BrestOnline.Com http://www.brestonline.com/en/ BrestOnline.Com News BrestOnline.Com Copyright (c) BrestOnline.Com en 2010-03-12 06:38:54 26.2.2010 Finance ministry announces budget surplus of 163.2 billion rubels in January http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4249.html  

Belarus had a national budget surplus of 163.2 billion rubels ($56.5 million) in January 2010, the finance ministry said.

It linked the surplus to "budget policy measures aimed at saving public funds."

The government’s national budget revenues amounted to 2.2 trillion rubels, or 6.2 percent of the target set for the entire year. As much as 700.4 billion rubels came from value-added tax, 576.4 billion from taxes on “external economic activities” and 211.6 billion from the profit tax, or 5.6, 5.7 percent and six percent of the respective targets for the year.

As of February 1, tax arrears stood at 102.1 billion rubels, 43.4 billion more than on January 1.

The national budget's expenditures totaled two trillion rubels, or 5.4 percent of what was projected for the entire year.

Expenditures on the national economy amounted to 700 billion rubels, 5.7 percent of the amount projected for the entire year.

Around 700 billion rubels, or 4.4 percent of the projected amount, reportedly went toward "general state activities."

A total of 400 billion rubels, or 6.4 percent of the projected amount, went to the "social sphere," which includes education, the media, public health, culture and sports, the finance ministry said. //BelaPAN

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-26 00:00:00 26.2.2010 Vehicles lining up to cross border from Lithuania into Belarus http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4250.html  

Many vehicles have lined up at the Pryvalka checkpoint, waiting to cross the border from Lithuania into Belarus.

A driver stuck in the line told BelaPAN by phone on Friday afternoon that he had been waiting for three hours to undergo customs formalities after completing the procedure within three minutes on the Lithuanian side.

When asked to comment, Alyaksandr Tsishchanka, spokesman for the Belarusian State Border Committee, said that the line was, perhaps, due to the enactment on February 25 of new rules governing the temporary importation of vehicles in the Belarusian-Russian Union State.

Under the rules, foreign registered vehicles entering Belarus or Russia temporarily shall undergo customs formalities only once, at the external border of the Union State.

“It is a new procedure for vehicles and it may extend customs formalities a bit,” Mr. Tsishchanka said.

He said that Belarusian customs officials were operating as usual and the line could also be due to the coming weekend.

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-26 00:00:00 26.2.2010 Poland and Belarus to set up team of experts to resolve Polish minority conflict http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4251.html  

Poland and Belarus will set up a team of experts to resolve the Polish minority conflict, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters following his meeting with Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Kyiv on February 25.

“The President of Belarus assured me that the group of experts would try to find solutions satisfactory to both parties,” Polskie Radio quoted Mr. Sikorski as saying. “I accepted this in good faith... I think I managed to convince President Lukashenka that this is a matter of urgency.”

Messrs. Lukashenka and Sikorski were staying in Kyiv to attend the inauguration of President-elect Viktor Yanukovych.

Mr. Sikorski noted that he had arrived in the Ukrainian capital city with a special view to meeting with the Belarusian leader. The meeting reportedly lasted more than an hour instead of the expected half an hour.

The fact that Mr. Lukashenka agreed to the meeting suggests that Belarus “takes seriously the Belarusian-Polish relationship and the Belarusian-European relationship,” Mr. Sikorski said.

He called on the Polish media and politicians not to stir up passions and let the experts do quiet behind-the-scenes work so that they will be able to generate solutions in an atmosphere free of provocations. In the meantime, the Polish community in Belarus would have two autonomous organizations and the two countries would be able to develop their economic, cultural and political relations, the minister said.

“I believe the dialogue and our conversation are proof that the government of Belarus realizes the seriousness of the situation and wants to find a solution,” Mr. Sikorski noted.

