meanwhile, both sides lost time, not to mention obvious double standards between evaluation of their own situation and that of their foreign partners," Glaz said.

On September 29, governments of the UK and Canada imposed sanctions against Belarusian president Alexander Lukahsenko and other officials, including Minister of the Interior Yuri Karaev and Central Electoral Commission head Lidiya Yermoshina, as well as Lukashenko’s son, Viktor.

quote:

Belarus Designations

The following individuals have been added to OFAC's SDN List:

ATABEKAU, Khazalbek Bakhtsibekavich (Cyrillic: АТАБЕКАЎ, Хазалбек Бахцібекавіч) (a.k.a. ATABEKOV, Khazalbek; a.k.a. ATABEKOV, Khazalbek Bakhtibekovich (Cyrillic: АТАБЕКОВ, Хазалбек Бахтибекович)), Belarus; DOB 18 Mar 1967; nationality Belarus; Gender Male (individual) [BELARUS].

BALABA, Dzmitriy Uladzimiravich (Cyrillic: БАЛАБА, Дзмітрый Уладзіміравіч) (a.k.a. BALABA, Dmitriy Vladimirovich (Cyrillic: БАЛАБА, Дмитрий Владимирович); a.k.a. BALABA, Dmitry (Cyrillic: БАЛАБА, Дмитрий)), Minsk, Belarus; DOB 1972; POB Haradzilava, Minsk Oblast, Belarus; nationality Belarus; Gender Male (individual) [BELARUS].

BARSUKOU, Alyaksandr Pyatrovich (Cyrillic: БАРСУКОЎ, Аляксандр Пятровіч) (a.k.a. BARSUKOU, Aliaksandr; a.k.a. BARSUKOU, Alyaksandr; a.k.a. BARSUKOV, Aleksandr; a.k.a. BARSUKOV, Aleksandr Petrovich (Cyrillic: БАРСУКОВ, Александр Петрович); a.k.a. BARSUKOV, Alexander), Minsk, Belarus; DOB 29 Apr 1965; POB Vetkovski District, Homyel Oblast, Belarus; nationality Belarus; Gender Male (individual) [BELARUS].

DMUKHAYLA, Alena Mikalaeuna (Cyrillic: ДМУХАЙЛА, Алена Мікалаеўна) (a.k.a. DMUHAILO, Elena; a.k.a. DMUKHAILO, Elena; a.k.a. DMUKHAILO, Yelena Nikolaevna (Cyrillic: ДМУХАЙЛО, Елена Николаевна); a.k.a. DMUKHAYLA, Alena (Cyrillic: ДМУХАЙЛА, Алена)), Belarus; DOB 1971; nationality Belarus; Gender Female (individual) [BELARUS].

IPATAU, Vadzim Dzmitrievich (Cyrillic: ІПАТАЎ, Вадзім Дзмітрыевіч) (a.k.a. IPATAU, Vadzim (Cyrillic: ІПАТАЎ, Вадзім); a.k.a. IPATOV, Vadim; a.k.a. IPATOV, Vadim Dmitrievich (Cyrillic: ИПАТОВ, Вадим Дмитриевич)), Minsk, Belarus; DOB 30 Oct 1964; POB Kolomyya, Ukraine; nationality Belarus; Gender Male (individual) [BELARUS].

KARAEU, Yuriy Khadzymuratavich (Cyrillic: КАРАЕЎ, Юрый Хаджымуратавіч) (a.k.a. KARAEV, Yuri; a.k.a. KARAEV, Yuriy (Cyrillic: КАРАЕВ, Юрий); a.k.a. KARAEV, Yuriy Khadzimuratovich (Cyrillic: КАРАЕВ, Юрий Хаджимуратович); a.k.a. KARAYEV, Yuri), Minsk, Belarus; DOB 21 Jun 1966; POB Vladikavkaz, Russian Federation; nationality Belarus; Gender Male (individual) [BELARUS].

KUBRAKOU, Ivan Uladzimiravich (Cyrillic: КУБРАКОЎ, Іван Уладзіміравіч) (a.k.a. KUBRAKOV, Ivan (Cyrillic: КУБРАКОВ, Иван); a.k.a. KUBRAKOV, Ivan Vladimirovich (Cyrillic: КУБРАКОВ, Иван Владимирович)), Minsk, Belarus; DOB 05 May 1975; POB Malinawka, Mahilyou Oblast, Belarus; nationality Belarus; Gender Male (individual) [BELARUS].

NAZARANKA, Yuriy Henadzievich (Cyrillic: НАЗАРАНКА, Юрый Генадзьевіч) (a.k.a. NAZARENKO, Yuri; a.k.a. NAZARENKO, Yuriy Gennadievich (Cyrillic: НАЗАРЕНКО, Юрий Геннадьевич)), Minsk, Belarus; DOB 17 Apr 1976; POB Slonim, Belarus; nationality Belarus; Gender Male (individual) [BELARUS].

quote:

EU sanctions are impermissible pressure on Belarus, Zakharova says

She stressed that instead of displaying restraint, so crucial for stabilization in Belarus "the EU has once again grabbed the instrument of sanctions," which is unilateral and illegitimate

MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. The EU's sanctions against Belarusian officials are crude pressure on the authorities, which have been working hard for the sake of normalization in the country, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary on Friday.

"We regard this step as outright and impermissible pressure on the Belarusian authorities, which have been taking measures for the sake of domestic normalization. Once again the EU has not said a word in support of the constitutional reform, geared to liberalizing the political system of Belarus through a national dialogue. This should happen not on the streets, but within the framework of the national legal space, with all strata of Belarusian society taking part."

She stressed that instead of displaying restraint, so crucial for stabilization in Belarus "the EU has once again grabbed the instrument of sanctions," which is unilateral and illegitimate, undermines the prerogatives of the UN Security Council, and "leads to the further erosion of international law."

Zakharova recalled that EU officials and representatives of its individual member-states had repeatedly vowed that their attitude was devoid of geopolitics.

"In the meantime, the EU's decisions and the language of threats, just as other actions taken towards Belarus testify to the opposite. This is an obvious instance of violation of one of the key principles of the UN Charter and the OSCE Final Act signed in Helsinki - non-interference in the internal affairs," she said.

Zakharova pointed out that instead of playing a constructive role and promoting stabilization in Belarus the EU preferred to play into the hands of some of its member-states, which are determined to shake loose the internal political situation in Belarus further on.

"We are urging the EU to give thought to the dire effects this policy may entail," she stressed.

"Also, we draw attention to the fact that in accordance with the alliance obligations the retaliatory Belarusian sanction list, which is effective as of today, will begin to be automatically applied in Russia," the commentary says.

EU sanctions

The European Union on October 2 introduced sanctions against approximately 40 Belarusian officials, whom it holds responsible for alleged election rigging and human rights violations. The EU avoided taking personal sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, because that would undermine Brussels' own demand for entering into an OSCE-brokered dialogue. In response the Belarusian authorities introduced their own sanction list effective from Friday. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said that in accordance with the civilized diplomatic practice the list would not be made public.

quote:

Op zaterdag 3 oktober 2020 19:39 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:
Nieuwsvoorziening lijkt redelijk plat te liggen?

quote:

Tijdens een protest in Soligorsk zijn er ongeveer 20 mensen aangehouden, waaronder journalisten

Minsk, 3 oktober. Ongeveer 20 mensen werden op 3 oktober in Soligorsk aangehouden, meldde het stakingscommitee van "Belaruskalij". De mensen verzamelde zich in het park der vier elementen om thee te drinken, maar ze werden gestoord door wethandhavers.

De meerderheid van de angehoudenen zijn leden van het stakingscommitee, waaronder de voormalige volleybalspeler van het nationale team Sergej Taras. Na het eind van zijn carriere werd hij mijnwerker. In augustus ondersteunde Taras de staking tegen het vervalsen van de uitslag van de presidentsverkiezing en werd hij ontslagen.

Volgens informatie van de Belarussische associatie van journalisten, werden er in Soligorsk ook de journalisten Irina Orekhovskaja, Ksenija Golubovich en Dmitrij Dedok aangehouden. Daarna werden ze vrijgelaten.

In Minsk is, volgens voorlopige informatie, de vrouwen solidariteits actie "De bloemen mars" afgelopen zonder incidenten. Rekening houdend met de massale aanhoudingen ten tijde van de laatste zaterdagse optredes besloten de deelneemsters hun formaat te veranderen: langs Prospekt Neazvisimosti ongeveer vanaf het Jakub Kolas plein tot het Oktober plein wandelden de vrouwen in kleine groepen mer bloemen in hun handen. Enkele van hun waren gekleed in rood-wit gekleurde kleding of hadden rood-witte paraplu's. Over het prospekt verplaatsten zich bussen met wethandhavers. Bestuurders van personenwaens begroetten de vrouwen met geclaxoneer.

quote:

Op zaterdag 3 oktober 2020 20:03 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:
en jouw ontbrekende posts.

quote:

Over 100,000 march in Belarus against authoritarian leader

October 4, 2020 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — More than 100,000 people marched in Belarus’ capital on Sunday to protest against the country’s authoritarian leader, who won his sixth term in office in an election widely seen as rigged.

The demonstrators demanded the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, and freedom for political prisoners. Police used water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowds, but the protesters remained undeterred.

One video from the rally showed a group of protesters approaching a water cannon vehicle, opening a hatch on its side and removing pieces from inside the vehicle. Media reports say the water cannon malfunctioned after that and drove away.

The Viasna human rights center said that about 120,000 took part in a rally on Sunday.

Mass protests have rocked Belarus for almost two months, with the largest rallies taking place on Sundays and drawing up to 200,000 people. The unprecedented wave of unrest was triggered by the results of the Aug. 9 presidential election that handed Lukashenko, who has run Belarus with an iron fist for 26 years, a crushing victory with 80% of the vote.

His main challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, got only 10%. She and her supporters refused to recognize the results as valid, saying the outcome of the vote was manipulated.

In the first days after the vote, Belarusian authorities cracked down brutally on the protesters, with police detaining thousands and injuring scores with truncheons, rubber bullets and stun grenades.

The government has since scaled down on the violence, but kept the pressure on, detaining hundreds of protesters and prosecuting top activists. Many prominent members of the Coordination Council, formed by the opposition to push for a transition of power, have been either arrested of forced to leave the country.

More than 10,000 people have been detained since the election and at least 244 people have been implicated in criminal cases on various charges related to the protests, Viasna human rights center leader Ales Bialiatski told The Associated Press. Over 70 people have been declared political prisoners.

On Sunday, dozens of people were detained in Minsk and other cities. Viasna released a list of detained protesters on its website that by Sunday evening had over 160 names on it.

“A campaign of intimidation and persecution, unprecedented for Europe, has been launched in Belarus against peaceful citizens who want one thing — free elections,” Bialiatski said.

According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, 11 Belarusian reporters were detained Sunday in several cities. Last week, Belarus’ Foreign Ministry rescinded the accreditation of all journalists working for foreign news outlets and said they must apply for new credentials.

