Ukraine's Yulia Tymoshenko Trying To Reposition Herself As A Centrist 'New Democrat', Rather Than A European or Populist 'Social Democrat'

"Yulia Tymoshenko, former Ukrainian prime minister, promised a business-friendly agenda yesterday if she succeeded in forming a ruling coalition, following her bloc's strong second-place showing in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Ms Tymoshenko said she would radically lower corporate tax rates to encourage investment.

"A few points won't make a difference. Only a radical lowering of tax rates will bring business out of the shadows," she said.

She also sought to dispel anxiety among investors that she might again challenge the legality of privatisations by the pro-Moscow administration before the 2004 Orange revolution brought President Viktor Yushchenko to power.

Investors were dismayed last year when Ms Tymoshenko, who served as Mr Yushchenko's prime minister until she was sacked in September, pursued populist economic policies including attempts to reallocate privatised assets and attacks on business oligarchs.

Ms Tymoshenko's latest promises will not in themselves assuage businesspeople's concerns. There is considerable worry in Kiev about how she can reconcile her business-friendly remarks with campaign promises to boost social spending and attacks on big business.

Ms Tymoshenko said the government should not try to reverse privatisations....

"The main task to bring foreign investment is to make all business equal before the law and no business more equal [than others]." ....

Alexander Valchyshen, head of research at the ING Bank's branch in Ukraine, said Kiev's financial community was heatedly debating the pros and cons of Ms Tymoshenko's likely return.

He said the pros included her success in fighting tax evasion and closing loopholes, while the cons included the uncertainty that was created by the challenges to past privatisations, sudden changes to tax rules she pushed through at the beginning of her term, and the overall higher tax pressure." ...

Tom Warner "Ex-premier of Ukraine vows softer approach to business" Financial Times March 30, 2006

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/fddcd26a-bf88-11da-9de7-0000779e2340.html












Washington, D.C. ? No, Donetsk, [Eastern] Ukraine, as seen from the Donets river, a tributary of the Don River. Donetsk, a young city and the fourth largest in Ukraine, is home to Ukraine's richest oligarch Rinat Akhmetov -- one of the leaders of the pro-Russian Party of the Regions. The workforce of Donetsk is still primarily involved with heavy industry, especially coal mining; but the city is very green and lightly-polluted despite being a major industrial city. It has one of the highest standards of living in the Eastern Ukraine region, and is slowly emerging as a high-technology center. Its sister cities are Moscow, Russia; Pittsburgh, the United States; and Vilnius, Lithuania.

Photo and text source credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donetsk

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Yulia Tymoshenko, like Leonid Brezhnev and Leonid Kuchma before her, comes from Dnipropetrovsk ('reestablished as a Russian City' in the 18th century by Catherine the Great as Yekaterinoslav, or "The glory of Yekaterina"), which was one of the key centers of the nuclear, arms, and space industries of the former Soviet Union. In particular, it is home to Yuzhmash, a major space and ballistic missile designer and manufacturer, where Leonid Kuchma was senior manager. Because of its military industry, the city was a closed city (no foreigners were allowed there) until the mid-nineteen nineties (similar to the naval center of Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine).

Dnipropetrovsk, which is slightly bigger than Donetsk (and the third largest city in Ukraine after Kyiv and Kharkiv) is situated on the broad Dnieper River (Greeks called it the Borisphen) with its picturesque islands and peaceful backwaters, lush flood-meadows and shadowy oak woods stretches along river valleys and ravines. The historic core of Dnipropetrovsk was virtually completely destroyed by the Nazis during their invasion in 1941-43, in pursuit of the oil fields of the southern Soviet Union.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnipropetrovsk

Yanukovych's Post-Communist Ukrainian Party Of Regions Joins Putin And Yeltsin In Sending Congratulations To Lukashenko On Successful Rigged Election

... "[Viktor] Yanukovych is not a reformed leader, and his Party of Regions followed the communists in sending greetings to Lukashenko on his "victory" (Yushchenko and Ukraine`s foreign ministry shared the western position of refusing to recognise the official Belarus result).

Yanukovych has never acknowledged his defeat in 2004 and he still believes he won the election but was then "betrayed" by then-president Leonid Kuchma. Throughout the 2006 elections, the Party of Regions continued to denounce the legitimacy of the orange revolution as an "illegal coup" and continued to denigrate its supporters as "orange rats".

The Party of Regions is in favour of economic reform because it is dominated by oligarchs and businessmen. Yet, it voted against World Trade Organisation legislation in 2005. The Party of Regions opposes Nato membership, favours full membership in the post-Soviet Common (or Single) Economic Space, and supports the elevation of Russian to a second state language.

... [Any] alliance [between Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych] would send the wrong signal to the European Union and Nato that the orange revolution is in retreat. The EU is already passive in its attitudes towards Ukraine and an alliance with the Party of Regions would give sustenance to those inside the EU who do not want Ukraine inside.

An alliance with a political force hostile to Nato membership would also lead to a postponement of Nato offering Ukraine a membership action plan at its Riga summit in November 2006.

[Yulia] Tymoshenko`s second place, after quadrupling the number of seats she won in the 2002 elections, puts her in a powerful position. Our Ukraine, in contrast has fewer seats than in 2002 and is running a poor third.

Why has Our Ukraine fared badly when its honorary chairman is Ukraine`s president, swept into office by people power? The answer is that ... [Yushchenko] made countless mistakes in 2005, including sacking the Tymoshenko government and dividing the orange camp, signing a memorandum with Yanukovych, mishandling the gas contract with Russia in a non-transparent manner, and keeping prosecutor Svyatoslav Piskun until October, thereby not following through on instituting charges against high-level officials.

Yushchenko also wasted a year when he inherited Kuchma`s extensive executive powers, failing to use them to stamp his authority on the country....

Senior orange businessmen accused of corruption in September 2005 refused to back down from standing in Our Ukraine, ignoring Yushchenko`s advice. Meanwhile, political parties in Our Ukraine refused to merge into a single pro-presidential party.

Yushchenko failed to understand perhaps the most important factor driving the orange revolution - the widespread feelings of injustice against abuse of office, corruption and the "bandits" running Ukraine.

Yuri Yekhanurov, the prime minister appointed in September after Yushchenko sacked his cabinet, totally misunderstood this feeling, as seen by his invitation to Ukraine`s oligarchs to a meeting in October where he described them as "Ukraine`s national bourgeoisie".

The rule of law cannot move ahead in Ukraine without dealing with these issues from the past - election fraud in 2004, corruption at senior levels, the identity of those who ordered the Georgii Gongadze murder, and the attempted assassination (by poisoning) of Yushchenko.

Tymoshenko will become prime minister or parliamentary speaker. Much of what Yushchenko/Our Ukraine have taken credit for economically was initiated under her government. This time, foreign investors` fears about property rights will have to be assuaged.

But the free 2006 elections, followed by an orange coalition, will combine to show the consolidation of Ukraine`s democratic progress after the orange revolution. It is doubtful though that Ukraine`s parliament will last its full term of five years.

The contradictions inherent in the Party of Regions between businessmen and pro-Russian, ex-communist voters will lead it to implode."...

Taras Kuzio "Ukraine: free elections, kamikaze president" UNIAN News Agency March 30, 2006

http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-150897.html

[Taras Kuzio is visiting professor at the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, DC. The article was monitored by The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service, Morgan Williams, Editor.]

http://www.artukraine.com/auc/index.htm









An Anti-Nato demonstration held outside of Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine in July 2005.

Crimea has previously been scarred by Imperial 'Great Power' Conflicts in the 1850s and the 1940s.

See also Steven Lee Myers "Resisting Kiev, Crimeans Hold to Moscow Orbit" New York Times, March 24, 2006.

Photo credit: www.freecrimea.org With thanks.

Amin Maloof And Kaija Saariaho's New Paris Opera World Premiere 'Adriana Mater' Is Set In A Country At War ...

TONIGHT'S WORLD PREMIERE POSTPONED

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“Adriana Mater is set in a country at war. Although none is specified by name, one might think of any province in the Balkans during the last years of the 20th-century. Adriana, a jovial and passionate young woman, is the victim of a rape. Her aggressor is not an enemy combatant, but a man from her own community. The unborn child has inherited both the victim’s blood and the torturer’s, and Adriana anxiously wonders whether her son will be Abel or Cain. This anxiety haunts her throughout her pregnancy and during the childhood of her son, Yonas. The moment of truth comes when Yonas, grown into a young man, learns that his father — his mother’s aggressor, who had fled — is back now that the war is over.”

Librettist Amin Maloof on his libretto for Kaija Saariaho's new opera set to receive its world premiere performances, tonight, at the Opera National de Paris; conducted by Eka Pekka Salonen and directed by Peter Sellars. The principal roles are sung by mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon and bass-baritone Stephen Milling. Adriana Mater receives its US premiere in the summer of 2008.

Saariaho, Maalouf, and Sellars continue their collaborative efforts with the oratorio, La Passion de Simone, which will be presented at Sellars’ New Crowned Hope Festival in Fall 2006, and later in Los Angeles and New York City. Described as a “musical path in 15 stations,” the work explores the story of French philosopher Simone Weil through a work of remembrance: 15 “stations of the cross” in her difficult life, and features Dawn Upshaw as soloist."

www.schirmer.com

http://www.operadeparis.fr/
















Belgrade, Serbia burning after NATO air raid. Young NATO bombing victim from Kraljevo, central Serbia, May 3, 1999.

Photo credits: KIM Info-Service, Serbian Orthodox Church www.kosovo.com

Total Eclipse Of The Sun: Has A New Cold War Descended On Eastern Europe?

"Ignore the broad smiles, firm handshakes, cheerful backslapping and toasts raised to “everlasting friendship” between well-dressed, smiling Russians, intense Germans, glib Americans and deceptive Brits.

The Second Cold War has already begun. If forced to be perfectly frank, every diplomat, spy or banker from Boston to Baku would acknowledge this.

Anyone who reads the press or watches television must have noticed by now that the most dynamic, aggressive and self-assured force in the world today is Russia. Daily reports in the media announce that Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom is buying a pipeline network here or a European gas company there. Russian President Vladimir Putin is shown pleased with himself in Budapest as he offers Hungarians “reliable” gas supplies - but only if they buy from Gazprom.

It’s part of his fuel diplomacy strategy, which allows Russia to influence neighbors and more distant countries through energy supplies.

There is more to Putin’s arsenal. Russia is the ultimate salesman, offering weapons to Algeria, gas and oil to Beijing, and nuclear reactors to Iran. By supporting ill-fated democracies and separatist movements in Trandniester, Ossetia and the dictator-ruled Belarus, Russia maintains a strong grip of influence over neighboring countries.

