Gasification, international relations, Myrni wins in Paris

From the Top

LUKASHENKA: I HAVEN’T CLEANED YOU OUT AND DECEIVED YOU
17:05, 04/11/2005

From Charter ‘97

Lukashenko: I haven’t cleaned you out or deceived you

"In case of my being elected I will do what I have been doing for 10 years. I would not ask anybody to vote for me, people would not make a mistake, if they would not be pressed,” A. Lukashenka said, visiting Hlusk district, Mahilyou region. “I haven’t cleaned you out or deceived you. Look, we have got out of such a morass in these 10 years. We were left without our last trousers after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and those who are eager to take power now, they have squandered everything on drinks then,” the Belarusian ruler noted, speaking with the dwellers of Hlusk.

“It does not matter whether you would elect me or not. There is no getting away from it, if you are to elect me, and if it suits you, I will get down to work. I will make an offer of my services, a programme, and say what I am going to do. The Belarusians are the wisest nation, and they will take in the situation”, the head of the state underlined.

A.Lukashenka said that Belarus, unlike many other countries, have not been receiving any help from outside. “Nobody has given us a kopek. We are not owing anything to anybody, and now we can calmly look into the eyes of the Europeans, Americans and Russians,” Lukashenka said.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka is sure of his victory in the imminent presidential elections in 2006, and states that his policy is to stay unchanged. As said by him, in case after elections “a new person would come into power, “The most important thing is that he would be conducting a humane policy”.

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO: INVESTMENTS IN GASIFICATION WILL ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT USD 1 BILLION

The launching of the gas supply facility in Glusk has completed the gasification of all regional centers of Mogilev oblast, president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko stated today in the course of a solemn ceremony on launching the gas supply facility in this settlement.

According to the president, the gas pipeline will further reach Starye Dorogi /Minsk oblast/ and the settlement of Oktiabrskiy /Gomel oblast/.

Speaking to residents of the Glusk region, Alexander Lukashenko underlined that natural gas does not only mean to increase the economy’s efficiency by means of reducing the cost of energy resources. “The most important thing is that gas is an ecologically-friendly fuel for the Chernobyl-affected regions”, the president noted.

The head of state underscored that interests of people, the intention to protect them from the Chernobyl consequences and improve the quality of life stimulated active gasification of towns and rural settlements.

Despite numerous difficulties, the leadership of the country started the intensive works on gasification of Belarus back in 1995. The focus was mainly on the most suffered regions of Mogilev, Gomel and Brest oblasts.

Gas pipelines to the towns of Starye Dorogi /Minsk oblast/ and Dokshitsy /Vitebsk oblast/ will be sent into service at the end of December, the president of Belarus was informed in the course of his working trip to Mogilev oblast.

Gas pipelines to the towns of Sharkovschina and Braslav /Vitebsk oblast/ and Oktiabskiy /Gomel oblast/ will be put into operation in the first half of 2006. The towns of Miory, Verkhnedvinsk, Gantsevichi and Rossony will be gasified by the end of 2007.

"Economic growth and dynamic social development of small towns is one of the most important priorities of the country’s leadership" added Lukashenko. "However, natural gas should be used more efficiently. It is especially important as Russian gas will be increasing in price since 2006. Talking today with residents of Glusk Alexander Lukashenko did not rule out that “Russia will raise the price for Belarus and all countries alike”.

The head of state noted that in the near future “Belarus will not raise prices on gas for the population”. “Yet, you should remember that this is not for free. Belarus has no natural gas of its own and has to export it. Therefore I ask you to appreciate this and use gas rationally”.

The head of state thanked the constructors who, ahead of the schedule, built almost 50 kilometers of gas pipeline to Glusk and 13 kilometers of distribution networks. According to him, the personnel of “Beltruboprovodstroi”, “Mogilevoblgaz”, “Gazspetsstroi” and other constructors for the wonderful present to residents of Glusk for the October holidays. The gas pipeline is geared with state-of-the-art systems of technological communication and telemechanics which would ensure uninterrupted gas supply. Gas will be delievered to the central boiler house, regional hospital, dairy plant, construction, agricultural and social facilities.

As the president stressed, in the near future natural gas will be supplied to almost a thousand of apartments and about 2 thousand houses. All these will make Glusk more comfortable and pleasant to live in.

According to the president, launching of a gas supply facility in Glusk would allow local producers – woodworking facility, dairy plant - to reduce the cost of products, increase profits and consequently the wages of the personnel. Alexander Lukashenko noted the necessity to modernize and expand local productions thus solving the problem of socioeconomic development of the region. The main thing is employment and creation of new working places.