Tsikhanouskaya, who entered the presidential race to run instead of her husband Siarhei, a popular opposition blogger jailed in May, issued a statement Sunday supporting the protest and demands to free political prisoners.

She herself was forced to leave Belarus in fear for her safety and that of her children and is currently in exile in Lithuania.

“These are the people who, like Siarhei Tsikhanouski, haven’t seen their family and children for several months. These are the people who suffered for their convictions, and are still suffering. Our goal is to free them. So I support everyone who takes to the streets in their city today,” Tsikhanouskaya said.

“Let the whole world see: Belarusians want to live in freedom, not in prison,” she added.

quote:

October 4: 16 journalists detained, five remain in custody until trial

05.10.2020 Source: BAJ Press Service

On October 4, 16 journalists were detained in Belarus. Most of them were released after verification of their documents at police stations.

However, 5 reporters were left in temporary detention centers until trials on administrative charges. Presumably, Nadzeya Puzhynskaya (Homel), Maryna Mauchanava, Alesia Latsinskaya, Dzianis Nosau, and Yury Kamisarau (all from Babruisk) will be tried for alleged participation in unsanctioned street protests.

Homel

Police detained Silnye Novosti reporter Nadzeya Puzhynskaya. She was detained near the detention center where she came to bring care packages for her detained colleagues - Anna and Dzianis Yakshtas. Nadzeya was charged with "participation in unauthorized event".

The police failed to explain what specific "unauthorized event" Nadzeya had taken part in. Founder of Silnye Novosti, Piotr Kuznetsou was informed by the Homel regional department of internal affairs that Puzhynskuyu had been detained "due to initiation of administrative proceedings under Article 23.34". Police department representative Vitaly Prystromau responded to the question what specific episode she was detained for: "I can not really say, I think there was a reason to."

Nadzeya was left in the temporary detention facility until trial.

Vitebsk

TUT.by and BelaPAN journalist Tatsiana Matveyeva, TUT.by and Narodnaya Volya journalist Ales Piletski, and editor of "People's News Vitebsk" Siarhei Serabro were detained in Vitebsk. All were released after "preventive conversations".

Hrodna

Blogger Andrei Irkha was detained on Savetskaya Square in Hrodna while streaming. He was released after questioning. The police also took his phone. He was punched in the face several times during arrest. The officers who did it kept asking if he was going to continue streaming. During the arrest they strongly tied his hands with a cable tie.

Narodnaya Volya and TUT.BY journalists Volha Kamiahina and Katsiaryna Hardzeyeva were detained, . The police released them after their press ID check and "preventive conversations".

Minsk

In Minsk, the poluce detained and later released BelGazeta photographer Daria Sapranetskaya, and Onliner.by reporter Aliaksandr Uladyka.

Later Daria Sapranetskaya received a call from the Kastrychnitski district police department. The officer told her to return to the police station. A little later police and Omon officers rang the bell of her apartment, all in balaclavas, Daria reported. Daria promised that she would come to the police department on Monday, to get acquainted with the administrative protocol the police had compiled on her. She did not open the door, but livestreamed from her apartment.

The law-enforcement officers left.

Journalist of Belarusians and Market newspaper Aleh Shapialiuk was also detained today in Minsk. He was released after the document check. In the evening, the law-enforcement officers came to his apartment, just as in Daria's case.

Babruisk

The police detained Maryna Mauchanava, Alesia Latsinskaya, Dzianis Nosau and Yury Kamisarau. They were left in custody until trial on Monday. Maryna Mauchanava managed to report that to BAJ from the police station.

Maryna Mauchanava and Alesia Latsinskaya have underage children.

Brest

POlice detained chief editor of the city online magazine Binoculars Ksenia Piatrovich and photographer of Brestskaya Gazeta Aleh Palishchuk. They were released from the police station after a document check.

Mahileu

BelaPAN journalist Ales Asiptsou was detained. After a "preventive conversation" Asiptsou was released.

quote:

Belarus: Statement by the High Representative on demands to reduce diplomatic presence of some Member States

Brussels, 04/10/2020 - 12:52, UNIQUE ID: 201004_2

The demand of the Belarusian authorities that Poland and Lithuania withdraw their ambassadors and significantly reduce their diplomatic representations in Minsk is unfounded and regrettable. It goes against the logic of dialogue and will only further isolate the authorities in Minsk.

Attempts by the Belarusian authorities to target certain EU Member States will not succeed in weakening EU unity, which was clearly reaffirmed by the European Council on 1 October when all EU Member States called on the Belarusian authorities to end violence and repression, release all detainees and political prisoners, respect media freedom and civil society, and start an inclusive national dialogue.

The EU continues to support the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their President through new free and fair elections, without external interference.

quote:

Op maandag 5 oktober 2020 16:20 schreef Glazenmaker het volgende:
Echt bizar hoe de EU denkt aan een militaire interventie in Libi�, terwijl deze dictator nog gewoon zijn gang kan gaan zonder dat we als Europa eensgezind foei kunnen zeggen.

quote:

Op maandag 5 oktober 2020 17:38 schreef Glazenmaker het volgende:

[..]

Ik wil ook absoluut niet dat we Wit Rusland gaan binnenvallen. Ik vind het alleen heel raar dat ze een Europees Vietnam avontuur willen starten terwijl er nog zoveel laaghangend fruit in de achtertuin is. Als je al niet eens foei kan zeggen tegen een land in je achtertuin, al dan niet met wat sancties is er echt wat rot.

quote:

Op maandag 5 oktober 2020 18:47 schreef luxerobots het volgende:
Het is nu echter de Wit-Russische oppositie die zegt dat niet te willen omdat de burgerbevolking daar ook niet mee gebaat is.

quote:

Op maandag 5 oktober 2020 19:54 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]

We weten niet in hoeverre het helpt om Loekasjenko weg te krijgen. Het is immers (nog) niet geprobeerd.

quote:

Op maandag 5 oktober 2020 20:11 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]

De toekomst is niet zo makkelijk met verschillende scenario's door te rekenen. Bovendien heeft Loekasjenko nog nooit zo wankel gestaan, dus in het verleden behaalde resultaten bieden geen garanties voor de toekomst

quote:

More than 300 detained in Belarus during Sunday protests

October 5, 2020 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities in Belarus said Monday that more than 300 people were detained during the previous day’s protests against the country’s authoritarian president, who won his sixth term in office in a vote widely seen as rigged.

The Interior Ministry said 317 people were detained during rallies in several cities Sunday against Alexander Lukashenko. In the capital, Minsk, where according to a rights group nearly 120,000 took part in a rally on Sunday, water cannons were used to disperse the crowds, the ministry said. Police estimated the turnout to be around 10,000 people.

In the city of Vitebsk police used tear gas against protesters, the ministry said. The vast majority of those detained — 258 — remain in custody pending a court appearance.

Mass protests have rocked Belarus for almost two months, with the largest held on Sundays and drawing up to 200,000 people. The unprecedented unrest was triggered by the results of the Aug. 9 presidential election that handed Lukashenko, who has run Belarus with an iron fist for 26 years, victory with 80% of the vote.

His main challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, got 10%. She and her supporters refused to recognize the results, saying the outcome of the vote was manipulated.

Initially, Belarusian authorities cracked down brutally on protesters, with police detaining thousands and injuring scores with truncheons, rubber bullets and stun grenades.

The government has since scaled down on the violence but has maintained the pressure, detaining hundreds of protesters and prosecuting top activists. Prominent members of the opposition’s Coordination Council, formed to push for a transition of power, have been arrested or forced to leave the country. But the protests continued despite the crackdown.

On Monday, the elderly took to the streets, protesting against Lukashenko. Several hundred older men and women marched through the center Minsk, chanting “Go away!” and “Grandmothers are against violence!” The crowd walked all the way to the Interior Ministry, where the protesters started shouting “Freedom to our grandchildren!” According to the Viasna human rights center, three people were detained.

The violence against peaceful protesters elicited international outrage. Last week, the European Union imposed sanctions on 40 officials suspected of election misconduct and the crackdown on protesters. Lukashenko didn’t make the list.

The Belarusian opposition hopes to greatly expand the list of sanctioned officials, Tsikhanouskaya’s spokeswoman, Anna Krasulina, told The Associated Press on Monday. “Our list includes around 800 names — all those who committed violence against peaceful citizens, who gave orders to commit violence, all of them will have to answer,” Krasulina said. “Those who falsified the election made the list as well.”

According to Krasulina, the expanded list will be presented on Tuesday during Tsikhanouskaya’s meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “We see that the EU decided on the sanctions and imposed them. We expect the sanctions list to grow significantly,” Krasulina said.

She added that the opposition “counts on Germany’s help” to start a dialogue with Belarusian authorities about holding a new election.

quote:

Dienstag, 06. Oktober 2020

Beistand f�r Polen und Litauen
Deutscher Botschafter verl�sst Belarus

Nach seinen Amtskollegen aus Polen und Litauen verl�sst nun auch der deutsche Botschafter Belarus. Offiziell hei�t es, er solle Gespr�che in Berlin f�hren. Doch dahinter steckt etwas anderes.

Der deutsche Botschafter in Belarus, Manfred Huterer, hat das Land vor�bergehend verlassen. Er sei ausgereist, "um Gespr�che in Berlin zu f�hren", erfuhr die Deutsche Presse-Agentur aus dem Ausw�rtigen Amt. Demnach will die Bundesregierung sich so mit Polen und Litauen solidarisch zeigen, die ihre Botschafter bereits aus der belarussischen Hauptstadt Minsk abgezogen haben.

Zuvor hatte die F�hrung in Minsk verlangt, dass beide L�nder ihr diplomatisches Personal in Belarus stark reduzieren. "Unser Ziel ist es, den diplomatischen Kontakt maximal aufrechtzuerhalten", sagte Litauens Au�enminister Linas Linkevicius. Diese Botschaft habe man auch der belarussischen Seite vermittelt, mit der man �bereingekommen sei, dass eine zeitweise Abwesenheit der Botschafter helfen k�nne, die Spannungen zu reduzieren. Sollte Belarus weiterhin auf der Reduzierung des Botschaftspersonals bestehen, werde man mit einem �hnlichen Schritt reagieren, hei�t es in dem Statement des Au�enministeriums.

Die EU-Mitglieder Polen und Litauen sind Nachbarl�nder von Belarus und haben zuletzt viele Oppositionelle von dort aufgenommen. So floh die Oppositionsf�hrerin Tichanowskaja nach Litauen. Lukaschenko hat Polen und Litauen mehrfach beschuldigt, die Proteste anzufachen. Die EU hatte vor einer Woche Strafma�nahmen gegen 40 Verantwortliche f�r Wahlbetrug und Gewalt gegen Demonstranten in Belarus in Kraft gesetzt. Darunter sind neben Innenminister Juri Karaeu Vertreter der Wahlkommission und der Sicherheitskr�fte, nicht aber Pr�sident Lukaschenko. Die USA verh�ngten Sanktionen gegen acht Regierungs- und Beh�rdenvertreter des Landes.