Meanwhile, Russian television stations present Putin in a positive light, ensuring him stable support within his own country of 140 million. Western Europeans watch and worry, wondering whether they are doomed to cold winters if Russia cuts off their gas supplies. The leaders of the great Western alliance, in the meantime, assure their citizens that the war in Iraq is almost won. Have patience, the masses are told, all we need is for Jeffersonian democracy to ultimately triumph in the slums of Baghdad.

Then there is Ukraine. With an indecisive chief executive who changes his views on policy issues all too frequently, the country seems to be not slipping, but tumbling back to its pre-Orange days. In Washington, London and Berlin the unpleasant little words that nobody wants to utter aloud are once again being whispered in the corridors of power – “A failed state.” ...

Ukraine might not be a failed state, yet, but it is certainly beginning to look like a failed dream. Recall the slogans shouted on the Maidan in December 2004: “We Want to Be in Europe!” “Crooks Belong in Prison”.

Now that the hype is over, it might be appropriate to remind ourselves that:

1) Europeans, for understandable reasons, are not ready to admit Ukraine into their club.

2) The shadier elements of Ukraine’s elite are still at liberty, living very comfortably in penthouse suites.

Furthermore, it should be very clear that Ukraine is not only a victim of its geographic location but of its inability to conceptualize what is in its own national interests. Apparently, each section of the country cares more about its own regional interests than the well-being of the nation as a whole. This will not do.

Then there is the question of the northern neighbor.

Every evil cannot be blamed on the Russians. This moth-eaten explanation has been offered up by too many Ukrainian leaders as an excuse to cover up their own inability to govern efficiently and honestly.

Having said this, there is no doubt that many of Ukraine’s problems can still be tied to Russia’s imperial drive. ...

What awaits a vulnerable and embattled Ukrainian state during The Second Cold War? The stakes in this conflict are great - either Ukraine will survive as a nation-state or become a part of what Russian energy mogul Anatoli Chubais envisions as a "liberal Russian empire." Within this empire, Ukrainians would be allowed to keep the blue and yellow flag, speak Ukrainian, keep their embassies, have an army and control their own borders. But the real decisions, the hardcore work, would be done for them in Moscow by hard-eyed Kremlin bosses.

During the First Cold War, Ukraine, by virtue of its membership in the USSR, was an active participant on the side of Russia and the other “socialist” republics in the ideological struggle with the West. They lost, and as a result of this defeat, Ukraine became independent.

Independence became reality not as the result of a powerful national liberation struggle with masses of oppressed Ukrainian workers and peasants on the streets with pitchforks and clubs, but through a political deal made in a forest in Belarus between two high-ranking communist internationalists, Leonid Kravchuk and Boris Yeltsin. ...

Today, as Cold War II heats up, Ukraine is virtually alone, in need of stronger leadership and without any meaningful friends, except Poland. The U.S. is preoccupied with terrorism, Iraq, and so on. The Europeans may look the other way as long as Russian gas keeps flowing.

Ukraine must rely on itself to survive. Whether it really wants to survive as a sovereign nation is at the heart of the matter.

Some people warn me not to “dramatize the situation.” Ukrainians often tend to say this when they are uncomfortable with the possible end result of a given problem. It is an escapist phrase; it soothes the intellect and tells the subconscious that a solution is out there somewhere and all one need do is to seek it out.

Cold War II, however, is not only dramatic; it is a question of real survival. ...

The time has finally arrived for Ukraine to begin behaving as a real state and not a playground for oligarchs. The victors of this high-stakes geopolitical game will not spare the losers, and the time may come when Uncle Sam will throw up his hands in frustration at the shenanigans played in the Ukrainian capital."

Roman Kupchinsky "Ukraine and the Second Cold War" (Opinion/Op Ed) The Kyiv Post March 29, 2006 23:28

http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/oped/24131/

Roman Kupchinsky was the director of the Ukrainian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty for 10 years. He is currently RFE/RL's Coordinator of Corruption Studies.

http://www.rferl.org/














Is Western adventurism, preoccupation, energy addiction, and ecological adolescence leading to a revival of a powerful "liberal Russian Empire"?

Photo credit: www.nato.int

Rejecting Fear, Dozens Of Young Belarusians Assemble In Minsk Central Square To Quietly Protest Regime's Detention Of 1,000 Prisoners Of Conscience

MINSK, March 29 (RIA Novosti) - "The Belarusian opposition has gathered for a rally in the capital Minsk in support of fellow protesters arrested earlier, a RIA Novosti correspondent said Wednesday.

Dozens of young people came to the central square carrying lit candles in support of those detained after participating in unsanctioned rallies against the results of the March 19 presidential elections, which saw incumbent Alexander Lukashenko officially re-elected for a third term in a landslide triumph.

A total of 228 protesters were detained for 10 days, and 112 for 15 days under the country's Administrative Code. Fifty-three minors were released.

Belarusian Prosecutor General Petr Miklashevich said more than 500 people had been arrested in the week following the elections."

RIA NOVOSTI "Opposition rallies in support for arrested protesters in Minsk" March 29, 2006, 10:00 PM

RIA NOVOSTI via www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html#69601

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Also see Maria Danilova "Idealists form core of protest in Belarus" Associated Press via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer March 23, 2006

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/
1103AP_Belarus_Faces_of_Opposition.html













Minsk democratic protests are quietly continuing until the next large democratic and peaceful assembly on April 26, 2006; the 20th Aniversary of the Soviet Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station disaster, which gravely impacted Southeast Belarus, North Central Ukraine, and other regions in Russia and Europe.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev via seattlepi.nwsource.com With thanks.

San Francisco Opera To Institute Series Of Free Concerts And Free Opera Simulcasts From War Memorial Opera House To Civic Center Plaza

"The San Francisco Opera's summer season will begin with a free simulcast on Civic Center Plaza, aired in conjunction with the May 27 opening-night performance of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly."

The live broadcast, one of several newly announced additions to the company's monthlong summer season, marks a push by new General Director David Gockley to strike the populist note that distinguished his tenure at the helm of the Houston Grand Opera.

"What we want is to establish an overall image of the company as being community-friendly and very accessible, and to emphasize what I believe -- which is that opera as an art form is accessible," Gockley said in a phone interview.

"Civic Center Plaza could accommodate as many as 12,000 to 15,000 at the outside if the circumstances were right. But I'd be happy with 5,000."

The Opera has also added a free outdoor concert by the company's Adler Fellows at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on May 28 and another one featuring stars of the season led by Music Director Donald Runnicles in [Mission] Dolores Park on July 1. ...

The "Butterfly" simulcast brings to San Francisco one of the signature innovations from Gockley's Houston years. Plazacasts, offered once or twice a year on Fish Plaza in front of the Wortham Theater in Houston, began in 1995 and remained one of the company's most noteworthy projects.

They also helped build up a following among patrons who might not otherwise have been interested in opera, Gockley said.

"All kinds of people came, and we derived long-term audiences from that and from the work we did in the parks and on the radio."

Gockley said he expects similar simulcasts to become a regular part of the schedule in San Francisco....

"It's true, we could have bad weather," Gockley said. "We'll just have to make sure to have the cognac concessions up and running and a few St. Bernards walking among the crowds."

Joshua Kosman "Opera summer season to start with outside simulcast" San Francisco Chronicle March 29, 2006

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/
article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/29/DDGQFHV2O01.DTL

http://www.sfopera.com/













Scene from filmmaker Anthony Minghella's acclaimed interpretation of Madama Butterfly.

"The hit of the 2005–06 London opera season comes to The Met in an exciting new co-production between The Metropolitan Opera, the English National Opera, and the Lithuanian National Opera. Stage and film director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) presents Butterfly as a Japanese play, complete with Bunraku-style puppets and translucent Shoji screens designed by Michael Levine. Han Feng’s costumes are a riot of color and Carolyn Choa’s choreography explores the boundaries between East and West."

Photo credit: Metropolitan Opera Guild web-site.

http://www.metoperafamily.org

Rostropovich To Lead San Francisco Symphony In Shostakovich's Powerful Choral Protest Against The Soviet Government And For Religious Tolerance

Tomorrow, Friday, and Satuday -- March 30 to April 1, 2006 -- the great cellist, conductor, and human rights activist Mstislav Rostropovich will lead the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus in the second of two all-Shostakovich programs celebrating the centenniel of Dmitri Shostakovich's birth. This second program will conclude with Shostakovich's powerful Symphony No. 13 (Babi Yar in Russian, or Babyn Yar in Ukrainian), which is both a massive protest against life under the Soviet government, and a protest against official Soviet anti-Semitism. Twenty nine year old baritone Mikhail Petrenko will be the soloist in this choral work which sets poems by poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Babyn Yar was the name of a large ravine in northwest Kyiv (Kiev), where the Nazis murdered about 34,000 Ukrainian Jews over a two day period on September 29 and 30, 1941. Over the following two years of Nazi occupation and terror in Ukraine, the Nazis would murder an additional 70,000 to 170,000 Ukrainians -- Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, atheist -- at the Babyn Yar execution site.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005421

http://www.deathcamps.org/occupation/babi%20yar.html

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Program Note by musicologist Michael Steinberg

"The Symphony No. 13 was Shostakovich's last "public" work. His Symphony No. 14 is a chamber-musical song cycle on poems about death, and his Fifteenth and last is enigmatic, humorous, sweetly endearing, grim, and about as private as a symphony for normal-sized orchestra with quite a bit of extra percussion can manage to be....

Assessment of the music of Shostakovich's last fourteen years, the years after Babi Yar, has diverged wildly. To some listeners, the late works, especially the Second Cello Concerto, the last string quartets (especially the final four), and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth symphonies, have suggested the kind of transfiguration we associate with the last compositions of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. (Titian, Shakespeare, Goethe, and Cézanne are among those who also achieved a sublime late style.) On the other hand, I once heard a conductor say that, after Babi Yar, the composer "no longer had any teeth." This esteemed interpreter of Shostakovich found much to admire in the last concertos and symphonies, but thought them not suitable for public performance, certainly not in this country, where there is "a lack of context." ...

Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar

It is said that the poet Franz Grillparzer once pointed out to Beethoven that he was fortunate the Imperial Austrian censors were not musical. Were they able to understand what was really going on in his music, he would surely find himself in jail. Shostakovich would have empathized with Grillparzer and his often despairing liberal contemporaries in the literary world as governments all over the Continent became more and more regressive after the end of the Napoleonic wars. He might also have envied Beethoven. Shostakovich himself never went to jail, but he knew what it was to be at odds with a tyrannical regime. And yet Shostakovich was lucky to be a composer and not a writer. Composers were thought ultimately harmless and, though harassed, bullied, and terrorized in various degrees, they lived. Poets, novelists, critics, and theater directors were treated as true enemies of the people, and they were silenced (like Anna Akhmatova), murdered (like Isaac Babel, Vsevolod Meyerhold, and Osip Mandelstam), or driven to suicide (like Marina Tsvetaeva).