The Belarusian leader underlined that the expenditures on gasification are really colossal.Investment in gasification of the country, considering all sources of financing, made up about USD 1 billion. Gasification works have been financed from the republican and local budgets, concern “Beltopgaz”, the company “Beltransgaz” and other economic entities.

“The main thing here is that while dealing with many difficulties we managed to find the resources and mobilize the people to implement the large-scale projects. We have borrowed no money and do not have to pay it back now”, the president noted.

Great progress has been made in extending the gas supply network in the country since 1995 when the works started. According to the president, over the period the country did more than over all previous years.


VLADIMIR KONOPLEV: BELARUS AND CHINA SHOW MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN ALL ISSUES

Chairman of the Chamber of Representatives Vladimir Konoplev met today with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Belarus Hu Hunbin.

The Belarusian spokesman stated that the sides show mutual understanding in all issues of the domestic and foreign policy. Vladimir Konoplev also wished Mr. Hu Hunbin to “become the first Chinese ambassador who will be able to reach USD 1 billion trade turnover between Belarus and China”.

In turn, Mr. Hu Hunbin stated that he would make every effort for the further strengthening of the bilateral relations including interparliamentary cooperation.

In August 2005 Mr. Hu Hunbin was appointed ambassador of China to Belarus. September 29 he presented credentials to president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.

In the near term Belarus and China are set to implement two important economic projects. The matter concerns the reconstruction of Minsk combined heat and power plant-2 and development in Belarus of the network of mobile communications, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Belarus Hu Hunbin told BelTA.

He noted that “these are big and expensive projects which would increase bilateral trade”. They were discussed in the course of the meeting between the ambassador and prime minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorskiy on November 4 in Minsk.

More so, the sides are studying other opportunities and avenues of cooperation. There are about 8 companies with participation of Belarusian capital in China. Twelve companies with Chinese investments have been registered in Belarus. The two sides intend to make headway in this direction. The eastern province of Shandong has registered the techno-parks; Belarusian companies work actively there and have gained good results. “We can expect that new Belarusian facilities will appear there”, the diplomat is sure.

Answering the questions of Belarusian journalists after the meeting with the prime minister, the Chinese ambassador noted that for the last seven years since he last visited Belarus the country has seen a lot of positive changes. “Central Asia has witnessed manifestations of terrorism and extremism. Several CIS countries went through difficult times of chaos and revolts. However, Belarus continues its sustainable development maintaining economic growth”, the Chinese diplomat underlined.

Mr. Hu Hunbin is sure that Belarus and its economy would gain further development. Therefore China and Belarus are ready to cooperate at a new level what would promote the development of the economies in the two countries, the head of the Chinese diplomatic mission considers.

HEAD OF STATE RECEIVES CREDENTIALS OF AMBASSADORS OF PORTUGAL, CROATIA, SWEDEN

Belarus has always stood up for stability in Europe, said the Head of State Alexander Lukashenko when he was receiving the credentials of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Portugal in Russia and Belarus (non-resident) Manuel Marcelo Monteiro Curto.

“Belarus has never posed a threat for the European continent and other countries of the world. We have not been destabilizing the situation and there will be no reverse motion on the part of Belarus. We have been active in fighting against destabilizing factors in Europe realizing that much depends on us, because we are situated in the geographical centre and in the centre of interests of the European continent, ” underscored Alexander Lukashenko when conversing with the diplomat.

The President added that here in Belarus one is well aware of the policy of Portugal with respect to our republic. “On your part, you were always taking very sound steps so that Belarus could really be a member of the European family,” noted the Belarusian leader.

The Head of Portugal’s diplomatic mission emphasized the need of extending and strengthening the economic cooperation between Belarus and Portugal.

Receiving the credentials of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Croatia in Russia and Belarus (non-resident) Bozo Kovacevic, Alexander Lukashenko reiterated that our republic is open for a dialogue with Croatia at any level and in any area of cooperation.

The President pointed to the dynamism in developing trade cooperation with Croatia and added that “if we lay a solid basis in our trade and economic relations, all the rest will add up.”

The Croatian diplomat pointed to considerable existing potentialities for establishing and developing various avenues of cooperation.

Belarus intends to borrow the experience gained by Sweden in the field of energy saving, energy management and use of renewable resources, said Alexander Lukashenko when he was receiving the credentials from Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden in Russia and Belarus (non-resident) Johan Molander.