In Belarus gehen die Menschen seit der umstrittenen Pr�sidentenwahl Anfang August regelm��ig gegen Pr�sident Alexander Lukaschenko auf die Stra�e. Der 66-J�hrige hatte sich mit 80,1 Prozent der Stimmen f�r eine sechste Amtszeit best�tigen lassen. Die EU erkennt das Wahlergebnis aber nicht an. Die Opposition sieht Swetlana Tichanowskaja als wahre Siegerin, die an diesem Dienstag Berlin besuchte. Sie warb um breite Unterst�tzung f�r die Protestbewegung in ihrem Heimatland. "Wir brauchen Vermittlung, um einen Dialog zu starten" mit der Staatsf�hrung von Lukaschenko, sagte sie. Dabei hoffe sie auf Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel: "Ich bin sicher, in dieser Situation wird sie extrem hilfreich sein."

quote:

Silnye Novosti journalist Nadzeya Puzhynskaya to serve 14 days of jail. Her trial was not announced to public

06.10.2020 Source: TUT.BY

In Homel, journalist of the local portal Silnye Novosti (Strong News) was tried. However, neither her family, not colleagues who had been keeping vigil in the court building for two days, were able to come to her trial. Nadzeya Puzhynskaya was sentenced to 14 days of jail.

On Saturday, October 3, Homel police detained editor-in-chief of Silnye Novosti Anna Yakshtas and her husband Dzianis, who also works in the media outlet. Nadzeya Puzhynskaya, together with Dianis' family arrived at the detention center to bring a care package for her colleagues.

"Someone called her, and she stepped aside and disappeared. Later she called from a police station to inform that she was in Sovetski police department. Then we learned that Nadzeya was detained under article 23.34 of the Administrative code (Violation of the order of organizing or holding mass events)," owner of the portal Piotr Kuzniatsou said earlier.

Nobody knew what exactly she was charged with.

Today, on October 6, Nadzeya was tried. We don't know how and where the court session was held. Nadzeya's mother told the news to Silnye Novosti: She got a phone call from her daughter who said she had received 14 days of jail. The journalists who stayed in the court building since early morning, could not find information about the hearing.

Anna Yakshtas was given a fine of 20 base values today. She has underaged children, and can't serve administrative jail terms by law.

Dzianis Yakshtas was sentenced to 15 days of jail yesterday.

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06 October 2020, 09:16

Belarusians submit about 350 proposals on constitutional reform in three days

MINSK, 6 October (BelTA) – Belarusians have submitted about 350 proposals on amending the Constitutional over three days, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Commission on State Building, Local Government and Regulations of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Viktor Svillo told the STV TV channel, BelTA has learned.

On 2 October the House of Representatives posted an announcement inviting the public to contribute their views on constitutional amendments. The proposals will be accepted till 25 October.

According to Viktor Svillo, the feedback was huge. “By midday on 5 October, there were already about 350 proposals from the public. The proposals are very interesting. Of course, these proposals were not formulated in a legally established manner. People just expressed their wishes. And the task of the parliament is to process all this. In this case, the parliament acts as an aggregator. All proposals that ordinary citizens send to us must be grouped and processed in a certain way. Subsequently, we should produce a certain output of a legal nature. However, these will be parliamentary proposals,” he said.

The MP thanked all people who send proposals. He stressed that the MPs will summarize and analyze the collected materials. “I would like to warn against disappointment those contributors who might not see their proposals. In one form or another they will be taken on board,” Viktor Svillo added.

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Op dinsdag 6 oktober 2020 23:51 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Hoezo sluiten die twee functies elkaar uit? Je kunt als journalist ook adviseur zijn.

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Op woensdag 7 oktober 2020 11:27 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Ja, maar dat heeft niet op nu.nl gestaan.

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De betogers eisen zondag dat de regering politieke gevangen vrijlaat. Een lokale journalist in Minsk meldt dat de demonstranten een gevangenis proberen te omsingelen. Bij het optreden van de oproerpolitie zijn ook betogers opgepakt, maar onduidelijk is hoeveel. Het Russsiche persbureau Interfax heeft het over zeker tien arrestaties.

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Ik neem aan dat hij onbezoldigd (gratis) aan de slag is voor Tichanovskaja.

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Dan kun je prima onafhankelijk zijn.

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Overigens is Franak wel een gekleurde journalist.

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Er is een opsporingsbevel uitgeroepen tegen Tichanovskaja op het Russische territorium

De wethandhavende organenen legden uit, dat er tegen de oppositie politica een opsporingsbevel werd uitgeroepen in Belarus en gezien het gaat om een transnationale opsporing, dat er ook gehoor aan wordt gegeven in Rusland

MOSKOU, 7 oktober. /TASS/. Tegen de voormalige Belarussische presidentskandidaat Svetlana Tichanovskaja is een transnationaal opsporingsbevel uitgeroepen op het Russische territorium. Dat blijkt uit een database van de Russische politie.

"Grond voor de opsoring: wordt gezocht wegens een strafrechtelijk feit", staat er in de database.

Daarnaast legde de bron die TASS heeft binnen de wethandhavende organen uit, dat er tegen haar een opsporingsbevel werd uitgeroepen in Belarus, maar dat er ook in Rusland gehoor aan wordt gegeven, omdat het gaat om een transnationale opsporing.

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Op woensdag 7 oktober 2020 16:37 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Waar blijkt uit dat hij de hele tijd bij Tichanovskaja is?

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Op woensdag 7 oktober 2020 16:48 schreef luxerobots het volgende:
Jij zei echter dat Franak de hele tijd bij Tichanovkaja is en dat hij haar adviseur is. Daar wil ik graag bewijzen van zien (overigens hoeft adviseur zijn helemaal niet zoveel voor te stellen, je hebt adviseurs als beroepsgroep, maar ook gewoon mensen die advies geven).

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Op woensdag 7 oktober 2020 17:10 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Nou, ik zie geen bewijs dat hij constant bij haar is.

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Nu zie ik wel op zijn twitterkanaal een aantal berichten over Tichanovskaja. Maar of hij haar letterlijk op de voet volgt, en dit blijft doen, moeten we ook maar afwachten.

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Op woensdag 7 oktober 2020 17:18 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Oeh, hij was in Berlijn.

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[..]

En Tichanovskaja heeft slechts ��n buiteland-adviseur?

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IOC to look into claims of Belarus athletes' discrimination

BERLIN (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is investigating claims by Belarus athletes they are being discriminated against because of their political views, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday.

Belarus has been rocked by protests since an Aug. 9 election that confirmed another term for President Alexander Lukashenko.

"We are very concerned about the information we are getting," Bach said in a conference call at the end of the body's executive board meeting.

He said the IOC had already corresponded with the national committee and would now also look into scholarship and other funds that had been directed to Belarus and whether they had reached the individuals they were meant for.

"What we are hearing is in fact athletes are saying that they are discriminated against by their National Olympic Committee (NOC) just for political reasons," Bach said.

Lukashenko is also president of his country's Olympic committee (NOC).

"Non-discrimination is an essential value of the Olympic movement. This is why we are taking it so seriously," Bach said.

"The Executive Board... decided we will strengthen our investigation to determine whether the NOC has fulfilled and is fulfilling obligation as per the Olympic charter."

Lukashenko is struggling to contain nearly two months of street protests and more than 13,000 people have been arrested and many opposition leaders jailed.

Belarus athletes have repeatedly urged sports bodies including the IOC to suspend the national Olympic committee's membership.

"We are a civil non-governmental organisation and our mandate is limited to sport. We cannot change the laws or the political system or the laws of a sovereign country," Bach said.

"But we are taking very seriously the mandate we have to ensure that the NOCs of any country respect the Olympic charter and that athletes enjoy rights in compliance with the charter."

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Four more EU states recall envoys to Belarus: Lithuania

Andrius Sytas,Reuters October 7, 2020

By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Four more EU nations, including Germany, are recalling their ambassadors to Belarus in solidarity with Lithuania and Poland, the Lithuanian foreign ministry said on Wednesday, amid continued tensions with Minsk over its crackdown on protesters following a disputed presidential election.

Belarus has accused its neighbours Poland and Lithuania of meddling in its affairs by hosting exiled opposition leaders and refusing to recognise Alexander Lukashenko's victory in the Aug. 9 poll. His critics say the vote was rigged, which he denies.

Belarus recalled its own ambassadors from Poland and Lithuania last Friday for consultations and asked the two states to scale back the number of staff at their embassies in Minsk.

Lithuania and Poland refused to comply and then recalled their ambassadors to Minsk for consultations in the hope of reducing regional tensions.

Germany, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia are now recalling their envoys to Minsk for consultations, a Lithuanian foreign ministry spokeswoman told Reuters.

Germany did not respond immediately to a request for comment, while a Czech foreign ministry spokeswoman said: "We are considering a reaction in solidarity with Poland and Lithuania."

Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu described Belarus's pressure on Poland and Lithuania as "unfounded and unfortunate".

"In protest against the steps taken by Belarus, we have decided to invite our ambassador from Belarus to Tallinn for consultations," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

The three Baltic republics - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - were the first European Union countries to sanction Lukashenko and other Belarusian officials for alleged election fraud and violence against protesters.

With Belarus rocked by almost daily protests since the election and Western sanctions imposed on him and other top officials, Lukashenko has turned to Russia for financial and diplomatic support to maintain his 26-year grip on power.

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Lithuania blocks millions of euros of EU funding to Belarus: official

By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuania has blocked 5.8 million euros ($6.83 million) in payments to Belarus for an EU-funded cross-border development programme, fearing the money could be misused, the Lithuanian government said on Wednesday.

The European Union has condemned police crackdowns on protesters in Belarus since a disputed Aug. 9 election, and last week imposed travel bans and asset freezes on dozens of Belarusian officials.

Neighbouring Lithuania has been one of the strongest backers of a strong EU stance against President Alexander Lukashenko's attempts to stifle opposition and is hosting his main opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled there after the vote.

Lithuanian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Bozena Zaborovska told Reuters that payments for the cross-border assistance programme that Vilnius oversees were halted immediately after the post-election crackdowns began, out of fear that the money would be misused by Lukashenko's government.

"All payments were ceased until we receive clarification from the European Commission on the apparent risks," she said.

The funds have not been redirected for other purposes and remain shelved pending the clarification, she added.

The EU Observer newspaper reported on Tuesday that Belarus had purchased 15 surveillance drones using EU money, prompting alarm they could be used against pro-democracy demonstrators.

Lithuanian police chief Renatas Pozela told reporters funds for the drones were sent to Belarus in the first half of 2020.

The funding programme aims to develop regions on both sides of the border between Belarus and EU members Lithuania and Latvia. The EU is due to contribute 74 million euros, with the funds for Belarus channelled through neighbouring EU countries.

Under initial plans, the EU was due to spend a total of 18.4 million euros on the programme in 2020, 10.7 million euros in 2021, and 3.5 million in 2022-2024.

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Apple is requesting that we shut down 3 channels used by the people of Belarus to expose the identities of their oppressors.

@karatelibelarusi
@chatpartizan
@belarusassholes

Their concern is that publishing the personal information of law enforcers and propagandists may incite violence.