On the hectic fever chart of Shostakovich's life, December 18, 1962, the day of the first performance of the Babi Yar Symphony, is a date that registers extremes of high and low. The listeners in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory received Shostakovich, Yevtushenko, and the performers with an emotional frenzy remarkable even for demonstrative Russian audiences. Official response, on the other hand, was icy. No representative of the government attended the concert, a telecast was canceled, and Pravda confined itself to a single sentence reporting that the concert had taken place. When the Russian-American scholar Boris Schwarz asked to see a score at the Composers' Union, he was refused. A few more performances were given in 1963 and 1965, for which Yevtushenko's text had been revised—more of that below—but then the work dropped from sight in the Soviet Union. Eugene Ormandy was able to give the American premiere several years later only because Mstislav Rostropovich had smuggled a score out of the country.

Back in 1936, the authorities, including Stalin himself, had noted that Lady Macbeth of the Mtzensk District, a major public and critical success, was a seamy affair, not consistent with official ideas of what government-supported opera houses ought to be presenting. Understandably alarmed by the fierce attacks on him in Pravda, Shostakovich foresaw that his Symphony No. 4, meant to be introduced in December of that year, would be excoriated for its "modernism," which ran counter to the populist principles of Soviet Socialist art, and he withdrew the work, not releasing it for performance until 1961. Nor had it been difficult for anyone to perceive that the Symphony No. 8 (1943) was a dark—and in that sense deplorable—response to the war experience and that the Symphony No. 9 (1945), a Haydnesque comedy with a deeply serious slow movement, was anything other than the apotheosis of Stalin that was expected at the end of the war. In the Symphony No. 13, Shostakovich made things still easier for his political enemies. In it he used words whose sense the most unmusical person could not escape.

But Shostakovich ran into difficulties even before the first performance. The Khrushchev "thaw" had instilled some hope in Soviet intellectuals and artists, and the publication in 1961 of the Babi Yar poem and of Solzhenytsin's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich at about the same time as the premiere of the Babi Yar Symphony were exciting and significant events. But the respite was brief. At the beginning of December 1962, Khrushchev saw an art exhibition in Moscow that had him spluttering incoherently about "abstractionists and pederasts," a theme on which he expanded at a press conference the day before the first performance of the new symphony. At the same time, Leonid Ilyichyov, the powerful Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, gave Yevtushenko an official scolding. The atmosphere was not good.

Shostakovich had become acutely aware of this in the course of trying to organize the first performance of the Thirteenth Symphony. His original plan was to ask Yevgeny Mravinsky, who had conducted the first performances of the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Twelfth symphonies, to take on this newest one as well. It quickly became clear, however, that because Yevtushenko was so controversial, Mravinsky did not want to jeopardize his career through this potentially dangerous association. More painfully, it became clear that he did not have the guts to come right out and say so to Shostakovich, and it was left to the conductor's wife, a former Party official, to come up with an explanation, namely that her husband never conducted vocal music. "You must only conduct pure music," she told him. Shostakovich was also turned down by the bass who had been his first choice, Boris Gmyirya, for reasons too complicated to go into here, but about which he was quite open with the composer, who did not, therefore, perceive his decision as a betrayal.

Shostakovich next turned to Kiril Kondrashin, who quickly said yes. But that was not yet the end. Shostakovich first asked the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya to recommend a soloist. She suggested Alexander Vedernikov from the Bolshoi Opera. Vedernikov was thrilled to accept, especially after the composer had played through the work for him, but a few days later he called Vishnevskaya in deep embarrassment to say that he would have to withdraw, that he was a citizen as well as an artist, that he could not sing the Babi Yar text in public. The next candidate, also recommended by Kondrashin, was another young bass from the Bolshoi, Victor Nechipailo, but the manager of the Moscow State Philharmonic urged that a second singer be brought on board and coached, "just in case."

On the morning of the premiere, Kondrashin received two phone calls. The first was from Nechipailo, who said that he was ill and unable to sing. (Vishnevskaya tells a different story. In her account, a bass scheduled to sing King Philipp in Don Carlo at the Bolshoi that night was ordered to call in sick so that Nechipailo, his understudy, would have to sing—a command he could not refuse.) In any event, the symphony was sung by Nechipailo's understudy, Vitaly Gromadsky. Kondrashin's other call came from the Minister of Culture, who made heavily meaningful inquiries about the state of the conductor's health and whether there might be any reason he could find himself unable to conduct that night. Kondrashin dealt with him by playing naïve and refusing to pick up on any of the minister's hints. (All these stories are told in fascinating detail in Elizabeth Wilson's compilation, Shostakovich: A Life Remembered.)

All the Yevtushenko texts that Shostakovich chose have bite, but the most problematic of the poems was the first, Babi Yar. That title is the name of the ravine outside Kiev where the Germans executed about 100,000 Ukrainian Jews in World War II. (It had in fact been Shostakovich's intention just to set Babi Yar as a brief cantata, and it was only when he had finished that much of the music at the end of March 1962 that he decided to extend the piece into the hour-long symphony it became.) Yevtushenko's issue is anti-Semitism. He begins, "There is no monument at Babi Yar." The official line was that there was no anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union (it was his belief in that untruth that caused Vedernikov to withdraw from the first performance), and it was therefore unacceptable to write a poem about anti-Semitism.

Further, the authorities wished to dilute the point that the vast majority of the victims of Babi Yar were Jews. They insisted that Yevtushenko rewrite the poem to say that the martyrs were Jews and Russians and Ukrainians, with no special emphasis on the Jews. Yevtushenko obliged—Vishnevskaya describes him in her memoirs as a man who "had learned how to pander to any taste, how to keep his nose in the wind, how to know when to bow and when to straighten up"—and Shostakovich was furious. As any composer would, he thought of the poem as no longer being Yevtushenko's but his and Yevtushenko's. The first Soviet performances after the premiere used the revised text, but the published score gives the original, which is also the one that the poet always recited in his public readings. (Since June 1976, there has been a monument at Babi Yar. The inscription reads: "Here, in 1941-42, German Fascist invaders executed over 100,000 citizens of Kiev and prisoners of war.")

Shostakovich responds intensely to his chosen texts and, just as the music illuminates the texts, it is the texts that tell us whatever we really need to know about the music. The first movement, "Babi Yar," is the largest, and the various chapters, as it were, of Yevtushenko's verses provide the composer with rich possibilities for characterization and variety of texture and pace—the reference to Captain Dreyfus, the evocation of the 1906 pogrom at Byalystok, the poet's imagined identification with Anne Frank. The Anne Frank episode—deliberately ungirlish with its bass solo accompanied by cellos and basses—is especially striking.

The second movement, "Humor," suggests the jocular world of the Ninth Symphony; the opening and closing tune is in fact taken from "Macpherson Before His Execution," a merry and despairing song (the adjectives are those of Robert Burns, who wrote the poem) in Shostakovich's Six Songs to Lyrics by English [!] Poets. If "Humor" is the symphony's scherzo, "At the Store," a compassionate portrait of Russia's women, is its grave slow movement (Adagio). The deeply ironic "Fears" begins as though it were a second such movement (Largo), but its text demands and receives a more varied treatment. "A Career," which might have given Mr. Mravinsky something to think about, is another essay in irony, its music detached, perhaps a little wan, wryly humorous. The coda, much of it for string quartet, its close colored by the soft ping of the celesta and of harp harmonics, is one of Shostakovich's most endearing pages."

-- Program note (c) Michael Steinberg for the San Francisco Symphony

http://www.sfsymphony.org/templates/pgmnote.asp?nodeid=3784&callid=117

*

Two Yevgeny Yevtushenko poems from Shostakovich's choral Symphony No. 13:

Babii Yar

http://lightning.prohosting.com/zhenka/015.html

Career

http://lightning.prohosting.com/zhenka/001.html














Babyn Yar, Kyiv, Ukraine Nazi Killing Field, 1941-43; and Shostakovich in 1960.

Photo credits: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Shostakovich photo via the San Francisco Symphony web-site.

Lukashenka Regime, Backed By Big Brother Russia, Accuses Democratic Opposition Of Not Graciously Accepting Rigged Presidential Vote

"Instead of accepting the rival’s victory in a civilized way and appreciating the people’s choice, the Belarusian opposition counted on an artificial outburst of emotions in the streets acting beyond the legal field, the information department of the Russian foreign ministry said in a report connected with the events of March 25 in Belarus characterized by the Russian foreign ministry as an "unsuccessful attempt to resort to the tactic applied by oppositions during presidential polls in certain other CIS countries".

The report points out that Moscow is closely watching the situation in Belarus and the international response to the events including to those on March 25 when leaders of the Belarusian opposition Alexander Milinkevich and Alexander Kozulin organized another unauthorized rally in the center of Minsk. It is clear that the opposition attempted to provoke violent actions on the part of the authorities to trigger a new wave of criticism in the West against the Belarusian government, the Russian foreign ministry says.

"The course of the events revealed that the Belarusian authorities, seeking not to aggravate the situation, did not hamper the rally until it was peaceful. But the situation changed as calls on coup were voiced from the crowd and a part of the demonstrators headed on to the militia station with violent intentions. In a bid to prevent unlawful actions the law enforcement bodies had to detain certain participants of that unauthorized rally", the Russian foreign ministry reports.

Certain Russian citizens have come to be involved in the Minsk events, the foreign ministry points out. Some of them were also detained and exposed to administrative punishments. The embassy of Russia in Belarus is taking all necessary measures to ensure their prompt release and help them return home, the report runs.

"The belligerent actions and calls on violence and seizure of administrative buildings were not supported by a significant part of the opposition members. Anyway, the events in Belarus should be legally treated in an unbiased manner since the matter involved is not only the freedom of expression of political views but also law, order and people’s security", the Russian foreign ministry says.

The Russian foreign ministry stresses that there can be no doubts as to the duty of any authority to protect the constitutional order in the country. "Doubtfully European powers would argue about that including those which often witness even bigger protests. Meanwhile they express wrathful accusations and by far not always just criticism against the actions of the Belarusian authorities", the report runs."

Belarusian Telegraph Agency "Russian foreign ministry: Belarusian opposition acts beyond legal field" March 29, 2006 12:09

http://www.belta.by/en/news/politics?id=85355

*

MOSCOW, March 28 — "The European Union and the United States are considering personal sanctions against more than 40 officials and state journalists in Belarus for their roles in election rigging and crackdowns on civil society there, according to Western diplomats and government officials.

A list of officials under consideration includes not only President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko and his top staff but also government ministers and security officials, as well as prosecutors and judges involved in trying antigovernment demonstrators and sentencing them to jail.