“While tackling any issues that exist between Poland and Belarus and especially the issues that you are talking about, you should proceed from the fact that those 200,000 people of Polish origin are my Poles and my voters, and I’m responsible for them personally.” Mr. Lukashenka said. “And I’ll do everything so that they will have a good life in Belarus.”

The Belarusian leader seemed surprised at a question about the recent brief police detentions of dozens of activists of the unrecognized “unofficial” Union of Poles in Belarus (UPB). “There were no arrests,” he said. “No one went to prison. Well, maybe a few persons. But they themselves wanted to show that they were in a bad way.” //BelaPAN

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-26 00:00:00 26.2.2010 Polish parliamentary speaker promises to support Belarus' non-state media http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4252.html  

Bronislaw Komorowski, speaker of Poland's Sejm, has promised to support Belarus' non-state media, especially the Belsat TV channel, in cooperation with all political forces in his country, said Poland's news agency PAP, BelaPAN said.

Mr. Komorowski reportedly made the promise following his meeting Friday in Warsaw with Andzelika Borys, leader of the so-called unofficial Union of Poles in Belarus.

To help the Polish minority in Belarus, the Sejm can express its solidarity, promptly respond to Belarusian authorities’ repressive measures, and adopt a resolution "that would list sanctions against Minsk," Mr. Komorowski said.

Such sanctions would not necessarily lead to a suspension of cooperation but could block Belarus from receiving loans, he said.

Meanwhile, "the independent media" will receive financial assistance, Mr. Komorowski said. The Sejm can be of help because it adopts the budget, he explained.

Ms. Borys reportedly welcomed an agreement to set up a group of experts to find solutions to the Polish minority conflict in Belarus. "This is the first step toward improving relations between the authorities and the Union of Poles," she said. "We hope for positive developments."

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-26 00:00:00 25.2.2010 Roman Bezsmertnyi appointed as new Ukrainian ambassador to Belarus http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4247.html  

Roman Bezsmertnyi, a leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution, has been appointed as Ukraine’s new ambassador to Belarus.

Incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko signed the edict to this effect on February 24, a day before the inauguration of Viktor Yanukovych as the country’s new president.

Roman Bezsmertnyi, 44, was deputy head of Mr. Yushchenko’s election headquarters during the 2010 presidential elections and deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s secretariat between April 2007 and May 2009.

He succeeds Ihor Likhovyy who was appointed as ambassador to Belarus on February 6, 2007.

Born on November 15, 1965, Roman Bezsmertnyi is a member of Verkhovna Rada (parliament) and head of the Central Executive Committee of Mr. Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine party. In 2005, he was deputy prime minister of Ukraine responsible for administrative and territorial reform. //BelaPAN

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-25 00:00:00 25.2.2010 EU Council concerned about Belarus’ human rights situation, says Spanish official http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4248.html  

The Council of European Union is concerned about the human rights situation in Belarus, Diego Lopez Garrido, the Spanish foreign ministry’s secretary of state for the EU, said when speaking at a debate that was held in the European Parliament on February 24 to discuss the country’s situation.

Mr. Garrido said that the situation had “degraded” amid “a lack of freedom of expression and association, increased pressure on media and opposition activists.”

The EU and all its bodies share the concern, he noted.

He said that the EU endorsed the criticism over the authorities’ crackdown on activist of the Polish community. “Human rights are universal and indivisible,” he stressed.

At the same time, he emphasized the need for the EU to continue its dialogue with the Belarusian authorities, noting that “it is important for Belarus to start heading in the right direction.”

He said that the EU foreign policy chief’s February 16 statement over Minsk’s treatment of the Polish community had been sent to the Belarusian authorities through diplomatic channels.

Kristalina Georgieva, the EU commissioner for international cooperation, said that “respect for human rights is the cornerstone of relationship with Belarus, the foundations on which the relationship is built.”

She stressed that the human rights situation in the country's had started worsening last year, "not two weeks ago." //BelaPAN

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-25 00:00:00 24.2.2010 Gas price for businesses raised by 25 percent http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4244.html  

The economy ministry has raised the price of natural gas for legal entities and sole entrepreneurs by 25 percent.