According to the Belarusian leader, the Swedish experience is interesting in other areas too. “While yet a young President, I identified my goal in politics – namely, construction of the socially-targeted economy and I named the countries which could serve us as an example in this respect – they are the technological Germany and the socially targeted Sweden. We have done a lot along these lines,” underscored Alexander Lukashenko.

“As regards the basis of society oriented towards the traditional universal human principles, we have them no less than in Sweden. However, we had been a part of an immense country and today stability in this unstable world is very important for us. It is important for us to consolidate the successful trends in our economy. And we need stability and order to succeed in doing so,” the President added.

“I am thankful for Sweden’s balanced policy and the position it takes in Europe with respect to Belarus. The main thing is for us to conduct a dialogue between the States, to discuss problems and to draw appropriate conclusions. In no case must we hang a curtain between our States because it will not result in normal relationship. Thanks God, we do not have such a situation with Sweden,” said the President.

The Ambassador pointed out that quite a lot had been achieved in cooperation between Belarus and Sweden. According to Johan Molander “our countries do not have common borders but we are linked by many circumstances.” “Both nations attach great importance to social equality in the society. Stockholm is nearer in distance to Minsk than to the north of Sweden,” the diplomat added.

COLLEAGUES OF KILLED JOURNALIST THINK HIS DEATH CAN BE CONNECTED TO ARTICLE HE WAS PREPARING

According to the press-service of Belarusian Association of Journalists

The murder of Vasil Hrodnikau, journalist of the independent newspaper Narodnaia Volia, can be connected to his work on the article “Cheaters-3”, continuation of the series of publications where KGB and Ministry of Internal Affairs were mentioned. This is the version offered by Zgoda newspaper (# 39 of 29 October – 5 November) in Ruthless Death article. According to the periodical, two previous articles of this series were devoted to the flat frauds in the city of Maladziechna. V. Hrodnikau intended to come there and collect information for one more publication. According to Zgoda, the first page of the notebook that lied on his table contained the sketch of the article called “Booked office or Several straight-out questions to the republic’s president and the services subordinated to him”.

The authors of Ruthless Death article also doubt the arguments of the investigators who still haven’t brought a criminal case on the fact of Hrodnikau’s death because the house was allegedly closed from the inside and the windows weren’t broken.

-- The internal window of the kitchen, where the journalist was found, was damaged. There’s a large crack on it, which his relatives didn’t see before. The journalists who visited the place of the murder also point at many other details: broken stool with bloodstains on its leg and seat: scattered grain and matches (many of which are burnt): stripes of blood in different parts of the house, etc.

-- It looks as if somebody else was present there. In any case it’s necessary to bring a case, -- said the former investigator of procurator’s office Alieh Volchak to Zgoda newspaper.

UNION OF JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITIES IN BELARUS CONDEMNS IRANIAN PRESIDENT`S ANTI-ISRAELI STATEMENT
18:00, 04/11/2005

From Charter ‘97

The Union of Jewish Organizations and Communities in Belarus on November 3 handed Abdolhamid Fekri, the Iranian ambassador to Belarus, a letter in connection with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad`s recent anti-Isreali statement.

The letter, signed by the chairman of the Union, Leonid Levin, says, "As official representatives of the Jewish community of Belarus, we express our protest against and discontent with the recent call by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to `wipe Israel off the map.` Now that Arabs and Muslims throughout the world have started to fundamentally revise their attitude toward Israel, and Israel and Palestine have finally come to resuming a much-promising dialogue, such irresponsible calls for destroying Israel, which are in violation of the UN Charter, make your state an alien in the family of the world`s nations."

The Union calls on the Iranian president to retract his statement and stop Iran`s active support of international terrorism.

BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES CANNOT MAKE FRIENDS WITH POLAND WITHOUT DEMOCRATIZATION

17:56, 04/11/2005, BelaPAN

The Polish election saga, which was also closely observed by the politically active citizens in Belarus, is finally over. In general, everything ended in accordance with earlier forecasts, as right-wing forces celebrated their victory. To be more exact, it was one force, the conservative Law and Justice, while the liberal Civic Platform, contrary to sociological predictions, finished the race as the second largest in the parliament and did not get the presidential post.

There will be now of course a host of interpretations why the Poles chose who they chose and how the country`s policies, both domestic and foreign, may change. Quite understandably, Poland`s new foreign policy is of particular interest for Belarusian elites, especially if one takes into account the fact that the present relations between Minsk and Warsaw leave much to be desired.