The European Union and the United States announced an intention to pursue punitive sanctions immediately after Mr. Lukashenko's landslide re-election victory on March 19, which the West and the opposition have denounced as a sham." ...


C. J. Chivers "U.S. and Europeans Consider Sanctions Against 40 Belarus Aides" New York Times, March 29, 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/
international/europe/29belarus.html


List of 42 Belarusian Officials accused by the E.U. and U.S. of engaging in election fraud, cracking down on civil society activities (arrests, detentions, harassment etc.), and deliberately spreading openly false information (representatives of major mass media and ideology services who have used the media as a propaganda tool for the Belarusian president):

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/text/
international/SanctionRec.doc













Lukashenka seeks to merge his military and police forces with those of the neighboring Russian Federation.

Photo credit: Associated Press Sergei Grits With thanks.

European Human Rights Activist And Senior Statesman Vaclav Havel On Revolutionary Euphoria And Post-Revolutionary Realism

"All revolutions, in the end, turn from euphoria to disillusion. In a revolutionary atmosphere of solidarity and self-sacrifice, people tend to think that when their victory is complete, paradise on Earth is inevitable. Of course, paradise never comes, and - naturally - disappointment follows. That seems to have been the case in Ukraine, where President Viktor Yushchenko, who best embodied the so-called Orange Revolution last year, suffered a serious defeat at the hands of his political rivals in parliamentary elections last weekend.

Post-revolutionary disillusion, especially after the revolutions against communism - and in Ukraine's case revolution against post-communism - is rooted in psychology. New circumstances imposed new challenges for most people. Formerly, the state decided everything, and many people, particularly in the middle and older generations, began to see freedom as a burden, because it entailed continuous decision-making.

I have sometimes compared this psychological ennui to my own post-prison situation: for years I yearned for freedom, but, when finally released, I had to make decisions all the time. Confronted suddenly with many options every day, one starts to feel a headache, and sometimes unconsciously wants to return to prison.

This depression is probably inevitable. But, on a societal scale, it is eventually overcome, as new generations grow up. Indeed, 15 years after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a new catharsis seems under way, and Ukraine's Orange Revolution was part of that.

As Ukraine so clearly showed, the process of self-liberation from communism was, by definition, associated with a gigantic privatization program. Naturally, members of the old establishment, with their inside knowledge and connections, gained much of the privatized property. This "inevitable" process poisoned political life and the media, which led to a strange state of limited freedom and a mafia-like environment. The shadings differed from country to country in the post-communist world, but the new generations rising in these societies now seem fed up with it.

Ukraine's Orange Revolution and Georgia's Rose Revolution confirm this. While revolutions in the late 1980s and early 1990s were directed against totalitarian communist regimes, nowadays they aim to get rid of this mafia-type post-communism.

But to make the change irreversible, a truly independent and incorruptible judiciary is essential. Too often in politically connected cases, suspicions and charges of wrongdoing are not pursued to an unambiguous conclusion. This is understandable: the communist justice system was manipulated to serve the regime, and thousands of judges cannot be replaced overnight.

Although it is clear that a return to the systems under the old Soviet Union is not possible, some blame Russian influence for the disillusion in Ukraine. Yes, there are some alarming elements in Russian policy, mostly because Russia has never really known where it begins and where it ends. It either owned or dominated many other nations, and now it is only with grudging reluctance dealing with the loss of them all.

Some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's statements seem to recall the Soviet era with nostalgia. Indeed, he recently called the disintegration of the Soviet Union a tragic mistake. But Soviet nostalgia has far more to do with Russia's traditional great power ambitions than with communism. Russia, I believe, should clearly say - and the international community should clearly say to Russia - that it has defined borders that will not be questioned, because disputed borders lie at the core of most conflicts.

On the other hand, I don't want to demonize Putin. He may lower oil prices for someone close to him, like Belarus' dictator Alexander Lukashenko, and insist on a market price for someone else, but that's basically all he can do. I don't envision any serious conflict beyond that.

The promise of Western integration is one reason that conflict seems impossible, for it is a question of geography as much as shared values and culture. Ukraine belongs to a united European political entity; the values that Ukraine endorses and that are embedded in its history are European to the core. The Czech experience shows that implementing all of the European Union's norms so as to be ready to qualify for membership takes some time. But in principle, Ukraine can succeed as well.

Much the same is true for Ukraine and NATO. Partnerships based on shared rules, standards, and values are the heartbeat of modern security. Moreover, NATO in a way defines the sphere of a civilization, which of course doesn't mean that NATO's community is better than any other. But it's a community that is good to belong to-provided that people want it and that it makes historical sense for them.

NATO membership carries obligations, because situations may arise - and we have already experienced them - when NATO follows a United Nations appeal and conducts an out-of-area military intervention where, for example, genocide is being committed.

In other words, NATO membership, like EU membership, comes at a price. However, I think that the advantages far outweigh any possible disadvantages. Now that the Ukrainians have voted, it is up to them to decide this for themselves and thus to overcome their post-revolutionary disillusion."


http://www.dailystar.com.lb (Lebanon). Published in association with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=23338












Vaclav Havel

Photo credit: www.belarusguide.com With thanks.

www.belarusguide.com/images/people/open_letter/vaclav_havel.gif

Belarusian Human Rights Center "Viasna" Releases List Of 480 Democratic Protesters Arrested Last Saturday In Police Crackdown On Democracy Movement

Last Dictatorship Of Europe: 500 Prisoners of Conscience

March 28, 2006 20:43

"According to the last information of the human rights activists, 480 Belarusians were accused for taking part in peaceful protests against fraudulent elections results. One cannot be sure that it’s a complete list. The human rights organizations are still receiving phone calls from people who cannot find their children went missing on March 24 in the night when the tent camp was disbanded. There is no exact information still, where the people were taken to serve sentences. Some people were found by relatives in the detention center in Akrestsin Street, some in remand prison in Valadarski Street, and some in the detention center in Zhodzina. Prisoners of conscience in Zhodzina remand prison have announced a hunger strike of protest against unjust verdicts. The administration refuses to give information about the state of health of prisoners."

Charter 97 offers an updated list of prisoners, prepared by the human rights center “Viasna”:

1. Abrazcow Z`micer - 15 days
2. Abramenka Mikita court of Partyzanski district, judge Pykina -- 10 days
3. Agarow Anton -- 10 days (Partyzaski district court)
4. Adamovich Pjotr -- 10 days
5. Adzincow Andrjej -- 7 days, court of Zavodski district
6. Aksenevich Jury - court unknown
7. Alejnik court of Savetski district
8. Al`shjewski - 7 days, court of Savetski district
9. Aljab`ew Aljaksandr court of Partyzanski district,
10. Andrusik Larysa - fined 10 basic units, court of Savetski district
11. Anjankow Sjargej - 10 days court of Tsentralny district
12. Arlow Bagdan -- 10 days
13. Arlow Viktar - 15 days court of Tsentralny district
14. Arcimenka Kanstancin
15. Arjehaw Andrjej -10 days court of Tsentralny district
16. Arjeshka Dzjanis (Pershamajski district court)
17. Asipenka Aljaksej - 10 (?) days court of Tsentralny district
18. Awdzejchyk -- 10 days
19. Afnagel` Jawgen -- 5 days Partyzanski court
20. Ahmadzieva Julija - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
21. Babich Nadzeja - 4 days, court of Partyzanski district
22. Bagdanaw Stanislaw - 10 days, court of Pershamajski district
23. Bagucki - 10 days courtPershamajskaga rajonu
24. Bakur Jury
25. Balonkina Julja - 15 days, judgePratasavickaja, court of Kastrychnitski district
26. Baranaw Andrjej --10 days
27. Baranchuk O.V., 1987
28. Baranchuk Tacjana
29. Barok Andrjej -? court of Pershamajski district
30. Barstok Sjargej - 10 days, court of Savetski district
31. Barysevich - 5 days, judgeAnanich, court of Pershamajski district
32. Bas Jawgen - 15 days, court of Savetski district
33. Batalaw Mikita - 10 days, judgeMakuha , court of Pershamajski district
34. Batuew Pavel -- 10 days
35. Batura Nadzeja - 5 days ( court of Zavodski district)
36. Bajaryn Natal`lja - fined 50 basic units, court of Pershamajski district
37. Bezmaternyh И.A., 1987
38. Bezmacernyh Kacjaryna - 4 days, court of Partyzanski district, judge Awdzejchyk
39. Benedyktaw Іvan -- 5 days
40. Berkoj - 10 days, court of Savetski district
41. Bernikovich Jaraslaw -- 7 days
42. Bil`dzjuk Aljaksej court of Pershamajski district
43. Bolonkиna Ju.V., 1986
44. Brokaraw Jeduard - 10 days, court unknown
45. Brjetko - 10 days of Maskouski district
46. Budaj -- 5 days
47. Buzhelenko L.V., 1966
48. Bujnicki Dzjanis
49. Bujnicki Maksim court of Pershamajski district
50. Burak Іna
51. Burak Іryna - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
52. Burakow Ales`
53. Bursevich Nasta - 5 days, judge Ananich, court of Pershamajski district
54. Buhamenka Larysa - 15 days, judge Pratasavickaja, court of Kastrychnitski district
55. Bjalevich Sjargej
56. Bjal`ko (Cjentral`ny district court)
57. Vajnilovich Mikalaj c court unknown
58. Valkavec Jawgen
59. Vanina Tacjana - 10 days, court unknown
60. Vanchuk Aljaksandr -- 10 days
61. Vasilewski Ales` - 10 days, judge Aniskevich,
62. Vasil`kavak
63. Vawkavec Jawgen -- 7 days
64. Vashkevich Dzjanis --15 days
65. Vashkevich Maryna - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
66. Vensko Dz`mitry
67. Verab"jow Sjargej - 7 days, judgeAniskevich court of Pershamajski district
68. Vitkowskaja E. - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
69. Vitkowskaja Tacjana - fined 30 basic units, court of Kastrychnitski district
70. Vishnewski Valery - 10 days, court of Pershamajski district
71. Volchek И.A., 1984
72. Vsevnik
73. Vjarowski -- Pershamajski district court
74. Gabryel`chyk Іna - 7 days court of Partyzanski district
75. Gabanidze Nino -reporter, 10 days (?), court of Savetski district
76. Gavaka Viktar --10 days
77. Gazimaw Cimur - 10 days, judge Makuha court of Pershamajski district
78. Gajduk T. - court of Partyzanski district, judge Barysjonak
79. Gajduk Julijan -- 7 days (art 156, KaAP)
80. Galinowski Z`micer
81. Gamolka Z`micer - 10 days court of Pershamajski district
82. Garadzinski Aljaksej
83. Garanjuk
84. Garachka Z`micer - 10 days, judgeMakuh, court of Pershamajski district
85. Gardzeew Mikalaj - 7 days, court of Pershamajski district
86. Garjelik Sjargej - 10 days (in Zhodzina, on hunger strike) court of Pershamajski district
87. Germak Maryna - 5 days, court of Pershamajski district
88. Gizun Ales` (167-1) Savecki district court
89. Gizun Zhana - 10 days, court Pershamajskaga rajonu
90. Glezin Jeduard - court of Leninski district
91. Grablewski Aleg -- 10 days, court of Partyzanski district
92. Gran` -- 10 days, court of Partyzanski district, judge Trubnikaw
93. Grubich Aleg
94. Grudz`ko - court of Leninski district
95. Grudz`ko Tacjana - 3 days, court Pershamajskaga rajonu
96. Grynchyk Viktar - 12 days, court Pershamajskaga rajonu
97. Gryckevich Galina - 10 days, court of Maskouski district
98. Gryshan Tacjana - court of Leninski district
99. Gryshkevich Viktar - 5 days, court of Savetski district, judge Kazadaew
100. Gudzilin Sjarzhuk - 15 days
101. Gusakova Stanislava - 12 days, court of Leninski district
102. Davidovich Vasil` -- 15 days
103. Daragawcaw Aljaksandr
104. Darafeeva Anastasija - court of Leninski district, 10 days
105. Dashkevich Z`micer -- 15 days
106. Dzegcjarow A. Ja. court of Partyzanski district, judge Awdzejchyk
107. Dzemidovich E. - court of Leninski district
108. Dzemidovich Jawgen
109. Dzemchonak Natal`lja
110. Dzeshkevich - court of Leninski district
111. Dzivina Maryja - court of Leninski district, 10 days
112. Dzishchyc Aljaksandr - court of Leninski district
113. Dz`jachkow Aleg - court of Leninski district
114. Dz`jachjek Іna A. - 15 days, judge Pratasavickaja, court of Kastrychnitski district
115. Dzjadok T. - 10 days, judge Pratasavickaja, court of Kastrychnitski district
116. Dzjanisava Palina -- 10 days
117. Dzjanisaw Dzjanis - 10 days, court of Leninski district
118. Dubovik -- 10 days
119. Dubowski M. - court of Leninski district
120. Dulub N. court of Partyzanski district, judge Trubnikaw
121. Dyzun Aljaksandr – tried by Saveckim district court
122. Djepryz Aljaksandr (Partyzanski district court)
123. Eewnik Viktar
124. Jolkina Ksenija (underage, released)
125. Ewdakimava L. A - 10 days, judge Pratasavickaja court of Kastrychnitski district
126. Ewcihiew - court of Partyzanski district, judge Barysjonak -- 5 days
127. Zhalezka Kacja
128. Zhloba S
129. Zhuk S. A - court of Leninski district
130. Zhukaw A. A. - court of Leninski district
131. Zhyz`newskaja Alena - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
132. Zhalinskaja E. - court of Partyzanski district, judge Barysjonak
133. Zhalinskaja Svjatlana - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
134. Zhyh Dz`mitry - 10 days, court of Leninski district
135. Zavadskaja Іryna - 10 days, judge Pratasavickaja court of Kastrychnitski district
136. Zavacki D. І.- court of Leninski district
137. Zaves`nicki Jawgen -- 5 days, Zavodski district court
138. Zajcaw -- 7 days (Zavodski district court)
139. Zalatar Aljaksandr
140. Zalesski Mikita - 15 days, court of Leninski district
141. Zemchanka Natal`lja
142. Zemchonak M. - court of Leninski district
143. Znak Maksim - 13 days, court of Tsentralny district
144. Zolataw Cihan
145. Zoryn Uladzimir - court of Leninski district
146. Zubok Aljaksej V. - 15 days, court of Leninski district
147. Zuew Andrjej - court of Leninski district
148. Z`verava - 10 days, court of Savetski district
149. Z`veraw Dz`mitry (?) court of Savetski district
150. Zjukaw Dzjanis, court of Pershamajski district
151. Zjalinsaja Dar’ja - 8 days court of Leninski district
152. Zjamchonak Natal`lja - 10 days
153. Иvanova E.A., 1987
154. Іvankow - 10 days, court of Savetski district
155. Іvanova Іna
156. Іvanjuk Jawgen
157. Іvashkow - 10, judge Silicki Sjargej, court of Savetski district
158. Іgnac`eva Alena (underage, released)
159. Іl`kevich Aleksandr - 10 days, court of Leninski district, judge Bortnik
160. Іl`kevich Sjargej -- 10 days
161. Іl`lin Mikola
162. Іnazemcaw Danila
163. Kavaljonak Vital` --10 days
164. Kavaljonak Mikola
165. Kavalewskaja Nadzeja - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich,
166. Kaval`chuk Artur - 15 days
167. Kazak V. A. - court of Leninski district
168. Kazak E. - court of Partyzanski district, judge Barysjonak
169. Kazakow Maksim - 15 days
170. Kazlova Natal`lja
171. Kazlow Jawgen -15 days, court of Savetski district, judge Barazna Sjargej
172. Kazlowski Aleg (“Pravoe delo”, Russia), 15 days of arrest, on March 27, by unknown court
173. Kazlowski Aljaksej - 10 days. court of Savetski district
174. Kazlowski Z`micer
175. Kaznachjeew Vadzim - court of Leninski district- 10 days
176. Kazulin Aljaksandr Uladzimiravich (nephew of the candidate for presidency) -- court of Partyzanski district, judge Awdzejchyk -- 7 days
177. Kazulin Aljaksej (nephew of the candidate for presidency) -- 10 days
178. Kalejchyk Z`micer - 7 days, court of Savetski district
179. Kalinin V. - court of Leninski district
180. Kanapljow Arseni - 3 days court of Savetski district
181. Kandrusevich Uladzimir -- court of Savetski district– verdict unknown
182. Karaljonak Mikola - 15 days
183. Karal`chuk Aljaksej
184. Karbanovich Sergej -10 days (Pershamajski district court)
185. Karbinski Vital`
186. Karnow Dzjanis - 7 days
187. Karol` Dzjanis - 10 days court of Savetski district, judge Tarchylina, Larysa
188. Karona Jawgenija (underage, released)
189. Karshuk Anastasija - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
190. Kastjenka Dar"ja - 10 days, judge Pratasavickaja, court of Kastrychnitski district
191. Kascjuk Ganna - 15 days, court of Savetski district
192. Kas`cjuk Tac`cjana
193. Kas`cjuchjenka Anatol` - 15 days, court of Savetski district
194. Kachanaw - court of Leninski district
195. Kachanaw Andrjej
196. Kachjewski (Cjentral`ny district court)
197. Kashjel` Aljaksej - 15 days, court of Savetski district
198. Kirjeew Viktar - court of Leninski district
199. Klecawka Kacjaryna- court of Leninski district
200. Klimutko Іna
201. Kogaj Ganna - 10 days, court of Savetski district
202. Kopel Andrjej
203. Konash Aljaksandr
204. Konash Aljaksej – (167-1) Savecki court, 10 days
205. Kopac` Ales` -- 7 days
206. Korzh Maksim - 10 days
207. Korsak Vol`ga - 7 days, judge Germanovich, court of Kastrychnitski district
208. Korshun A.E., 1988
209. Korash Vol`ga - 5 days court of Savetski district
210. Koshal` Aljaksej -- 15 days court of Savetski district, judge Savosc`jan Ljudmila)
Krasnow Mikita - 12 days court of Frunzenski district
211. Krasucki Sjargej
212. Krasjachkow Vital`
213. Krawchonak Aljaksandr -- 5 days, Zavodski district court
214. Kruchok Ksenija -- 7 days
215. Krushjewski - 15 days court of Frunzenski district
216. Kryvanosava Vol`ga - 4 days, court of Partyzanski district, judge Awdzejchyk
217. Kryvanosava Natal`ja - 4 days, court of Partyzanski district, judge Awdzejchyk
218. Ksjandzow Kiryl - 15 days, court of Frunzenski district
219. Kuvaev Aleksej
220. Kudzelik E.A. - 10 days, court of Maskouski district
221. Kudzjanava Jawgenija
222. Kuzhaleva (?) court of Savetski district
223. Kuz`njacow Z`micer
224. Kuklevich Vital` - 15 days, court of Frunzenski district
225. Kulej Іgar - 15 days, court of Frunzenski district
226. Kunich Z`micer
227. Kupchanka Vera
228. Kurcow Gleb -- 10 days
229. Kurylovich Palina (underage, released)
230. Kur`janova E.S., 1985
231. Kuwshynaw Aljaksandr
232. Kuwshynnaja Tacjana - 15 days, judge Pratasavickaja, court of Kastrychnitski district
233. Kuchynski --10 days
234. Labanow Jawgen - 10 days, court of Frunzenski district
235. Lavinskaja Tacjana
236. Lavrenovиch Ja.T., 1985
237. Lavua Frjedjeryk (Canadian citizen, reporter) -- 15 days
238. Lagidze Georgi, journalist - 15 days, court of Savetski district
239. Lantuh Aljaksandr (Savecki district court)
240. Lapcjonak Z`micer - 15 days, court of Frunzenski district
241. Laryna Anastasija - 7 days, court of Maskouski district
242. Laryna Tacjana - fined 20 basic units, court of Frunzenski district
243. Lawrynovich Jana - 10 days, judge Pratasavickaja court of Kastrychnitski district
244. Lacinski - 10 days court of Frunzenski district