The price has been increased from $174.18 to $217.73 per 1000 cubic meters, according to the economy ministry's press office.

The economy ministry linked the price hike, which took effect retroactively on February 15, to Russia's move to further raise the price of natural gas for Belarus this year, as well as to "changes of general economic conditions of doing business." //BelaPAN

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-24 00:00:00 24.2.2010 Belarusian Popular Front leader calls for selection of single opposition candidate in 2011 presidential elections http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4245.html  

Opposition forces should put forward a single candidate in the 2011 presidential elections, Alyaksey Yanukevich, chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front, said at a meeting of the Rada (Council) of the Belarusian Intelligentsia in Minsk on February 23.

A single opposition candidate in the elections should "adhere to the Belarusian cause, be honest, selfless, able to take part in dialogue and discussions, as well as to rally all advocates of changes," Mr. Yanukevich said, adding that the BPF was ready to throw its support behind such a figure irrespective of his or her party affiliation.

However, the politician questioned the opposition's ability to select a single candidate.

Politician Yury Khadyka urged the BPF to spearhead the consolidation of Belarusian opposition forces, while journalist Anatol Hulyayew warned that opposition leaders' failure to agree on a single candidate would testify to their reluctance to work together.

Poet Syarhey Zakonnikaw stressed that Alyaksandr Lukashenka could be unseated only by a single opposition candidate. "If more than one opposition candidate is put forward, everything will remain unchanged in the country," he predicted. //BelaPAN

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-24 00:00:00 24.2.2010 Former presidential candidate, leader of "unofficial" Union of Poles meet with MEPs in Brussels http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4246.html  

Former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich and Andzelika Borys, leader of the so-called unofficial Union of Poles in Belarus, met with members of the European Parliament in Brussels on February 23.

Mr. Milinkevich, who leads the Movement for Freedom, had a meeting with European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek and members of the Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Belarus, including its leader Jacek Protasiewicz, Yury Hubarevich, deputy chairman of the Movement for Freedom, told BelaPAN.

The meeting focused on the Belarusian government's crackdown on the unofficial Union of Poles, which is backed by Warsaw, according to Mr. Hubarevich. "Milinkevich stressed that these facts cannot be considered apart from the general situation in Belarus. There's an onslaught on democratic freedoms and non-governmental organizations, which is evidenced by registration denials for the Belarusian Christian Democracy, the Malady Front organization, pressure on the Union of Belarusian Writers. Instead, the authorities are trying to create parallel organizations under their control as is the case with the union of writers. Milinkevich attempted to explain to the European Parliament members that the situation is not only ethnic Poles' problem," he said.

The European Parliament's fact-finding mission will stay in Belarus between February 25 and 27. The delegation will be led by Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin and also will include Finnish MEP Heidi Hautala and Poland's Jacek Protasiewicz.

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-24 00:00:00 23.2.2010 Rammstein’s management would not comment on appeal of Belarusian Public Council on Morals http://www.brestonline.com/en/news/news4241.html  

Rammstein’s management, Berlin-based Pilgrim Management, would not comment on the appeal of the Belarusian Public Council of Morals against the German rockers’ show scheduled to be held in Minsk on March 7.

The company’s press office said that it usually do not comment such reports.

But it said that the show in Minsk had not been cancelled and tickets were still on sale.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Public Council on Morals demanded the preview of Rammstein’s Minsk concert.

“The members of the Council believe that with its work, the band openly propagates homosexuality, masochism and other perversions, as well as cruelty, violence and abusive language,” the Council said. “The group’s concerts often feature live acts of intercourse, ejaculation and acts of imitating the Nazis.”

An organizer of the show told BelaPAN that no appeals for the preview had been submitted by the culture ministry or any organizations.

Source: Naviny.by]]> 2010-2-23 00:00:00