Eight Belarusian members of a doomsday cult that have barricaded themselves in a cave in Russia's Penza province are soon expected to return home, the RIA Novosti news agency said on Wednesday with reference to a deputy chief of the local migration department.
"Belarus' nationals have an intention to return home," Vladimir Yudin was quoted as saying.
The local migration department is reportedly preparing documents that the Belarusians need to travel to their home country. Mr. Yudin said that the department also was waiting for certified papers from the Belarusian interior ministry to send the people back, adding that Belarusian diplomats or officials would arrive in the province to help the group return.
Over 30 people went underground near the village of Nikolskoye in the Penza province in November 2007 to await the end of the world that they expect to happen this May. They threatened to blow themselves up if authorities attempted to force them out.
Two of them died during the vigil, including a Belarusian woman, a cult member who came out last week told Russian media.
It is believed that 11 people – nine women and two men – are still remaining in the cave. Four of them are Belarusians.
The group, which calls itself the "True Russian Orthodox Church," is led by Pyotr Kuznetsov who is thought to have ordered his followers into the cave but did not join them.
Prominent opposition youths Zmitser Dashkevich and Artur Finkevich and Nasha Niva reporter Syamyon Pechanko, as well as six more opposition politicians and supporters were released from the detention center on Akrestsina Street in Minsk on Wednesday, having served out their 15-day jail sentences.
The other people released on April 9 included Ilya Bohdan, a member of the Belarusian Popular Front, sole entrepreneurs Viktar Kaley and Uladzimir Syarheyew, Pavel Syaveryn, a member of the youth wing of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party “Hramada,” opposition activists Dzyanis Karnow and Vital Akimaw.
They were sent to jail on a charge of participation in an unauthorized demonstration on March 26. They were grabbed during a police crackdown on an opposition demonstration in downtown Minsk the day before.
Mr. Dashkevich was released from the detention center more than four hours before the official expiry of his term. He explained that authorities did not want him to be met by a big crowd of associates at the jail entrance.
Twenty-six people were sentenced to jail terms of between three and 15 days and 50 more were slapped with fines over their participation in the demonstration. A total of 88 people were arrested during the violent dispersal of the event, human rights groups say.
The House of Representatives of the Belarusian National Assembly on April 9 approved Alyaksandr Lukashenka's presidential decree that removed quotas on imports of alcoholic beverages and non-food products containing alcohol.
The imports were restricted to a group of legal entities that "import products on the most beneficial conditions." The importers are to be selected by a "special commission" as specified by the decree.
The decree says that only companies fully owned by the government and companies in which the government holds a stake of more than 30 percent may produce brandies. The manufacturing licenses issued before the decree are to be valid only until September 1.
The decree removed special labels that are currently required for alcoholic beverages heading abroad, the measure aimed at boosting the exports.
It also specifies rules for the production and sales of excise duty and other labels.
The document also governs the advertising of alcoholic beverages. It allows using images of people and animals in the trademarks of alcohol manufacturers. It allows beer ads in all places except for health and education institutions provided that they contain only information about the producer.
A judge of the Polatsk City Court on April 9 sentenced young opposition activist Alyaksey Yanushewski to a fine of 105,000 rubels ($50).
He was found guilty of acting in violation of regulations governing demonstrations under Article 23.34 of the Administrative Offenses Code.
Mr. Yanushewski was arrested by police when he and about a dozen other youths were demonstrating in front of the Polatsk City Court in support of their associate, Katsyaryna (Kasya) Salawyova, who was standing trial on a charge of acting on behalf of an unregistered organization. The young people were chanting, “Kasya, we are with you!” “We believe, we can, we’ll win!” and “Power to the people, freedom to the young!” When police attempted to abort the demonstration, the young people sat down on the ground, linking arms with each other. Policemen eventually arrested only one demonstrator, Mr. Yanushewski.
Another young opposition activist, Lyudmila Atakulava, was arrested by police when she was leaving Polatsk in a car. She was charged with an unsanctioned demonstration under Article 23.34 of the Administrative Offenses Code. She spent the night in a detention center and was expected to stand trial in the Polatsk City Court on Wednesday.
Days of Friendship and Belarusian Culture are expected to be held in Italy’s Autonomous Region of Sardinia between May 14 and 19, Giuseppe Carboni, Belarus’ honorary consul in the Mediterranean island, told reporters in Minsk on Tuesday.
According to him, the Days will feature concerts by various Belarusian artists and a soccer tournament titled “Belarus Friendship Cup” in the south of Sardinia.
Kosmoto Monastir, an amateur soccer team in the Sardinian capital city of Cagliari, will play a number of friendly games in Belarus from May 30 through June 6, Mr. Carboni said.
In June, a group of Sardinian children are expected to visit the Zubranya summer camp in the Minsk region, Mr. Carboni said. In July, two Belarusian junior soccer teams will participate in an international tournament in Sardinia. A group of Belarusian children will take part in an international music and dancing festival to be held on San Pietro Island in December. This year 10 Belarusian students will spend 15 days at a university in Iglesias, and 10 Sardinian students will stay for two weeks in Belarus, Mr. Carboni said.
All the events are mainly aimed at strengthening cultural and educational ties between Belarus and Sardinia, he noted.
According to him, Belarus and Sardinia also intend cooperate in tourism and the economic sphere. A Belarusian business delegation is expected to visit Sardinia in September, and Italian businesspeople are to come to Belarus in November. The main objective of the visits will be to increase tourist flows, Mr. Carboni said.
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily. It has an area of 24,089 square kilometers and a population of about 1.7 million. The island is visited by about 1.7 million tourists every year. //BelaPAN
10 April 2008
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