Generally speaking, the relationship between Belarus and Poland is going to be defined in three planes: bilateral contacts, Poland`s policy as an EU member and influence of Russia.

Back three years ago the new elected president Lech Kaczynski said in one interview that he had a special attitude to Belarus, because his father worked as a railway worker in Baranavichy before World War II. This Belarusian city was located on a territory that belonged to Poland before 1939.

An overparticular analyst may of course find a double sense in his "special attitude," that is, a hint at being sorry for the lost land in the east. However, what has been done by Kaczynski in his post as Warsaw`s mayor shows that he has a correct understanding of the historical situation. In particular, he started to establish the so-called Belarusian House, an independent center of education and culture, intended to open up Belarus and its elite to the West.

In addition, his party Law and Justice has a cooperation agreement with the Belarusian Popular Front, the political party known for its irreconcilable position with regard to Belarusian sovereignty. Kaczynsky also spoke about the need for a tougher stance in relations with Minsk during his election campaign. He said he was prepared to go much further than simply barring government-installed leaders of the Union of Belarusian Poles from entering Poland. However, he did not specify what exactly he was ready to do. But anyway, things said during election campaigns often differ from things done after coming to power.

What is more, the Polish leadership does not really have a lot of tools to influence the Belarusian authorities. This can be seen in the fact that the Polish ambassador had to return to Minsk after a short period of recall caused by the two countries` conflict over the Union of Belarusian Poles.

Economic sanctions could be theoretically an addition to the visa ban. However, it is quite obvious now that the West is not really eager to resort to this serious weapon. First of all, such sanctions can worsen living standards of a large part of the Belarusian population, and secondly, they could bring about financial losses for the countries that impose them. And Belarusian-Polish trade is not at all bad now.

So, what remains is indirect influence, for example, broadcasting to Belarus. And here support from the European Union is needed.

It is not yet clear how Warsaw is going to build its relations with Brussels, because Kaczynski expressed a lot of criticism toward EU officials and institutions during his campaigning, particularly, with regard to a project of running a North European gas pipeline bypassing Poland.

One can only hope now that the pre-election rhetoric does not complicate prospects for Warsaw`s involvement in a number of projects aimed at democratizing Belarus. Losing Polish territory as a location for launching independent broadcasting to Belarus would make such broadcasting almost useless.
Full Text

CUBA FINDS LINKS WITH BELARUS IN AGRICULTURE SPHERE PROMISING

Rrom the NLIPRB

Cuba considers that the agricultural sphere is one of the most promising guidelines in developing bilateral relations with Belarus. Cuba uses Belarusian agricultural equipment bought in the Soviet Union period. This year, after a many-year break, the sides have signed contracts on Belarusian equipment deliveries.

As a BelTA correspondent was told by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to Belarus Omar Medina Kintero, the Cuban side intends to use the Belarusian harvesters and trucks in the future. In this respect the issue on the development of their service network in Cuba is of special importance.
The Cuban ambassador underlined that Belarusian equipment is sent to important branches of the country’s economy including the mining one. As Cuba has drought problems, Belarusian equipment makes long distances transporting water. Therefore the quality of the equipment highly matters.
This year Belarus plans to export to Cuba some 200 tractors “Belarus”, 250 “MAZ” engines and 74 cabs for “MAZ” equipment.


Sports Briefs

MAX MIRNYI OF BELARUS ADVANCES INTO SECOND ROUND OF BNP PARIBAS MASTERS PARIS

Max Mirnyi defeated Nicolas Massu from Chili in straight sets 6:2, 6:3 in the first round of the BNP Paribas Masters Paris, France. In the second round the Belarusian will play David Ferrero from Spain.



*BELARUSIANS MEDAL AT OPEN JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SWEDEN

Belarusian judokas won four medals at the, BelTA has been told in the ministry of sport and tourism. Yekaterina Razumova won gold in the 48kg category having defeated Russia’s Anna Khramtsova in the finals. The bronze medals went to Nikolai Barkovskiy (81kg category),

*SPEED SKATER SVETLANA RADKOVICH OF BELARUS WINS OLYMPIC BERTH

Svetlana Radkovich of Belarus passed the qualifications to take part in the 20th Olympic Games in Torino. As spokesman for the National Olympic Committee of Belarus Piotr Riabukhin told BelTA, Svetlana Radkovich finished the 1000m Heat with the result of 1 minute 20,10 seconds meeting the qualification standard B.



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