I think this situation is not black and white and would rather leave the channels be, but typically Apple doesn’t offer much choice for apps like Telegram in such situations. Unfortunately, I assume these channels will end up getting blocked on iOS, but remain available on other platforms.

P. S. Everyone is welcome to express their views and comment on this post provided they stay on-topic and use English. Thanks!

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De voormalige voorzitter van de OGP Lebedko werd angehouden wegens een betuursrechtelijke overtreding

Op donderdag werd de voormalige voorzitter van de Verenigde Burger Partij (OGP) Anatolij Lebedko aangehouden wegens een bestuursrechtelijke overtreding.

"Lebedko is aangehouden wegens het plegen van een bestuursrechtelijke overtreding", meldde de officiele vertegenwoordiger van de politie van Minsk Natalja Ganusevich aan het persbureau "Interfax-ZAPAD".

Op 8 oktober in de middag begonnen telegram kanalen met een verwijzing naar famileleden en voormalige medestanders van Lebedko binnen de OGP melding te maken over zijn mogelijke aanhouding. Hij arriveerde niet bij een geplande ontmoeting en stopte te antwoorden op telefonische oproepen.

Eerder op 5 oktober benoemde voormalig presidentskandidate Svetlana Tichanovskaja Lebedko als een van haar vertegenwoordigers inzake de constitutionele hervorming. De tweede [vertegenwoordiger] werd de voorzitter van de Hoge raad van Belarus [voormalige benaming van het parlament onder de oude constitutie] van de 7e samenstelling Mechislav Grib. Hij zot de maatschappelijke consitutionele commisie voor, die zich bezig houd met het ontwikkelen van een project inzake wijzigingen en aanvulling aan de constitutie van 1994. Lebedko coordineert het werk van deze commisie.

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Het Ministerie van Justitie bekijkt het vraagstuk betreffende het intrekken van de licentie van een advocaat van Babariko en Kolesnikova

Het Ministerie van Justitie bekijkt het vraagstuk betreffende het intrekken van de licentie van Aleksandr Pylchenko, de verdediger van de voormalige pretendent op de presidentspost Viktor Babariko en het lid van het presidium van de nationale coordinatie raad Marija Kolesnikova.

"Een kennisgeving inzake het bekijken van het vraagstuk betreffende het intrekken van de geldigheid van de licentie werd op 7 oktober uitgereikt bij het Minsterie van Justitie", meldde Pylchenko aan het persbureau "Interfax-ZAPAD".

Hij voegde toe, dat het vraagstuk op 15 oktober bekeken wordt op een zitting van de kwalificatie commisie voor vragen inzake het advocaten beroep onder het Ministerie van Justitie.

De advocaat legde uit, "dat op dit moment de kern van beschuldigingen hem niet met zekerheid bekend is". Morgen neemt hij kennis van de materie, de als grond dient voor het bekijken van het vraagstuk betreffende het intrekken van de geldigheid van de licentie.

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De Belarussische politie en de Russische Nationale Wacht onderhandelen over een samenwerking

Op het Russische internet-portal voor wettelijke informatie is een besluit van de Russische regering gepubliceerd inzake de voorbereiding voor onderhandelingen tussen de Russische en Belarussische wetshandhavers.

De president van Rusland vertelde al in het einde van augustus over een afspraak met de Belarussische zijde inzake het vormen van een reserve uit Russische wethandhavers. Volgens de woorden van Vladimir Putin, werd er niet geplant om gebruik te maken van het reserve, zolang "extremistische elementen, onder de mantel van politieke leuzen, bepaalde grenzen niet over gaan".

Er wordt verondersteld, dat op de aankomende besprekingen Russische en Belarussische collega's gedetailleerd alle kanten van de samenwerking zullen bespreken. Het belangrijkste: in welk geval er hulp geboden moet worden, met welke krachten en in welk tijdbestek en wat zullen de bevoegdheden van de Russische Nationale Wachters worden. Alle afspraken moeten officieel zijn en op staatsniveau gedocumenteerd worden, schrijft "Rossijskaja gazeta".

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Belarus’ Lukashenko announces personnel reshuffle in colleges over ‘student behavior’

The leader stressed that special attention must be paid to employment policy

MINSK, October 9. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting that personnel must be reshuffled in universities, whose students "displayed negligent attitude to higher education," BelTA news agency reported Friday.

"Behavior of some students reveals their, mildly put, negligent attitude to higher education. This may lead to the loss of its value as an important social step. University rectors are underperforming here. In the coming days, within a week, we must solve the personnel issue in these universities," Lukashenko said.

He added that special attention must be paid to employment policy, and "active public-minded individuals capable of engaging in a dialogue with the citizens" must be singled out.

"The most important issue that we face is reliability. We were too careless when picking and appointing the personnel. And then some of them ‘switched sides’, actually those the state had nurtured. Therefore, reliability, patriotism, devotion to the ideas of the people take center stage now," he said.

Previously, Lukashenko noted repeatedly that a significant portion of protesters is comprised of young people who never experienced "the difficulties of the wild nineties."

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Het is bekend geworden, wie er zich uitgaf voor Tichanovskaja op een zitting van het Deense parlement

De Russische prankers Vladimir Kuznetsov (Vovan) en Aleksej Stoljarov (Leksus) bevestigden, dat ze spraken met leden van het Deense parlement uit naam van Tichanovskaja, schrijft RIA Novosti.

Eerder meldde de persdienst van het Deense parlement, dat een onbekend persoon op 6 oktober zich voegde in een online bijeenkomst van leden van het comit� voor buitenlandse politiek, zich uitgevende als zijnde Tichanovskaja, daarbij werd op de bijeenkomst de politieke situatie in Belarus besproken en ook "hoe kan het Belarussische volk ondersteund worden in de strijd voor democratie en de mensenrechten". Zoals de persdienst meldde, informeerden de zogenaamde leden van de Belarussische zijde aan het begin van de bijeenkomst de organisatoren over problemen met de videocamera, diengevolge zag niemand de voordrachtgever zelf. Later nam het comit� contact op met vertegenwoordigers can de staf van Tichanovskaja, die bevestigden, dat iemand anders zich uitgaf als de politica.

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Lavrov: Responsible EU members against burning bridges with Belarus

MOSCOW, 9 October (BelTA) - Responsible and serious members of the European Union do not want “to burn bridges” with Belarus, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the media, BelTA has learned.

According to the Russian foreign minister, two trends on how to proceed with Belarus coexist in the European Union. “The first trend is strongly fueled by the countries that are the immediate neighbors of Belarus, especially Lithuania and Poland that take an aggressive stance recalling the shared history in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. These countries are clearly tempted, quite strongly, to gain some additional geopolitical space, so to speak. They are doing it under an undisguised slogan: to disrupt Belarus' ties with Russia, to take it away from Russia. The countries with such a position are a minority in the EU, as far as I understand,” Sergey Lavrov noted.

“Another trend promoted by responsible, serious states is that the EU should not repeat the mistakes made in respect of Ukraine. These two trends collide, they can hardly be compatible,” he continued. “This is why the EU makes vague statements. You get the feel that between these two trends there is such a silent majority that really does not want to burn bridges and make some statements that will be impossible to realize,” he said.

The Russian foreign minister recalled that Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko had put forward an initiative to carry out a constitutional reform in the country. “This is a good opportunity to launch a national dialogue, during which all sectors of the Belarusian society can agree on how they want to further develop their state and their nation” the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

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De rechter sprak de correspondent van "Vechernij Bobrujsk" Denis Nosov vrij

In Bobrujsk (Mogilev Oblast) sloot rechter Elena Gormash de zaak wegens gebrek aan bewijs voor een overtreding van de kant van de correspondent "Vechernij Bobrujsk" Denis Nosov.

Zoals de Belarussische Associatie van Journalisten (BAJ) meldt, werd hij beschuldigd van deelname aan een niet-gesanctioneerde massa actie op 4 oktober, waar ten tijde van het belichten van een vreedzaam protest in Bobrujsk vier journalisten werden aangehouden.

Nosov werd vrijgelaten uit de politiecel op 7 oktober na het verstrijken van 72 uur sinds het moment van zijn aanhouding. De rechtszaak vond plaats op 9 oktober.

De belangen van de journalist werden verdedigd door advocaat Aleksandr Ryzhkov. Volgens de woorden van Nosov zelf, "liet de voorbeeldige spraak van de jurist geen enkele kans vrij voor de aanklager, om de journalist te straffen voor het uitvoeren van zijn professionele verplichtingen".

Bij de Belarussische Associatie van Journalisten merkten ze op, dat Nosov voorlopig de enige vrijgesprokene van de vier journalisten is. De fotograaf Jurij Komissarov, die samenwerkt met het portal Bobr.by, werd bestraft met 7 dagen arrest. De data van de rechtszittingen tegen de correspondenten van de online krant "Bobrujskij Kurer" Marina Molchanova en de correspondent van het portal Bobr.by Alesja Latinskaja zijn voorlopig nog niet bepaald.

"Tegelijkertijd is hun deelname aan een strafzaak niet uitgesloten. Terwijl Denis Nosov in de cel zat, voerden agenten een huiszoeking door in zijn huis en namen ze apparatuur in beslag", vermeldt het bericht van de BAJ, "7 oktober vond er een huiszoeking plaats in het appartement van Marina Molchanova. Een van de politieagenten verduidelijkte: de journalisten worden verdacht van het in brand steken van een politiepost. Er is een strafzaak ingesteld wegens een brand, die plaatsvond op 28 september op een contactpunt voor de wettelijke handhaving. De wethandhaver zei, dat huiszoekingen worden doorgevoerd bij alle journalisten, die tijdens de zondagse actie werden aangehouden. Rechercheurs hebben hun allen reeds ondervraagd".

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Lukashenko had een ontmoeting in de KGB cel met gearresteerde leden van de nationale coordinatie raad en de verenigde staf

De Belarussische president Aleksandr Lukashenko bracht op zaterdag tijd door met aangehouden vertegenwoordigers van de nationale coordinatie raad en de verenigde staf van de oppositie in de KGB cel, meldde het dicht bij de persdienst staande telegramkanaal "Pul Pervogo".

"Daar praatte hij vier en een half uur met de bovengenoemde vertegenwoordigers, die zich in de cel bevinden. Het doel van de president is om de mening van iedereen te horen", informeert het kanaal.

"De inhoud van het gesprek houden de deelnemers geheim volgens een gezamelijke beslissing", aldus het bericht.

Tegelijkertijd citeert het kanaal de woorden van Lukashenko, dat "Je de constitutie niet op straat kunt schrijven".

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Op zaterdag 10 oktober 2020 17:00 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Ik las het ook. Hier een fotootje. Van jouw minst favoriete journalist

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Toch wel erg opvallend. Als dictator hoef je natuurlijk niet te gaan praten met mensen in de gevangenis.

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Aan de andere kant voor de gevangenen ook niet zo handig, in de gevangenis raak je uitgeput en kun je je ook niet goed voorbereiden.

