The issues of refugees and international migration are on the agenda of the workshop in Brest which united more than two dozens of state and private Belarusian mass media, public relations manager of the international association on UN studies and information and educational programs Olga Grandinar told BelTA.
The event has been organized by the European Commission, UN High Commissioner’s Office for Refugees, international association on UN studies and information and educational programs and the Belarusian State University.
As Belarusian representative of the UN High Commissioner’s Office for Refugees Ilia Todorovich told the workshop the “eastward EU expansion resulted in a common border between Belarus and EU totaling several hundreds of kilometers. The territory of the republic is a transit corridor for illegal migrants’ going west. This is why this January Belarus and EU TACIS-UNHCR approved of a joint project to further strengthen national asylum system”. The total investments to this program amount to EUR 427,000 with EUR 365,000 of the sum accounting for the EU TACIS-UNHCR share. The program is to be fully implanted in April 2006.
The project will be implemented in cooperation with the interior ministry of Belarus, State Border Troops Committee, Gomel Town Council and several international and republican public organizations. Its main goal is to create a comprehensive system of granting asylum to citizens recognized refugees, which will meet all necessary international standards. Insofar as the practical assistance is concerned, it will be rendered to develop a national plan on receiving refugees, to amend the national legislation in this sphere, to provide migration services with computer equipment, to hold training seminars and to set up a temporary residence zone for those who are seeking asylum.
According to Ilia Todorovich, problems of refugees should find understating in those countries, where they are seeking asylum. Mass media outlets play a special role in this work. In this connection the three-day workshop in Brest is considering urgent issues connected with refugees and international migration. Its program includes discussion of the reports on ensuring international refugees’ protection and the specific character of covering these issues by mass media, practical studies in groups, demonstration of films and a quiz “Who is a refugee?”. More so, participants of the workshop will visit neighboring regions of Poland to familiarize themselves with the experience in settling problems of refugees and their covering in local mass media.
During a visit to Belarus Moscow’s mayor Yuri Luzhkov is scheduled to meet with the country’s leadership to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest. He is also set to visit Belarusian companies interested in advancing their products to the Moscow market. In particular this will be the Minsk automobile works and a number of companies in Brest oblast.
On May 5 Yuri Luzhkov will take part in an official opening in Brest of the international public cultural action Echelon of Victory-2005. The action is held on the initiative of Moscow’s mayor and has been approved by the presidents of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation and the Business Cooperation Council of Belarus and Moscow.
Echelon of Victory will take the route Brest-Moscow with stopovers in Baranovichi, Minsk, Orsha, Gagarin, Smolensk. The train is made up of 20 cars and platforms decorated as wartime echelon. The action symbolizes the coming home of soldiers-victors. The passengers will be officials of the Moscow government, veterans of Belarus and Russia, artists and journalists.
On behalf of president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, diplomats of the Russian general consulate in Brest will confer 147 jubilee medals on Russian citizens - participants of the Great Patriotic War permanently living in Breast oblast, BelTA was informed by vice consul of the Russia’s diplomatic representation Vladimir Burakov.
In his words, first 45 medals “60th anniversary of the Great Victory” were already awarded several days ago and on April 21 the official awarding ceremonies will be held in the towns of Kobrin, Kamenets and Pruzhany.
By the way, representatives of the general consulate in Brest will present the jubilee medals to over 120 Russian war veterans now living in Grodno oblast.
According to Vladimir Burakov, the jubilee medals “have the same status and appearance” the only difference is that they are conferred on behalf of the president of the country their bearers are citizens of.
Brest oblast and Trencin region of Slovakia will consolidate cooperation. The interaction fields were discussed at the meeting between Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Slovakia Valeriy Voronetskiy with head of Trencin region Stephan Stephansen and mayor of the town Bronislaw Tseller. The parties considered prospects of enhancing the ties between the twin-cities of Brest and Trencin as well as possibility of stepping up contacts in trade, education and culture.
As a BelTA correspondent was told in the embassy of Belarus in Bratislava, on the invitation of the leadership of Trencin, Valeriy Voronetskiy took part in the solemn events on the occasion of celebrating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the town from the Nazis. A solemn meeting was held and the wreaths were laid at the monuments of soldiers who fell liberating Slovakia from the Nazis. Attending the ceremony were ambassadors of Belarus, Check Republic, the USA, military attaches from Russia, France, Rumania, Poland, Hungary, representatives of political parties, the Slovakian Anti-Nazis Union, veterans and residents of the town.
28 April 2005