245. Lashuk Aljaksej -- 13 days, Pershamajski district court
246. Levadovich Vasil` -- 15 days
247. Leonava S`vjatlana - 4 days, court of Partyzanski district
248. Leshchow, court of Partyzanski district, judge Lebedz` -- 10 days
249. Lisicyn Sjargej - 10 days, court of Partyzanski district
250. Liskevich Jawgen - 10 days, court of Frunzenski district
251. Listahaw Dz`mitry - 10 days (167-1) Savecki district court
252. Litvinaw Mihail - 10 days, court of Partyzanski district
253. Lukin Pavel - 10 days, court of Frunzenski district
254. Luk"janchyk Arcjom - 15 days court of Frunzenski district
255. Lysjuk -- 10 days, court of Partyzanski district, judgeTrubnikaw
256. Ljava Arcjom -- 15 days (Frunzenski district court)
257. Ljavonava S`vjatlana
258. Ljashchow Anton -- 10 days
259. Mazur Ales` -- 7 days
260. Mazuchjenka - court of Frunzenski district
261. Malashchyckaja V. V. - 15 days, judge Pratasavickaja, court of Kastrychnitski district
262. Malodkina Anastasija - 10 days, judge Shyl`ko, court of Maskouski district
263. Malyщиckaja V.V., 1960
264. Mancjevich - 10 days, court of Frunzenski district
265. Mancjevich Nadzeja
266. Marchyk Sjarzhuk
267. Maskevich Veranika - 10 days, court of Frunzenski district
268. Mackojc` Sjargej
269. Macuk Dz`mitryj -- 10 days
270. Mac`veew Ruslan (underage, released)
271. Macjuhin Aljakandr - fined 20 basic units, court of Frunzenski district
272. Mashkevich Maryjush -15 days, court of Leninski district
273. Mikul`chyk Aljaksej - 13 days, court of Frunzenski district
274. Misjuk -- 10 days ( court of Partyzanski district)
275. Mitrafanaw Aljaksej - court of Frunzenski district
276. Mihijonak Sjargej - 10 days, judge Ljudmila Lappo, court of Frunzenski district
277. Murabava - A. court of Partyzanski district, judge Pykina
278. Murashka Sjargej -- 7 days
279. Murydova D.L., 1987
280. Navumenka Jaraslaw - 15 days, court of Frunzenski district
281. Narjel` Natal`lja
282. Naskow Mihail - 15 days, court of Frunzenski district
283. Netkachow Jawgen - 15 days, court of Frunzenski district
284. Nikalajchuk V. - 10 days, court of Maskouski district
285. Nihimaw - trial postponed, asked for a lawyer, court of Maskouski district
286. Novik Zh. A - court of Partyzanski district, judge Trubnikaw
287. Novikaw Alyaksej
288. Nytkina Vol`ga - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
289. Njadbaeva Tac`cjana
290. Padalinski Іgar -- 15 days (Frunzenski court)
291. Padrabinjek Aljaksandr (reporter, Russia) - 15 days, court of Savetski district, judge Kazadaew
292. Pazhygan Aljaksandar
293. Palevikova Valjancina - 15 days, judgePratasavickaja, court of Kastrychnitski district
294. Palojka Z`micer (Baranavichy) - (kept in Zhodzina until the trial)
295. Pankavec Viktar court of Zavodski district
296. Parshyn Іvan -- 10 days
297. Pawlenka Aljaksandr, detained on March 25
298. Pawlenka Dz`mitry -- 15 days (Savecki court, 167-1)
299. Pawlenka Tacjana, deatined on March 25, -15 days
300. Pawlenka Aljaksandr - 10 days
301. Pawroz Mikita - 10 days, court of Tsentralny district
302. Pahuchy Jury -- 5 days
303. Pachobut Stas - 10 days, court of Tsentralny district
304. Pashynok (Cjentral`ny district court)
305. Pashytok -- 10 days (Zavodski district court)
306. Peljapat Alena -- 7 days (court of Zavodski district)
307. Peralygin -- 10 days
308. Pilac` Mihail -- 15 days
309. Piljaeva Masha
310. Pinchuk Viktar - 15 days, court of Savetski district
311. Pirjejka Aljaksandr - 10 days court of Tsentralny district
312. Pisarchyk Sjargej - 10 days court
313. Plaksicki Aljaksandr -- 3 days
314. Platonaw Arcjom (underage, released)
315. Palevikova Valjancina - 15 days
316. Porah Aljaksandr - 10 days, court of Tsentralny district
317. Prakacen`
318. Pratasaw - 10 days, court of Savetski district
319. Proharaw Pavel - 5 days court of Partyzanski district
320. Pryshnewski court of Tsentralny district
321. Pugach Dzjanis court of Tsentralny district
322. Pulynka
323. Pjachjerskih Jury - 10 days court of Tsentralny district
324. Rabykin Kiryl -- 5 days
325. Ravucki Uladyslaw
326. Ragachow Z`micer - 15 days, advez`li w Zhodzina court of Tsentralny district
327. Ragowski (?) - court of Savetski district
328. Radyno Alena court of Partyzanski district, judgeTrubnikaw
329. Rakovich Aljaksej - 10 days
330. Ramanovich Aljaksandr - 10 days court of Tsentralny district
331. Ramanowski Cjargej - 15 days court of Tsentralny district
332. Ramancow Uladzimir
333. Rasol`ka Kiryl (Partyzanski district court)
334. Rahmanaw
335. Rapeka - 10 days Of Partyzanski district, judgeTrubnikaw
336. Rugajny Vital`
337. Rudzjankow Garry Aljaksandravich (born 1935. In Zhodzina, trial on Monday in Tsentralny district court of Minsk
338. Rudovich Aksana - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
339. Rudjenkow Rygor - 5 days court of Tsentralny district
340. Rusanaw Іgar
341. Rjevucki Wladzislaw court of Tsentralny district
342. Rjez`nikaw --10 days
343. Savicki Pavel --10 days
344. Savchenkova E.V., 1986
345. Sadawnichy Іl`lja - 15 days court of Tsentralny district
346. Sadowski І
347. Sakalowski (?) court of Zavodski district
348. Salavej Іgar -- 10 days ( court of Partyzanski district, judgeAwdzejchyk)
349. Salaman - 10 days court of Tsentralny district
350. Salawew Z`micer (Magiljow) - 10 days
351. Salodki - 5 days court of Zavodski district
352. Salygo P. - court of Leninski district
353. Samalinska Veranika (Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland) 10 days, since March 27, court of Leninski district
354. Samal` - court of Tsentralny district
355. Santarovich Andrjej , court of Pershamajski district
356. Sasnowski Anton - 7 days court of Partyzanski district
357. Sawchankava Valeryja - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
358. Saharchuk V. - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
359. Svidzerski S`cjapan
360. Svirydovich Anton -- court of Savetski district-- 12 days
361. Sevjaryna Tacjana - 4 days, court Partyzanski, judge Pykina
362. Semenchyk Maksim - 10 days, court unknown
363. Semchonak Natal`lja
364. Senchanka Aksana -- 15 days
365. Senchanka Aljaksandr - 15 days
366. Sen`ko Valera
367. Sen`ko Viktar - 7 days (Akrjes`cina)
368. Sergienka Aksana
369. Sechko Natal`lja -- 7 days, placed to Zhodzina
370. Silkova V.V., 1954
371. Sivanovich Jawgen - 8 days, court of Zavodski district
372. Sidarjevich Ala - 10 days court of Zavodski district
373. Sidarovich Andrjej court of Tsentralny district
374. Silkova Vera - 10 days, judge Pratasavickaja court of Kastrychnitski district
375. Sinkevich Aljaksandr -- 10 days
376. Sinkevich Nadzeja - 7 days court of Zavodski district
377. Sinichyn Dzjanis - 15 days
378. Sin`kevich Pavel - 10 days
379. Sichko court of Tsentralny district
380. Skarabagaty Arcjom - 5 days court of Zavodski district
381. Skarabagaty Leanid - 15 days court of Zavodski district
382. Smok Vadzim
383. Snytkina Vol`ga
384. Soltan - court of Savetski district
385. Stankevиch S`vjatlana - 8 days court of Zavodski district
386. Stankevich -5 days court of Zavodski district
387. Stankevich Dzjanis (until trial in Zhodzina)
388. Staras`cina Natal`lja - 10 days court of Zavodski district
389. Stahovskaja N.P., 1983
390. Stoljar Anton -- 15 days (Frunzenski district court)
391. Stral`cow Ales` -- 10 days
392. Subach - court of Partyzaski district, judge Barysjonak -- 7 days
393. Sychugova Nadzeja -- 7 days (Zhodzina)
394. S`virydovich Anton -- Savecki court(167-1)
395. S`nitko Tacjana - fined 30 basic units, court Zavodski, judge Mardovich
396. S`cepancow Іvan
397. Sjargeenka Aksana - 4 days, court of Partyzanski district, judge Awdzejchyk
398. Sjargeew Paval - 10 days, court of Tsentralny district
399. Talapila Alena - 4 days, court of Partyzanski district, judge Trubnikaw
400. Talapila Jury -10 days, court of Pershamajski district
401. Talstoj -- 15 days, court of Pershamajski district
402. Tamilin Jan
403. Tamkovskaja S.И., 1985
404. Tarasava N. V. - 15 days, judge Pratasavickaja court of Kastrychnitski district
405. Tиtova L.S., 1986
406. Tkachjenka Kacjaryna
407. Trjezubaw Andrjej -- 15 days, in Akrestsin Street, tried by district court of Frunwenski district
408. Ulasenka T. - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich , court of Kastrychnitski district
409. Usenok Kanstancin -- 10 days
410. Famin Andrjej -- Zhodzina
411. Fin`kevich Paval
412. Furs Kacjaryna - 4 days, court of Partyzanski district, judge Barysjonak
413. Fursevich - 10 days, court of Savetski district
414. Hadnevich Vasil` - 10 days, went on hunder strike in Zhodzina, court of Pershamajski district
415. Handoga - court of Zavodski district
416. Harlanchuk Pavel -- Cjentral`ny court-- 10 days
417. Hilo Zinaida - 4 days (Zhodzina) court of Zavodski district
418. Hilo Mikalaj - 5 days (Zhodzina) court of Zavodski district
419. Hmjalewski Aljaksej -- 10 days
420. Hocin Andrjej - 15 days, court of Savetski district, judge Fjodarava
421. Cerah Sjargej - 7 days court of Zavodski district
422. Cimafeew Mikalaj -- court of Zavodski district
423. Cimkowskaja S`vjatlana - 7 days, Kastrychnicki district court, judge Germanovich
424. Citova A. S. - 10 days, judgePratasavickaja court of Kastrychnitski district
425. Cihanovich -- 10 days court of Partyzanski district, judge Pykina
426. Cukrjenka -- 5 days
427. Curupanaw Valadar - 10 days
428. Cjalegin -- 5 days (Zavodski)
429. Chamerka Aleg
430. Charnow -- 10 days (Perashmajski)
431. Charnocki Z`micer - 5 days court of Zavodski district
432. Chahowskaja Anstasija
433. Chueshova Julija - 4 days, court of Partyzanski district, judge Trubnikaw
434. Chyban Maksim court of Zavodski district
435. Chyzh Mikalaj
436. Chyzhyk Іna court of Zavodski district
437. Chyzhyk Mihas` - 5 days, court of Zavodski district
438. Chyrjejka Aljaksandr -- 15 days
439. Chjeban Maksim
440. Chjekmaraw court of Zavodski district
441. Chjehowskaja Nasta - 10 days, judge Pratasavickaja, court of Kastrychnitski district
442. Shablaew Uladzimir -- 15 days 167, 1 Savecki district court
443. Shablinski Іvan - 12 days (Akrjes`cina)
444. Shalajka Ruslan -- 5 days, to be released on March 29
445. Shandovich Tacjana
446. Shaterava A. V.- court of Partyzanski district, judgeBarysjonak
447. Shacikava Krys`cina - fined 20 basic units (mother of 2 children) court of Kastrychnitski district
448. Shjeedko Jawgen
449. Shlapik Jury - 10 days court of Savetski district
450. Shmelew Sjargej - 12 days court of Frunzenski district
451. Shmygaw Viktar -- 7 days ( courtZavodskaga rajonu
452. Shumaraw Andrjej -- 15 days
453. Shumovich Jury - 15 days court of Frunzenski district
454. Shcharbinski Іl`ja -- 10 days (Pershamajski)
455. Shchjelo Zoja
456. Shchjerbaw Raman - 11 days (Akrjes`cina)
457. Shjejko Dzjanis - 7 (10 -?) court of Zavodski district
458. Shyla Valera (Baranavichy) - (until trial kept in Zhodzina)
459. Shyla Іvan – released as underage
460. Shyla Іl`lja – released as underage
461. Shyla Wldazimir - 10 days, court - unknown
462. Shylo Valery (Baranavichy) - 15 days court of Zavodski district
463. Shymanski Іl`lja - 10 days, court of Zavodski district
464. Shysh Antanina - fined 150 basic units, court of Zavodski district
465. Shyshnewskaja Іna
466. Jurkow Andrjej - 15 days court of Frunzenski district
467. Juhnovich Dzjanis - 15 days court of Frunzenski district
468. Jushkevich Pavel - court of Frunzenski district
469. Jagoraw Jury - 10 days, court of Leninski district
470. Jazylec Aljaksej - 13 days court of Frunzenski district
471. Jakawlew Іgar --10 (Cjentral`ny district court)
472. Jakawcaw -- court of Partyzanski district, judge Pykina
473. Jakimenka Jawgen
474. Jakimovich Aljaksandr - 15 days
475. Jamajkina Zh. - fined 20 basic units, court of Partyzanski district, judge Trubnikaw
476. Jankevich Kacjaryna
477. Jarashjevich Іra
478. Jaskewski Danila -- 10 days (Partyzanski district court)
479. Jasjuk Alesja - fined 30 basic units, Frunzenski court
480. Jacko Vital` -- 10 days (Zavodski district court)