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Zojuist vond er een telefoongesprek plaats tussen Svetlana en Sergej Tichanovskij.

Dit is het eerste gesprek in 4 maanden, na 134 dagen. Details komen later nog.

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Het lid van de nationale coordinatie raad Svetlana Gatalskaja is aangehouden

Het lid van de algemene kring van de nationale coordinatie raad voor het reguleren van de politieke crisis en de medeoprichtster van de beweging "Marcheer, kindje" Svetlana Gatalskaja is aangehouden, meldt de nationale coordinatie raad op haar telegram kanaal.

Er zijn verder nog geen details, het enige dat bekend is, is dat Gatalskaja niet tijdens de vrouwenmars aangehouden werd, meldt BelaPAN.

De nationale coordinatie raad meldt ook, dat na 20 dagen van bestuursrechtelijk arrest uit de cel in Zhodino het lid van de algemene kring van de nationale coordinatie raad Oleg Moiseev is vrijgelaten.

"Onder bewaking bevinden zich nog vijf leden van de algemene kring van de nationale coordinatie raad. De nationale coordinatie raad roept op tot een onmiddelijke bevrijding van alle politieke gevangenen", klinkt het in het bericht.

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Op zaterdag 10 oktober 2020 21:21 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Ik denk dat het tegenvalt. Naar Wit-Russische begrippen goed, een bekend persoon krijgt natuurlijk een net iets betere behandeling.

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Mocht er iets gebeuren, dan heeft Wit-Rusland weer wat uit te leggen internationaal gezien.

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Maar het blijft niet veel. Maria Kolesnikova moet haar cel delen met andere vrouwen.

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Babariko is duidelijk afgevallen. En de KGB staat sowieso al niet bekend om zijn goede behandeling van gevangenen.

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Op zaterdag 10 oktober 2020 21:39 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Een cel delen klinkt nog een beetje gezellig. Alsof het om een huishouden gaat. Maar je kunt je medegevangenen niet kiezen en zit vrijwel de hele tijd bij ze op de cel.

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Vind je ook niet dat Babariko er slecht uitziet? Bleek en een heel stuk vermagerd.

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Op zaterdag 10 oktober 2020 21:46 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:
Hoe lang blijft het daar nog protestweer?
In 1941 had je eind september al de eerste sneeuw.

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Belarus’ authoritarian leader visits his foes in prison

October 10, 2020 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian president on Saturday visited a prison to talk to opposition activists, who have been jailed for challenging his re-election that was widely seen as manipulated and triggered two months of protests.

President Alexander Lukashenko spent more than four hours talking to his jailed political foes at the Minsk prison that belongs to Belarus’ State Security Committee, which still goes under its Soviet-era name, KGB.

Lukashenko’s office said that “the goal of the president was to hear everyone’s opinion.” Among 11 jailed activists who attended the meeting were several members of the opposition’s Coordination Council and Viktor Babariko, the former head of a major Russia-owned bank. Babariko aspired to challenge Lukashenko but was barred from the race and remained in jail since his arrest in May on charges he dismissed as political.

Lukashenko’s landslide re-election in the Aug. 9 vote was widely seen as manipulated amid widespread public frustration with the Belarusian leader’s 26-year authoritarian rule, his cavalier response to the coronavirus pandemic and the deteriorating economy.

A violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in the first days after the vote, in which thousands were arrested and hundreds were beaten by police, provoked international outrage and helped swell protesters’ ranks.

The main opposition challenger in the vote, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who left for Lithuania after the election under pressure from authorities, cast Lukashenko’s visit to prison as a result of continuing demonstrations and urged keeping up a push for new elections.

“With this meeting, Lukashenko recognized the existence of political prisoners whom he previously dismissed as criminals,” she said in a statement. “Today’s event is a result of our pressure.”

The European Union and the United States said the election was neither free nor fair. They have slapped scores of Belarusian officials with sanctions for their role in the alleged vote-rigging and the crackdown on protests, but didn’t target Lukashenko himself.

EU members Poland and Lithuania have been especially outspoken in their support for Belarusian opposition politicians, leading to diplomatic tensions that have included Belarus’ government expelling Polish and Lithuanian diplomats. Those two countries responded by withdrawing their ambassadors to Minsk.

Late Friday, Britain temporarily recalled its ambassador to Belarus, Jacqueline Perkins, in response to the Belarusian government’s decision to expel the Polish and Lithuanian diplomats.

In a tweet, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned the decision, labeling it as “completely unjustified.” He said the temporary recall of the ambassador “for consultations on the situation in Belarus” was intended to show “solidarity” with the people in the country.

The government has sought to stifle protests by detaining hundreds of demonstrators, prosecuting some top activists and forcing others to leave the country. However, massive demonstrations have continued, reaching their peak numbers on Sundays when up to 100,000 flood the streets of the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Another big protest is planned for this Sunday.

Hundreds of women marched through the Belarusian capital on Saturday to protest against political repressions and demand a new election. Several participants in the rally were detained.

Pavel Latushko, a former culture minister and ambassador to France, who joined the opposition’s Coordination Council and was pressured by authorities to leave the country, said that the meeting reflected the Belarusian leader’s weakness.

“Lukashenko was forced to sit down at the negotiation table with the people whom he jailed,” Latushko said in a statement, demanding the release of all political prisoners.

Observers saw Lukashenko’s visit to prison as part of his efforts to steal the protesters’ thunder by offering vaguely-described reforms, such as his proposal to draft a new constitution. During the meeting in prison, Lukashenko emphasized that “the constitution can’t be written in the streets,” his office said without offering other details of the meeting.

“After two months of protests and harsh repressions, Lukashenko is moving to de-escalate the situation,” said Valery Karbalevich, an independent Minsk-based political expert.

“The discussion of a new constitution is an attempt by the government to imitate a dialogue. It would allow Lukashenko to drown the protests in talks, reduce tensions and enforce his agenda both inside the country and to foreign players,” Karbalevich said.

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Op zaterdag 10 oktober 2020 22:46 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:

[..]

Ik heb mijn twijfels,

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maar dat bezoek van Luka aan die bajes lijkt geen slecht teken.

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Protest moet toch momentum behouden om veranderingen voor elkaar te krijgen.

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Op zaterdag 10 oktober 2020 23:24 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Sterker nog, jij wilde juist tijd voor Loekasjenko

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Nou, die tijd heeft hij gekregen, en hij doet precies wat ik voorspelde (en wat iedereen kon zien), hij gebruikt die tijd gewoon om zijn machtsstructuren te versterken.

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Op zaterdag 10 oktober 2020 23:33 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Dat heeft er niets mee van doen. Loekasjenko had juist snel moeten vertrekken, zo was er tijd ontstaan voor het volk.

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[..]

Ja. Maar hij heeft zijn machtsstructuren ook versterkt. Oproerpolitie gaat slimmer te werk door groepen demonstranten op te breken en ze te arresteren als ze vertrekken. Ook wordt er verf in de waterkanonnen gedaan om demonstranten beter te kunnen herkennen.

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Bovendien integreert Wit-Rusland verder in Rusland.

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Kijk maar naar het geld dat hij mag 'lenen' van Poetin, daar komt ook echt wel wat tegenover te staan.

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En andere voorbeelden zijn de kritische journalisten van de staatspers die hij ingeruild heeft voor mensen uit Rusland.

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Of het indrukken van de stakingen met sancties...

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Hoe meer tijd Loekasjenko heeft, hoe steviger hij de teugels vast kan pakken.

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Op zaterdag 10 oktober 2020 23:56 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Nou, in het verleden zijn dictators wel eens erg snel gevallen (denk maar aan Nicolae Ceaușescu).

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En natuurlijk was het niet het meest realistische scenario.

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Maar ik zie ook niet wat er mis aan is om je wensen uit te spreken.

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Dat die groei geremd wordt is voor de demonstranten natuurlijk al negatief.

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Daarbij zien de protesten er daardoor ook minder imposant uit, terwijl dat toch het doel is, de demonstraties moeten zo groot mogelijk zijn om de (psychologische) druk op te voeren.

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Nee. Ga ik niet doen. Relevante wetgeving zoek je zelf maar op.

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Overigens is het geen geheim dat Poetin een uniestaat wil met Wit-Rusland erin.

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Nee, maar het grotere probleem van de staatsmedia die hem niet meer zouden steunen is natuurlijk wel afgewend.

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Dit gaat een lang proces worden.

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Waarbij hij soms de teugels ietwat verliest, en ze soms weer beter in zijn handen weet te krijgen.

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Ik denk dat dat een beter scenario was geweest, Loekasjenko moet er zo snel mogelijk uit. Nu is het een slijtageslag, die ook economisch pijn doet.

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De ontmoeting van Lukashenko met de politiekgevangenen is een erkenning door hem van zijn tegenstanders. Het commentaar van "Nasha Niva"

1) Er vond geen aparte ontmoeting tussen Lukashenko en een enkel iemand van de politiekgevangenen of een leider van de oppositie plaats, maar een ontmoeting met een hele groep van hen, zij het zonder Tichanovskij, Kolesnikova, Statkevich, Severinets, Latushko en Aleksievich. En, natuurlijk, zonder Svetlana Tichanovskaja, die door de wil van het lot de nationale leider van de Belarussen werd en in het centrum zou moeten zijn van ieder onderhandelingsproces.

2) De ontmoeting was geen ritueel, maar duurde 4,5 uur.

3) Lukashenko ontmoette niet degenen, die op vrije voeten zijn gebleven of emigreerden, maar degenen, die de pressie van het opsluiten hebben ondergaan, mogelijk, in de hoop, dat die mensen meer geneigd zijn richting een dialoog op voorwaarden van de autoriteiten.

4) Over de ontmoeting berichtten, zij het kort, de staatsmedia, waarbij ze het een ontmoeting noemden met gevangene leden van de "nationale co�rdinatie raad".

5) Wij weten de details van de ontmoeting nog niet, wij weten niet, of en welke extra druk op haar politiekgevangene deelnemers werd uitgeoefend. Ten minste een van hen, Jurij Voskresenskij, figureerde onlangs in propaganda programma's op BT, waar hij er gebroken en manipuleerbaar uitzag.

6) Desondanks, het feit van de ontmoeting zelf is een erkenning van de status als politiekgevangenen, waaronder die van Babariko, Znak en Vlasova, een erkenning, dat zij politiekgevangenen zijn en geen verdachten van economische delicten. Dat is een gigantische verandering.

7) Hoewel de ontmoeting plaatsvond in de KGB cel, is het een erkenning van hetgeen, dat de andere zijde in de Belarussische politiek legitiem is. De ontmoeting is een erkenning van de legitimiteit van de demonstranten, de oppositie en haar leiders.

8) Onthoud deze dag, 10 oktober. Hij is net zo belangrijk als de dag van 9 augustus, immers toen vonden de verkiezingen plaats, die de situatie in het land omdraaiden en de indruk van de meerderheid van de burgers daarover veranderden. En net zo belangrijk, als de dag van 12 augustus, toen duidelijk werd, dat demonstraties werkelijk en langdurig zijn en dat het initiatief in de handen van de demonstranten ligt. Er waren nog twee maanden van dagelijks verzet nodig, waar praktisch alle lagen van de Belarussische bevolking deel aan namen, behalve wetshandhavers. Tussen 12 augustus en 10 oktober, maar ook voor 9 augustus, werden er 13 580 mensen aangehouden, 300 strafzaken ingesteld en gaven 4 demonstranten hun leven voor de vrijheid en onafhankelijkheid.

9) Een dergelijke ontmoeting kan de eerste stap worden richting een ronde tafel, de best bestaande manier voor een vredige transformatie. Juist daarin ligt de betekenis van de dag van vandaag. Maar voorwaarts is nog een lange weg.

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De autoriteiten rekenen er op de constitutionele hervorming te rekken

In het vraagstuk betreffende de constitutionele hervorming vind er in 2020 alleen de etappe plaats van de initi�le verzameling van informatie, haar analyse en verwerking gaat door in het volgende jaar, daarbij is haast onaanvaardbaar, zei de voorzitter van de commissie van staatsvorming, lokaal zelfbestuur en reglement van het parlement Valentin Semenjako.

"Wij wachten in de eerste plaats op voorstellen ten aanzien van de tekst van de constitutie in de bijbehorende hoofdstukken en artikelen inzake de vragen, waar burgers zich zorgen om maken. Concreet op voorstellen over het herverdelen van de bevoegdheden tussen de bestuursorganen, en ook of het nodig is om een meerpartijenstelsel in te voeren en welke rol partijen moeten spelen in onze maatschappij", zei Semenjako in de ether van het programma "Panorama" op televisiezender "Belarus-1".

Naar schatting van de parlementari�r is "de activiteit van burgers behoorlijk hoog", de commissie ontvangt dagelijks enkele tientallen verzoeken.

"Het duidt er op, dat de door de autoriteiten voorgestelde maatschappelijke dialoog en de maatschappelijke discussie interessant zijn zowel qua thematiek en ook qua vorm", is de voorzitter van de parlementaire commissie van mening.

"Ongeveer 30% van de ontvangen voorstellen hebben niet direct betrekking op de constitutie, maar burgers zijn van mening, dat die voorstellen op een significante wijze verscheidene vereisten vormen voor transformaties in de maatschappij", merkte Semenjako op.

Onder dergelijke voorstellen schaarde de parlementari�r voorstellen over het veranderen van de procedures van het uitvoeren van personenvervoer, de periodieke autokeuring en de pensioen wetgeving.

"Die voorstellen zijn heel belangrijk voor ons, niet enkel voor het werk aan de constitutie, maar ook voor andere regelgeving en wetsvoorstellen, waar de commissie aan werkt", zei hij.

Semenjako sloot het voeren van speciale parlementaire zittingen niet uit voor het vraagstuk inzake constitutionele wijziging en merkte op, dat de constitutie besproken gaat worden op de vergadering van Alle Belarussen.

"Het proces vereist bijzonder nauwgezette aandacht en een grote overdenking, haast is hier onaanvaardbaar. Ik denk dat alleen de initi�le verzameling van informatie plaats vind in dit jaar en dat analyse en verwerking door gaat in het volgende jaar", zei de parlementari�r.

De commissie zal voorstellen van burgers inzake wijzigingen van de constitutie aannemen in oktober, maar in november en december gaat het werk door: "Die voorstellen kunnen aan ons worden aangeboden en wij zullen daar verder mee werken".

Semenjako gaf toe, dat ze bij het parlement ook voorstellen krijgen om het werk aan de constitutie te staken.

"Ik denk, dat dat onaanvaardbaar is. Er moet een dialoog zijn. Dat is de enige weg richting nationale overeenstemming en een nationale discussie", volgens hem.

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Vatican ‘not optimistic’ exiled Belarus archbishop will return

John L. Allen Jr. Oct 9, 2020

ROME – According to the Vatican’s top diplomat who recently returned from a four-day mission in Belarus, the exiled Archbishop of Minsk, refused reentry on Aug. 31 by President Alexander Lukashenko over his criticism of the government’s handling of pro-democracy protests, isn’t likely to be going home anytime soon.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 11:22 schreef luxerobots het volgende:
Erover doorgaan? Jij vertelt dat anderen de verwachting hadden dat Loekasjenko snel zou vallen. Maar dat jij daar niet in mee ging. Een mooi compliment voor jezelf. Maar zo ging het niet.

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Anderen hadden de verwachting dat Loekasjenko snel zou vallen, waarop jouw standpunt was dat Loekasjenko tijd nodig had.

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Je ging mee in het scenario, want als jij die verwachting niet had, had je ook wel kunnen zeggen dat Loekasjenko toch nog wel zou blijven zitten.

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Daarbij ben ik het niet met je standpunt eens,

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een snelle val van Loekasjenko had juist positief uitgepakt.

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Poetin heeft nu een reservemacht klaargezet om de politie te vervangen,

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dus ook Poetin is beter voorbereid.

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Als Loekasjenko snel gevallen was, hadden er verkiezingen uitgeschreven kunnen worden en had een vrij Wit-Rusland mooi waarheid kunnen worden.

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Een uniestaat zonder vrij verkeer

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en zonder gezamenlijke munt.

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Wat Poetin natuurlijk het liefste heeft is een uniestaat waarbij Wit-Rusland opgaat in Rusland. En dat hij over deze unie de scepter zwaait.

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Hoezo was een dergelijk scenario op een escalatie uitgelopen?

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En hoezo is dat risico nu dan verdwenen/minder geworden?

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Ik heb nooit voor een niet-vredige strijd gepleit.

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 11:58 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]

Hoezo had het volk tijd nodig?

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En hoezo zat dat de val van Loekasjenko in de weg?

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Je had in plaats van te melden dat er tijd nodig was. Ook meteen kunnen zeggen dat het scenario van een snelle val onrealistisch is. Maar op dat moment zei je dat niet, dat zei je achteraf.

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Ik denk dat het Russische leger overschat wordt.

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Ja, het is aanzienlijk krachtiger dan de legers van bijvoorbeeld Oekra�ne of Wit-Rusland, maar vergeleken met het Amerikaanse leger is het vooral oude zooi met veel kernraketten die je toch niet kunt gebruiken.

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Eerst de val van Loekasjenko, dan meteen het uitschrijven van vrije verkiezingen. Aangezien de demonstraties nu vredig zijn, zie ik zonder Loekasjenko eigenlijk helemaal geen escalatie plaatsvinden.

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Behalve als Poetin met een annexatie komt...

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Rusland voert anders nog steeds grenscontroles uit bij de Wit-Russische grens.

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Dat weet ik niet. Eigenlijk is de belangrijkste reden dat Loekasjenko er nog zit, dat hij steun van Poetin heeft.

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Anders had het volk deze man echt al afgezet, of was zijn einde nu heel dicht bij.

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 12:18 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]

Dat denk ik niet. Wit-Rusland is geen Irak of Libi� waarbij allerlei groepen elkaar gewapend te lijf gaan.

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Iedereen die er onafhankelijk naar kijkt ziet dat Svetlana Tichanovskaja de verkiezingen gewonnen heeft.

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Aangezien zij maar twee eisen heeft, het vrijlaten van alle politieke gevangenen en vrije verkiezingen, zie ik die chaos helemaal niet ontstaan.

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Wat gaat er dan gebeuren dat tot grote chaos leidt?

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Op dat moment, in het begin, deed je dat niet. Anders mag je jezelf quoten.

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Ja, maar als het volk vrije verkiezingen wil. En dat laten ze met grote demonstraties zien, zie ik die interne machtsstrijd met uiteindelijk een slechtere uitkomt dan Loekasjenko helemaal niet plaatsvinden.

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Die steun is anders wel concreet, hulp van experts en journalisten. En geld in de vorm van een lening.

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We zullen het nooit weten, maar het zou er dan zeer waarschijnlijk wel beter uitgezien hebben...

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 13:00 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]

Tichanovskaja heeft de verkiezing niet gewonnen?

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Je kunt er slechts over twisten hoe groot haar winst is.

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Je vervormt mijn standpunt nogal eens. Natuurlijk zijn er ook andere partijen. Maar aangezien Tichanovskaja de verkiezingen gewonnen heeft en vredig nieuwe verkiezingen wil, onder internationaal toezicht, zal een tegenbeweging, een nieuwe dictator, niet veel kans maken.

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Maar goed, dat was dus bij een scenario waarbij Loekasjenko snel viel.

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In jouw beleving? Het zou beter zijn als je het aantoont.

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E�n iemand erbij die op het volk zou schieten, zal het verschil ook niet meer maken.

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Toch is het broodnodig voor Loekasjenko om overeind te blijven.

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 13:25 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]

Alle onafhankelijke polls en analyses laten gewoon zien dat ze gewonnen heeft.

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En haar winst kan oplopen tot 80% van de stemmen, terwijl Loekasjenko niet veel verder gekomen kan zijn dan zo'n 20%.

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Maar goed, er is flink gefraudeerd, dus wat jij doet is het standpunt innemen dat je helemaal niet weet wat er gebeurd is.

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Uren terugzoeken? Ik denk ook dat dat sneller kan. Als je tenminste weet wat je gezegd hebt en op welk woord je moet zoeken.

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En het risico op zulke scenario's lopen we natuurlijk nog steeds.

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Ik vind het ook opvallend dat hij in de gevangenis met oppositieleden gaat praten. Dat geeft een zwak signaal. Net als dat met een mitrailleur rondlopen dat ook doet.

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 13:47 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Haar winst zou groot genoeg zijn om qua commitment tijdelijk het voortouw te mogen nemen voor nieuwe verkiezingen.

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Ik weet het nog zo net niet. Ja, het oogt allemaal ontzettend zwak. Maar hij kan ook nog een paar jaar blijven zitten...

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 13:54 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Ja. Jij moet natuurlijk even Babariko noemen.

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Maar die twee, Babariko en Tichanovskaja, bijten elkaar niet.

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 14:03 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]

Ik zeg ook niet dat zij president moet zijn. Ik zei dat ze met deze verkiezingsuitslag genoeg commitment heeft om tijdelijk het voortouw te mogen nemen voor vrije verkiezingen.

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Three TASS reporters detained in Minsk when covering protests

All TASS correspondents had received the Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s accreditation to work in Minsk

MINSK, October 11. /TASS/. Three TASS correspondents - Natalya Fedosenko, Gavriil Grigorov and Valery Stepchenkov - were detained when covering protests in Minsk.

According to the correspondents, riot police placed them in a bus on Victors Avenue and took to the Sports Palace. Later they were taken in another vehicle to a district office of the internal affairs.

All TASS correspondents had received the Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s accreditation to work in Minsk.

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Rights group: Scores detained during protests in Belarus

October 11, 2020 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Scores of people were detained in Belarus on Sunday during protests against the country’s authoritarian leader, who won his sixth term in office in a vote widely seen as rigged, a Belarusian rights group said.

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in the Belarusian capital Minsk for the 10th consecutive Sunday, demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has run the country with an iron fist for 26 years. The Viasna human rights center estimated that around 100,000 people took part in the protest, which the police moved to disperse with water cannons, stun grenades and truncheons.