http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/03/28/sovest

Photo credit: yahoo.com via Charter97.org With thanks.

Lukashenka: "Citizens Should Be Partners Of Authorities, Not Suppliants"; He Promises That State Will Try To Provide People With New Quality Of Life

"Citizens should be partners of the authorities, rather than their suppliants, president Alexander Lukashenko said today during a meeting focusing on the issues of improving the state management system.

"We have promised to build a country for its people and clear the government system from red tape", he stressed. However, often government officials work as they used to denying the rigid instructions of the leadership of the country. "I warn you that no one will be left in his office if instructions will not be fulfilled in regard to making a normal country - comfortable for everyone to live in", the Belarusian leader said.

The president has stressed that the issue is "a matter of principal" for him; an issue which in terms of its urgency stands next to the industrial performance set for the five-year term. "One must not let us to reach the production targets but leave the country as it is – overburdened with red tape", Alexander Lukashenko explained.

He gave a task to toughen the control over implementation of the instructions to eradicate red tape. He gave an instruction to simplify the state management system and exclude any doubling of management functions.

According to the head of state, the record-high turnout at the presidential election showed "a stunning support" for the authorities. This is why the president deems it inadmissible to “expose to red tape people who give such immense support to the authorities"."

“We should provide people with a new quality of life”, the president said."

28.03.2006 14:18

Belarus Telegraph Agency "President: citizens should be partners of authorities, not suppliants" March 28, 2006

http://www.belta.by/en/main_news?id=85160











Oleg Kudryashov "Coronation Day", 1984, Drypoint, Watercolor, Charcoal
72 x 144 inches (4 panels 72 x 36 inches each)

Click on image for enlargement.

Image credit: (c) Oleg Kudryashov, Moscow, Russian Federation.
Courtesy Robert Brown Gallery, Washington, D.C.

European Human Rights Activist And Former Czech President Vaclav Havel Calls On Lukashenka To Resign; Lukashenka Coronation Delayed

"Prague- Czech ex-president Vaclav Havel condemned the rigging of the recent presidential elections in Belarus, but was denied entry by the Belarussian embassy when he wanted to personally hand over his protest, along with a call for Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko to step down. Havel had to cast his letter in the embassy's mail box.

On his arrival in front of the embassy, he was accompanied by senators Zdenek Barta (for the Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL), Jiri Oberfalzer (Civic Democrats, ODS) and deputy Tatana Fischerova (for the Freedom Union, US-DEU), who, along with other personalities, had founded the Civic Belarus association which is to monitor the situation and help the Belarussian opposition....

"We protest against imprisoning of demonstrators. This is an act of solidarity. From our own experience we know how important acts of solidarity are for those who are struggling for a freer regime," Havel, a former leading anti-communist dissident, told journalists.

He said it is a task of the new EU countries to stress that evil must be resisted from the very beginning instead of waiting for "catastrophic consequences." ...

The Free Belarus group has been founded, apart from Havel and the above MPs, by senator Karel Schwarzenberg, ex-senator Jan Ruml and deputy ombudsman Anna Sabatova. Their activities have been appreciated by Vladislav Yandyuk, representatives of the Belarussian exile in the Czech Republic.

"This is a signal to Belarussians that the basic and democratic values have a weight if struggled for by personalities such as Vaclav Havel," Yandyuk said."

CTK "Havel wants to protest at Belarussian embassy, is denied entry" ceskenoviny.cz
March 28, 2006

http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=180185

*
MINSK (Reuters) - Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose re-election sparked opposition protests, on Tuesday abruptly delayed his inauguration without explanation, but declared "all political battles" were over in his country.

Lukashenko had been scheduled to take the oath of office on Friday and some opposition activists had been gearing up to mark their disapproval by launching a sticker campaign depicting a skull on a black background.

But Nikolai Lozovik, secretary of the Central Election Commission, said a new date would be set and the ceremony might now take place in the first half of April. He gave no reason for the postponement.

"We are now working on the new date which we will inform you of later," Lukashenko's spokesman, Pavel Lyogky, told Reuters.

The re-election on March 19 of the veteran leader, whose Soviet-style polices have brought condemnation in the West, has been branded fraudulent by the United States, the European Union and international observers.

The delay in the ceremony struck many observers as strange. Belarus's state machinery, particularly when it relates to the president, runs with Soviet-style predictability....

"All political battles are over," official news agency BelTA quoted Lukashenko as telling ministers. "Despite some disturbances, we have put the country back in order, just as it used to be before." ...

Main opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich, defeated by Lukashenko in the election, denounced the trials as a farce.

Second opposition leader Alexander Kozulin, arrested at the weekend, could face six years in jail on malicious hooliganism charges. He has said through his lawyer that he would not give up fighting."

Dmitry Solovyov "Belarus leader delays inauguration" ReutersUK March 28, 2006

















Poster for the Minsk-based Belarus Free Theater, which must operate 'underground' due to lack of freedom of speech and assembly under Lukashenka's regime. Yesterday, the Free Theater appealed for international solidarity with the democratic protesters in Belarus.

Image Credit: Belarus Free Theater, Minsk via www. moscownews.com

The Belarusian Human Rights Center "Viasna" Releases List Of 194 Democratic Protesters Arrested Last Friday At Minsk's October/Freedom Square

3.45 A.M. MARCH 24, 2006 POLICE DESTROY PROTESTERS’ CAMP AT KASTRYCHNITSKAYA SQUARE

The detained are kept at Akrestsina jail and in the buses which stand in the yards of police departments and courts. The detained will be tried by Frunzenski, Maskouski, Kastrychnitski, Zavodzki, Savetski and Centralny courts. For information about your friends and family members please contact officer on duty of Minsk City Police Department: 227-02-21, 227-02-21 Telephone number of Akrestsina jail : 270-91-42 The list of the detained during the night of March 23-24 (UPDATED at 3.45 p.m. on March 24):