Rallies also took place in other cities, including Brest, Vitebsk and Grodno.

Dozens of protesters sustained injuries, according to Viasna. The group released a list of protesters detained across the country on its website that by Sunday evening had more than 300 names on it.

“This has been the harshest dispersal of a Sunday march since August,” Viasna leader Ales Bialiatski told The Associated Press.

Mass protests have rocked Belarus for over two months, with the largest ones held on Sundays and drawing up to 200,000 people. The unprecedented unrest was triggered by the results of the Aug. 9 presidential election that handed Lukashenko a victory with 80% of the vote.

His main challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, got 10%. She and her supporters refused to recognize the results, saying the outcome of the vote was manipulated.

In the first days of the protests, Belarusian authorities cracked down brutally on protesters, with police detaining thousands and injuring scores with truncheons, rubber bullets and stun grenades. The violent response to the rallies prompted international outrage.

The government has since scaled down on the violence but has maintained the pressure, detaining hundreds of protesters and prosecuting top activists. Prominent members of the opposition’s Coordination Council, formed to push for a transition of power, have been arrested or forced to leave the country.

At least 35 journalists have been detained during protests on Sunday, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists. Police and other security forces blocked off central areas of Minsk, and military trucks and armored carriers were seen in the city before the rally.

On Saturday, Lukashenko visited a prison to talk to opposition activists, who have been jailed for challenging his reelection. Lukashenko’s office said that “the goal of the president was to hear everyone’s opinion.”

Commentators said the move was an attempt to imitate a dialogue that would allow Lukashenko to drown the protests in talks and reduce tensions.

Following detentions and beatings during Sunday’s protest, Bialiatski of the Viasna center said that “instead of a dialogue, Belarusians received another strong-arm dispersal (of a protest) with the beaten and the injured.”

Tsikhanouskaya, who is in exile in Lithuania after leaving Belarus in fear for her safety and that of her children, said Sunday that any dialogue with the authorities should start only after they stop detentions and release political prisoners.

“We are all working together to stop forceful detentions, release political prisoners and set a time and a place for talks. If these demands are not met, then they are trying to deceive us,” Tsikhanouskaya said in a statement.

She encouraged Belarusians on Sunday to continue peaceful protests.

“We will continue to peacefully and persistently come out to marches and demand (what we want) — new free and transparent elections,” Tsikhnaouskaya said.

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Ooggetuigen maken melding van demonstranten die van de politiebureaus weg worden gevoerd naar het Minsk City Emergency Hospital

Op het politiebureau van het "Moskou" rayon in Minsk bevinden zich ongeveer 40 mensen, die aangehouden werden bij de protestacties. Van hun hebben 8-10 mensen serieuze verwondingen. Voor hun arriveerden er ambulances. Daarover berichten ge�nformeerde lezers van TUT.BY.

Op basis van voorlopige informatie, zijn er bij de aangehoudenen op het politiebureau verdenkingen van middelzwaar hersenletsel, een gesloten rib breuk, een botbreuk van de rechter en linker hand en een breuk van een sleutelbeen.

De gewonden worden weggevoerd naar het Minsk City Emergency Hospital.

Volgens de woorden van de getroffenen, werden ze hard geslagen in het busje en was het "onbegrijpelijk, wat ze wilden, ze stelden geen vragen, maar sloegen gewoon".

Op de protestacties in Belarus zijn er tegen 20:15 315 mensen aangehouden. Daarover maakt het niet-geregistreerde mensenrechten centrum "Viasna" melding.

De meerderheid daarvan werden onder bewaking genomen in Minsk, de overige in Brest, Bobrujsk, Vitebsk, Grodno, Zhlobin, Mogilev, Molodechno en Soligorsk.

Onder de aangehouden bevinden zich 43 journalisten en fotografen.

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 22:14 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]

Deze deelnemers willen wel meewerken aan het schrijven van de nieuwe grondwet.

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 22:14 schreef luxerobots het volgende:
Overigens geeft het ook een motief voor het geweld van vandaag. Loekasjenko had gehoopt dat de grote vissen (onder andere Babariko) wel mee wilden werken.

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 22:33 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Ze hoeven ook niet daadwerkelijk te gaan schrijven. Maar zo'n mededeling bevestigen aan de pers zal al voldoende zijn. Alsof Loekasjenko echt wil dat ze mee gaan schrijven...

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Op zondag 11 oktober 2020 22:42 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]

Ja, dat werkt nadelig. Maar ik denk dat deze strategie sowieso niet werkt. Mensen snappen echt wel dat oppositieleden die meewerken dit doen omdat ze gebroken zijn en niet meer in de gevangenis willen zitten. Het is een cosmetische oplossing die de werkelijke onvrede niet wegneemt.

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Raad van de EU Persmededeling 12 oktober 2020 13:05

Belarus: EU adopts conclusions

The Council today adopted conclusions on the EU's response to the developments in Belarus.

In its conclusions the Council reiterates that the 9 August presidential elections were neither free nor fair and that Aleksandr Lukashenko lacks any democratic legitimacy. The Council reiterates its full support for Belarus’s sovereignty and independence and underlines the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their president through new, free and fair elections, without external interference.

The Council strongly condemns the violence employed by the Belarusian authorities against peaceful protesters, and calls for the release of all arbitrarily detained persons, including political prisoners. Against this background, the conclusions recall the restrictive measures imposed on 40 individuals responsible for the fraudulent nature of the presidential elections and the violent crackdown on peaceful protests, and state the EU's readiness to take further restrictive measures against entities and high-ranking officials, including Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The EU will scale down bilateral cooperation with the Belarusian authorities at central level, increase its support for the Belarusian people and civil society, and recalibrate its bilateral financial assistance accordingly. In line with that, the EU has immediately made available additional financial resources for victims of violence, civil society organisations and independent media.

The conclusions highlight that the EU is ready to substantially step up its political engagement, sectoral cooperation, and financial assistance to Belarus provided that its authorities respect the principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, by stopping repression and abuses, promoting a serious, credible and inclusive political process resulting in free and fair elections under the OSCE/ODIHR's observation, and providing guarantees for respect for human rights.

Finally, the EU calls on the Belarusian authorities to engage in an inclusive national dialogue and stands ready to support a peaceful democratic transition with a variety of instruments, including a comprehensive plan of economic support for a democratic Belarus.

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EU foreign ministers agree to slap sanctions on Belarusian president soon — source

The additions to the blacklist will be formally approved and enter into force later, TASS was told

BRUSSELS, October 12. /TASS/. The EU foreign ministers have agreed on the EU’s common stance on imposing sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting in Luxembourg. A European diplomatic source informed TASS on Monday that the decision had been prompted by the Belarusian leader’s inauguration.

"The foreign ministers agreed on a common stance on adding [Belarusian] President Alexander Lukashenko to the Belarus sanctions list, given his inauguration after the election, which was not free or fair," the interlocutor said.

The additions to the blacklist will be formally approved and enter into force later, another source said. "The ministers agreed to proceed with work to add new individuals, including Lukashenko, to the blacklist," the European diplomat said.

He noted that this stance would be announced at the EU summit on October 15-16. The External Action Service will then prepare a new version of the blacklist, which will come into force after its formal approval by the Council of the EU and publication in the EU Official Journal.

Experience shows that full implementation of the procedure can take from a week to several months. Before the meeting of the EU Council at the foreign ministers’ level, some of its members suggested refraining from targeted sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko in order to leave the door open for dialogue with Minsk.

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"Dima, organiseer het". Een advocaat van een deelnemer aan de ontmoeting met Lukashenko in de cel vertelt over hetgeen, wat er afspeelde en over hetgeen daarna

De zaterdagse ontmoeting van Aleksandr Lukashenko in de KGB cel met politiekgevangenen, waaronder Viktor en Eduard Babariko, Lilija Vlasova en de poltiek-technoloog Vitalij Shklajrov staat nog steeds in het centrum van de aandacht wegens de erg beperkte informatie over zowel haar resultaten, als ook de besproken thema's. Maandag ochtend ontmoette de advocaat van Vitalij Shkljarov Anton Gashinskij zijn cli�nt en vertelde over zijn indrukken aan TUT.BY.

"Dat is nog nooit eerder voorgekomen, dat de president van het land arriveerde om te praten met gevangenen, die erkend worden als zijnde politiekgevangenen. Ik ben niet bekend met iets dergelijks, iets gelijkwaardig van Putin of Trump. Ik zag vandaag Vitalij, hij werd door Lukashenko uitgenodigd voor het gesprek samen met Tichanovskij en Babariko, die Vitalij bij deze ontmoeting voor het eerst zag. Ze hebben vijf uur doorgebracht [met elkaar], ze spraken over de toekomst van Belarus, de protesten en de constitutionele hervorming", zei Gashinskij.

Na de ontmoeting, toen ze al afscheid namen, toen Vitalij de president een hand schudde, klaagde hij dat hij al lang niet in een banja was geweest.

"Toen zei Lukashenko tegen een van zijn bewakers: "Dima, organiseer het". Vitalij weer niet precies waar ze in de banja waren, maar ze werden allemaal weggebracht naar een banja zonder konvooi. Ze kregen de mogelijkheid om zich rustig te wassen en met elkaar te praten. Ik zag Vitalij vandaag letterlijk maar een paar minuten, maar het is duidelijk, dat alles wat zich afspeelde, een grote verrassing voor hem was: hij verwachtte niet dat het gesprek, zoals hij zei, zo open zou zijn en dat er een mogelijkheid zou zijn om met de president aangezicht tot aangezicht te discussi�ren. Vitalij zegt, dat dit het eerste menselijke weekend in drie maanden is".

Gashinskij is van mening, dat er al een beslissing is genomen over de politiekgevangenen.

"Het lijkt er op, dat deze ontmoeting het begin van een dialoog is, een positief teken. Maar de beweging in de richting van een dialoog is ook verder noodzakelijk, het is te vroeg om stil te gaan staan en op de lauweren te rusten", resumeert de advocaat.

Bij de ontmoeting zaterdag waren aanwezig: Viktor en Eduard Babariko, de jurist en het lid van de nationale coordinatie raad Lilija Vlasova, zakenman Jurij Voskresenskij, politiek-technoloog Vitalij Shkljarov. Naar het schijnt, waren bij de ontmoeting ook aanwezig: Kirill Badej, die tot zijn arrest de functie van plaatsvervangend voorzitter van het bestuur van de Belgazprombank bekleedde, maar ook de directeur van [de vestiging in Minsk van het] IT-bedrijf PandaDoc Dmitrij Rabtsevich, de juristen Maksim Znak en Ilja Salej. De strafrechtelijke maatregelen tegen Rabtsevich en Voskresenskij werden op zaterdag gewijzigd.

Op items, die op de staatsTV en ook op het telegram-kanaal "Pul pervogo" werden gepubliceerd, werd een rondgang van bijna alle deelnemers van de ontmoeting getoond, op de beelden was het enkel niet mogelijk om de man in het donkere petje te herkennen, die tussen de juristen Znak en Salej zat. Mogelijk is dat Sergej Tichanovskij.

Naast Lukashenko, zaten er minimaal 12 mensen aan de tafel.

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Belarus: Police authorises use of lethal weapons on protesters

Oliver Carroll, The Independent October 12, 2020

Belarusian authorities have threatened to start shooting demonstrators, raising the stakes in the country’s two-month standoff.

In a video message released on social media, deputy interior minister Gennady Kazakevich claimed protests had become “extremely radical”.

“Interior ministry officers and soldiers will not leave the streets,” he said. “And if necessary, they will use special equipment and firearms.”

On Sunday, thousands of protesters clashed with government forces, who arrested hundreds, often violently.

In a few cases, demonstrators were successful in fighting back to secure the release of their own. Mr Kazakevich described the scenes as preparation of a “colour revolution”.

“We saw flying stones, bottles and knives,” he said. “By the evening they were already burning barricades.”

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EU to sanction Lukashenko, citing worsening Belarus violence

Reuters October 12, 2020

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to sanction Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and other senior officials over an Aug. 9 election the West says was rigged, citing worsening police violence against protesters.

Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, was not on the EU's sanctions list of 40 names agreed on Oct. 2, but the bloc now says his refusal to consider new elections as a way out of the crisis leaves it with no choice.

"This is an answer to the evolving situation in Belarus," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who chaired the EU ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, told reporters.

"There has not been any kind of signal from the Belarus authorities to engage in any kind of conversation," he said, citing a "complete lack of will" from Lukashenko to consider talks on holding a free and fair presidential election.

The latest round of sanctions is likely to take several days to prepare, but envoys said the travel bans and asset freezes were no longer conditional on the situation in Belarus, which ministers said was dramatically worsening.

Police said they had detained 713 people at mass protests on Sunday in which security forces used water cannon and batons to break up crowds demanding a new presidential election.

Belarus announced retaliatory sanctions against the EU earlier this month.

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Lithuania recalls another 6 diplomats from Belarus after pressure from regime

BNS 2020.10.12 18:05

In response to the Belarusian authorities' ultimatum, Lithuania's Foreign Ministry has decided to recall another six diplomats from Minsk and Grodno.

The Belarusian regime had threatened to put Lithuanian diplomats on the persona non grata list, which would have limited their possibilities to work in the future, according to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

In early October, Belarus recalled its ambassadors from Vilnius and Warsaw and urged Lithuania and Poland to recall their ambassadors and downsize their diplomatic staff.

Minsk told Vilnius to recall 11 diplomats, and Warsaw to recall 32.

Poland immediately fulfilled the demand but Lithuania's diplomatic service initially decided to recall just five diplomats.

Rasa Jakilaitienė, spokeswoman for the foreign minister, told BNS on Monday the Minsk did not agree with such a compromise.

"The Belarusian side did not take our compromise proposals into account and continued with its ultimatum to have the number of Lithuanian diplomats reduced,” said Jakilaitienė.

She added that Lithuania is seeking ways to prevent the limiting of diplomatic contacts.

"Just like our EU partners, we are convinced that at this moment when the Belarusian regime limits any contact with the West, diplomatic representation in Belarus is becoming more important," Jakilaitieėe said.

In solidarity with Lithuania and Poland, the majority of EU member states and the UK have recalled their ambassadors from Minsk.

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De stafs van Tichanovskaja, Tsepkalo, Babariko, de nationale co�rdinatie raad en het fonds "BySol" hielden een niet-geplande werk ontmoeting

De stafs van Tichanovskaja, Tsepkalo, Babariko, de nationale co�rdinatie raad en het fonds "BySol" hielden een niet-geplande werk ontmoeting. Samen spraken ze een formaat af voor gezamenlijke werkzaamheden inzake het bereiken van alle eisen van het volk:

1. Het voeren van nieuwe open verkiezingen;

2. Het onderzoeken van misdrijven inzake feiten van geweld tegen vreedzame Belarussen;

3. Het bevrijden van alle politieke gevangenen.

Op de ontmoeting werd de co�rdinatie van de werkzaamheden van de fondsen ter hulp van de getroffenen ten tijde van de protesten besproken en tevens werd er gesproken over sancties tegen overheidsfunctionarissen en wetshandhavers, die de wet overtreden en over steun aan degenen die bereid zijn om over te steken naar de kant van het volk.

[foto]

Op de foto: Svetlana Tichanovskaja, Franak Viacorka, Vadim Prokopev, Valerij en Veronika Tsepkalo, Aleksandr Dobrovolskij, Pavel Latushko, Andrej Strizhak, Jaroslav Likhachevskij (hij nam het initiatief voor het helpen van ontslagen wetshandhavers over van Mikita Mikado), Anna Krasulina, Evgenija Sugak (redacteur van The Village), Ivan Kravtsov en zelfs Olga Kovalkova (via een videoverbinding).

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Znak over de ontmoeting met Lukashenko in de KGB cel: Dit waren geen onderhandelingen

Maksim Znak vertelde aan zijn advocaten over de ontmoeting met Aleksandr Lukashenko in de KGB cel. Volgens zijn woorden, waren het geen onderhandelingen, maar een uitwisseling van meningen.

De advocaten van Maksim Znak, Dmitrij Laevskij en Nadezhda Znak, bezochten hem vandaag in de KGB cel. TUT.BY interesseerde zich naar aanleiding van de deelname van Znak aan de ontmoeting met Lukashenko, die op zaterdag getoond werd door de staatskanalen.

"Maksim was aanwezig op de bijeenkomst, die plaatsvond op zaterdag. Dat waren geen onderhandelingen. Het was een uiteenzetting van meningen. Wat Maksim betreft: hij zette daar zijn mening, die hij altijd al hield, uiteen met betrekking tot juridische vraagstukken. Het zou mogelijk zijn om uitgebreid commentaar te krijgen over de bijeenkomst van de zijde van Maksim, als hij zich op vrije voeten zou bevinden en niet in het gevang", zeiden de advocaten.

Een van de nieuwigheden: Maksim is overgebracht naar een andere cel, waar de omstandigheden significant slechter zijn, dan de eerdere omstandigheden. Behalve dat verslechterde de situatie rondom de correspondentie [met de buitenwereld]. De verdediging gaat door om op alle wijzen de beschuldiging en het gevangenschap van Maksim Znak onder bewaking aan te vechten.

Wij herinneren er aan, dat op 10 oktober Aleksandr Lukashenko arriveerde bij de KGB cel voor een ontmoeting met de politiekgevangenen. Daarbij waren waren aanwezig: Viktor en Eduard Babariko, de jurist en het lid van de nationale coordinatie raad Lilija Vlasova, zakenman Jurij Voskresenskij, politiek-technoloog Vitalij Shkljarov. Naar het schijnt, waren bij de ontmoeting ook aanwezig: Kirill Badej, die tot zijn arrest de functie van plaatsvervangend voorzitter van het bestuur van de Belgazprombank bekleedde, maar ook de directeur van [de vestiging in Minsk van het] IT-bedrijf PandaDoc Dmitrij Rabtsevich, de juristen Maksim Znak en Ilja Salej.

De strafrechtelijke maatregelen tegen Rabtsevich en Voskresenskij werden op zaterdag gewijzigd.

Op items, die op de staatsTV en ook op het telegram-kanaal "Pul pervogo" werden gepubliceerd, werd een rondgang van bijna alle deelnemers van de ontmoeting getoond, op de beelden was het enkel niet mogelijk om de man in het donkere petje te herkennen, die tussen de juristen Znak en Salej zat. Mogelijk is dat Sergej Tichanovskij.

Eerder vertelde de advocaat van Vitalij Shkljarov over de indrukken [van zijn cli�nt] van de ontmoeting met Lukashenko.

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Protest rally participants detained in Minsk

At present the number of detainees is being specified

MINSK, October 12. /TASS/. Law enforcement officers are detaining protesters during an unauthorized rally in Minsk, the press service of the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk City Executive Committee told TASS.

"Measures are undertaken to thwart legal offences on the part of the participants of the unauthorized rally. Some people have already been detained," the Directorate’s representative said.

The press service reported that at present the number of detainees is being specified.

The march of the retirees started on Monday on Independence Square in downtown Minsk. It proceeded along Independence Avenue to the National Academy of Sciences, covering about five kilometers. Over 1,000 people participated in the march. The retirees were protesting the policies of the current government, some were carrying banners demanding resignation of the country’s leaders.

Near the Belarusian National Technical University students joined the procession to support the retirees. At that moment, detentions of young people began, while the participants in the protest rally were trying to release them. Then, according to the tut.by internet portal, explosions of firecrackers were heard and security forces used tear gas.

During the march, stations of the Minsk subway were temporarily closed. Currently the subway functions as usual.

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BAJ, Press Club, and United Media Association call to stop the pressure on the press

12.10.2020

STATEMENT

During the election and post-election period, the Belarusian authorities have intensified the pressure on the media, journalists and bloggers dramatically. As a result, the situation and their working conditions changed from grave to catastrophic. While the Belarusian Association of Journalists reports 23 violations of journalists' rights from the beginning of the year to May 8, i.e. before the election was called, it registered over 400 such cases from May 9 to October 12.

The vast majority of these violations occurred after the presidential elections. There were over 230 detentions of journalists during this period. In more than 50 cases, the police used violence when detaining journalists. There were registered facts of torture after detention, and damage or seizure of journalists' equipment; many journalists were held in custody and sentenced to short jail terms and fines. Three journalists were wounded by rubber bullets. None of these facts led to initiation of criminal proceedings against those responsible for the violation of the rights of journalists.

Other election-related violations of freedom of expression include:

- the Internet blackout in the whole country in the first days after the election and its regular shutdowns during mass protests,

- access restrictions to news websites,

- a tacit ban on printing and distribution of several national outlets,

- official warnings by the Ministry of Information to various mass media,

- disregard of foreign journalists' applications for accreditation,

- unjustified deprivation of permanent accreditation of foreign journalists, and

- stricter rules for receiving new accreditation for foreign media journalists.

We are particularly concerned about the criminal case against Nasha Niva chief editor Yahor Martsinovich and deprivation of TUT.BY of media status.

In view of the above,

WE DEMAND TO:

- Investigate all cases of violations of journalists' rights, including torture, violence, arbitrary detention, damage to and seizure of equipment, and to bring those responsible to justice.

- Abandon the practice of arbitrary arrests of journalists when they are performing their professional duties.

- Release bloggers who have been recognized as political prisoners.

- Return the status of media to TUT.BY.

- Stop the prosecution of Nasha Niva chief editor Yahor Martsinovich.

- Stop the practice of denial printing and distribution services to print media by state-owned distribution networks;

- Stop the practice of blocking the Internet;

- Abandon the practice of extrajudicial and arbitrary blocking of online news websites and to restore access to the blocked websites;

- Stop the practice of obstructing the work of foreign media journalists, as well as freelance journalists.



Belarusian Association of Journalists

Press Club Belarus

United Media Association of the Regional Press Publishers