1. Zhenya Kudzianava
2. Katsia Zhalezka
3. Yana Laurenovich
4. Ina Dziadzich
5. Nasta Chekhouskaya
6. Zoya Shchelo
7. Tanya Vitkouskaya
8. Ina Klimatko
9. Ina Shyshneuskaya
10. Ina Ivanova
11. Ina Burak
12. Aksana Serhiyenka
13. Siarhei Matskoyts
14. Ales Mazur
15. Viktar Arlou
16. Nadzeya Babich
17. Maksim Znak
18. Zmitser Kunich
19. Viktar Hryshkevich
20. Mikhail Subach
21. Frederick Lavoie (Canadian citizen)
22. Artsiom Lyava
23. Pavel Savitski
24. Alaksei Adamovich
25. Paval Kharlamchuk
26. Aksana Rudovich
27. Natalla Narel
28. Mikhas Chyzhyk
29. Leanid Skarabahaty
30. Artsiom Skarabahaty
31. Zmitser Laptsionak
32. Daria Kastenka
33. Aleh Chamerka
34. Dzianis Ziukau
35. Dzianis Sheiko
36. Tatsiana Ulasenka
37. Viachaslau Siuchyk
38. Anastasia Darafeyeva
39. Ala Sidarovich
40. Alaksandar Konach
41. Alaksei Konash
42. Karyniukhin
43. Hudzilin
44. Katsiaryna Kletsauka
45. Vera Kupchanka
46. Mariusz Maszkevicz
47. Paval Siarheyeu
48. Tatsiana Snitka
49. Yulia Chuyeshova
50. Viatal Krasiachkou
51. Yauhen Zavesnetski
52. Tatsiana Hryshan
53. Timur Hazizau
54. Natalla Sechko
55. Alena Radyna
56. Yauhen Kazlou
57. Hanna Muradava
58. Andrei Sidarovich
59. Alaksandr Zalatar
60. Vadzim Smok
61. Anton Sasnouski
62. Valeria Sauchankava
63. Nadzeya Kavaleuskaya
64. Daria Zialinskaya
65. Iryna Murauyova
66. Nadzeya Sychuhova
67. Yauhen Shedko
68. Dzianis Vashkevich
69. Yauhen Kazlouski
70. Eduard Hlezin
71. Ina Habryelchyk
72. Bahdan Arlou
73. Yulian Haiduk
74. Zmitser Zhykh
75. Paval Finkevich
76. Zmitser Harachka
77. Tatsiana Sveryn
78. Yury Yahorau
79. Viktar Kireyeu
80. Anton Sasnouski
81. Yury Shumovich
82. Siarhei Pisarchyk
83. Kiryl Ksiandzou
84. Mikhail Naskou
85. Maria Dzivina
86. Vital Karbinski
87. Natalla Dzemchonak
88. Anastasia Chekhouskaya
89. Alaksandr Ruhayn
90. Andrei Baranau
91. Dzmitry Vensko
92. Ales Hizun
93. Katsiaryna Yankovich
94. Dzianis Yukhnovich
95. Paval Lukin
96. Alaksandar Lantukh
97. Tatsiana Laryna
98. Tatsiana Hrudzko
99. Tatsiana Vanina
100. Tatsiana Baranchuk
101. Yauhen Netkachou
102. Stsiapan Svidzerski
103. Zmitser Dashkevich
104. Yauhenia Karona, under age, released
105. Ruslan Matsveyeu under age, released
106. Palina Kurylovich, under age, released
107. Ksenia Yolkina under age, released
108. Mikhail Subach
109. Danila Inazemtsau
110. Ivan Benedyktau
111. Vadzim Zenko
112. Mikita Krasnou
113. Siarhei Latsinski
114. Dzianis Buinitski
115. Alaksandr Darahautsau
116. Alaksandr Kuushynau
117. Tatsiana Kuushynava
118. Siarhei Marchyk
119. Stas Pachobut
120. Artsiom Platonau under age, released
121. Stanislau Bahdanau
122. Zmitser Rahachou
123. Viktar Shmyhau
124. Paval Sinkevich
125. Tatsiana Shandovich
126. Uladzimir Zoryn
127. Mikita Zaleski
128. Ruslan Shalaika
129. Alaksandr Sinkevich
130. Nadzeya Sinkevich
131. Andrei Rasinski (reporter)
132. Siarhei Batuyeu
133. Viktar Eunik
134. Anton Liashchou
135. Andrei Kozel
136. Yury Pakhuchy
137. Ivan parshyn
138. Salodki
139. Yauhen Yakimenka
140. Andrei Adzintsou
141. Viktar Drynchyk
142. Paval Savistski
143. Siarhei Tserakh
144. Siarhei Ilkevich
145. Tanya Sazonik
146. Ira Yarashevich
147. Siarhei Bialevich
148. Maria Pilayeva
149. Aleh Hrubich
150. Yury Talapila
151. Siarhei Shmelou
152. Ivan Stsepantsou
153. Alaksei Lashuk
154. Mikola Ilyin
155. Aleh Dziachkou
156. Aleh Hrableuski
157. Haraniuk
158. Mikita Abramenka
159. Yury Bakur
160. Ihar Salavei
161. Siarhei Mikhiyonak
162. Peralyhin – 10 days of jail
163. Volha Snytkina
164. Hleb Kurtsou
165. Natalla Semchonak
166. Tsikhan Zolatau
167. Dzianis Karnou
168. Alena Ihnatseva (under age, released)
169. Ihar Padalinski
170. Kim Savatseyeu
171. Alaksandr Kazulin (NOT the candidate) – Partyzanski court, Judge Audzeichyk
172. Alaksandr Alyabyeu -- – Partyzanski court, Judge Audzeichyk
173. Subach – Partyzanski court, Judge Barysionak
174. Alaksei Koshal
175. Eutsikhau – Partyzanski court, Judge Barysionak
176. Yakautsau – Partyzanski court, Judge Pykina
177. Siarhei Verabyou
178. Abramenka – Partyzanski court, Judge Pykina
179. Tsikhanovich – Partyzanski court, Judge Pykina
180. Hran – Partyzanski court, Judge Trubnikau
181. Lysiuk – Partyzanski court, Judge Trubnikau, 10 days of jail
182. Rebeka – Partyzanski court, Judge Trubnikau
183. Leshchou – Partyzanski court, Judge Lebedz
184. Alaksei haradzinski
185. Maksim Korzh
186. Alaksei Koshal
187. Nadzeya Batura (zavodzki court) 5 days of jail
188. Andrei Zuyeu
189. Bildziuk
190. Artsiom Lukyanenka
191. Sviatlana Lavonava
192. Yauhen Ivanenka
193. Zmitser Kazlouski
194. Alaksei Karalchuk

Belarus Human Rights Center "Viasna" via The Being Had Times.

http://www.spring96.org/en/news/3356/

http://bhtimes.blogspot.com/2006/03/protest-is-smashed.html

Canada Joins The European Union And The United States In Diplomatically Isolating Belarus's Lukashenka Regime For Staging Rigged Election

OTTAWA (Reuters) - "Canada froze most of its relations with Belarus on Monday to protest against a recent presidential election in the former Soviet state that many observers said was deeply flawed.

Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said he had called in the Belarus ambassador "to voice Canada's condemnation of the absolute affront to democratic principles" of the March 19 election, which President Alexander Lukashenko won.

"Canada will limit its official relations with Belarussian authorities to the areas of consular relations, human rights and democratic development, and efforts related to international security such as the destruction of land mines," MacKay said in a statement.

"Canada will continue to work with its friends and allies ... to promote peaceful democratic change in Belarus and to protect the rights of its citizens." ...

Reuters "Canada limits ties with Belarus to protest vote" March 27, 2996 MetroNews.ca

http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_national.asp?id=139775

Free Theater, Belarus Appeals To Creative Unions, Theater Groups, And Theater Activists For International Solidarity With Belarusian Democrats

Appeal to creative unions, theatre groups, and theatre activists by the staff of the Free Theatre, Belarus

"In the course of the last few weeks, events have been taking place in Belarus that cannot leave indifferent not only people of this country, but also any citizen, wherever he or she might be, who puts the ideals of freedom first.

Belarusian people have been taking out to the streets of Minsk all these days demanding that fair, transparent, and honest elections be held. In response to these legitimate demands, the authorities employed batons, tear gas, smoke shells, and stun grenades. For the last two weeks, about a thousand people have been arrested and sentenced to various terms in jail, whereas dozens have been wounded and hundreds beaten.

Many theatre activists have been side by side with their fellow citizens. All that time, relieving each other, they were present at the makeshift camp on Oktyabrskaya Square in Minsk, participating in mass protests and trying to support their compatriots.

Theatre activists, just like hundreds of repressed Belarusians, could not avoid being victims of repressions of the authorities.

Valeriy Mazynskiy, director, founder of Free Stage Belarusian Drama Theatre, sentenced to ten days in jail;

Pavel Kharlanchuk, director and actor of National Gorky Drama Theatre, sentenced to ten days in jail;

Svetlana Sugako, musician, assistant director of Free Theatre, sentenced to seven days in jail;

Irina Yaroshevich, assistant director of Free Theatre, beaten by the police.

We appeal to theatre activists and representatives all over the world: express your solidarity!

Your support will help Belarusian theatre workers feel a part of the universal theatre process.

Your attention to the people who live and are forced to create in "Europe’s last dictatorship" will prompt governments of civilized countries to exert pressure on the current Belarusian regime and make it observe human rights.

Your solidarity will help avoid new victims on Belarus's way towards the family of democratic Europe.

Natalia Koliada, Managing Director, Free Theatre, Belarus
Nikolai Khalezin, Artistic Director, Free Theatre
Vladimir Scherban, Director, Free Theatre
Anna Solomianskaya, Actress
Yana Rusakevich, Actress
Olga Shantsyna, Actress
Pavel Rodak-Gorodnitski, Actor
Alexey Razmakhov, Actor
Denis Tarasenko, Actor
Oleg Sidorchik, Actor
Alexander Molchanov, Actor, National Drama Theatre named after J. Kupala
Marya Vavokhina, Manager
Pavel Pryazhko, Playwright
Konstantyn Steshik, Playwright

15:41, 27/03/2006

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http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/03/27/teatr

http://bybanner.com/

In Memorium, Writer Stanislaw Lem

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- "Stanislaw Lem, a science fiction writer ... died Monday in his native Poland, his secretary said. He was 84.

Lem died in a Krakow hospital from heart failure "connected to his old age," the secretary, Wojciech Zemek, told The Associated Press.

Lem was one of the most popular science fiction authors of recent decades to write in a language other than English, and his works were translated into more than 40 other languages. His books have sold 27 million copies.

His best-known work, "Solaris," was adapted into films by director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and by Steven Soderbergh in 2002....

His first important novel, "Hospital of the Transfiguration," was censored by communist authorities for eight years before its release in 1956 amid a thaw following the death of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Other works include "The Invincible," "The Cyberiad," "His Master's Voice," "The Star Diaries," "The Futurological Congress", and "Tales of Prix the Pilot."

Lem was born into a Polish Jewish family on Sept. 21, 1921, in Lviv, then a Polish city but now part of Ukraine.

His father was a doctor and he initially appeared set to follow in that path, taking up medical studies in Lviv before World War II.

After surviving the Nazi occupation, in part thanks to forged documents that concealed his Jewish background, Lem continued his medical studies in Krakow. Soon afterward, however, he took up writing science fiction.

Lem is survived by his wife and a son, Zemek said. Funeral arrangements were not disclosed."

Associated Press "Author of 'Solaris' Dies at 84" March 27, 2006 via Nytimes.com















Stanislaw Lem, 1921-2006

Photo credit: www.digilab.de With thanks.

Czech Republic Prime Minister And Former President Blast Lukashenko Commitment To Democracy; Plan To Open Czech Universities To Belarusian Students

... " [Czech Republic] Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek condemned the police crackdown of peaceful protest gatherings in no uncertain terms. The brutal violence used against the protestors, he said in a statement, had proved the regime of Alexander Lukashenko was afraid of democracy. Prime Minister Paroubek said what was happening in Minsk only confirmed that Czech efforts to criticise Belarus at the recent EU summit were justified.

Mr Paroubek's words echoed comments made on Friday by the former president and now human rights advocate Vaclav Havel. Mr Havel said the one thing the free world could do was isolate the Lukashenko regime by restricting all official contacts with Belarus. The international community must monitor developments in Belarus, he said, and also support the opposition. Vaclav Havel sent a personal letter of support to Alexander Milinkevich, the opposition presidential candidate who stood against Mr Lukashenko in the elections.

The immediate priority now for the Czech government is consolidating support for those who've fallen foul of the Lukashenko government in recent days. Many of those demonstrating in Minsk have been students, who now face expulsion from university. Mr Paroubek suggested that they might be allowed to finish their degrees in the Czech Republic [as currently offered by some Polish Universities and some Slovak Universities]. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said there were already 25 projects in existence to help opponents of the regime. Those projects could, he said, be intensified in the future."

Rob Cameron "Czechs offer concrete support for protestors targeted by Belarussian authorities" Prague Radio March 27, 2006

http://www.radio.cz/en/article/77269

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic:

http://www.mzv.cz/wwwo/mzv/default.asp?idj=2&amb=1













Many Belarusian students are currently involved in unpaid internships in democracy-building. Polish universities have already opened their doors to Belarusian students expelled from university by the Lukashenka regime, and the Czech Republic is now considering similar aid to young Belarusian political student-exiles.

Photo credit: CTK via Radio Prague With thanks.