--Brother Slavs: Russia, Belarus, Yugoslavia--
PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE RUSSIA-BELARUS UNION
On November 2 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Russia and Belarus opened its 9th session in Yaroslavl, Russia. The deputies of the parliaments of Belarus and Russia voted to transform the Parliamentary Assembly into the Union's single representative and legislative body of power. The union's parliament will adopt laws for the Union according to the powers given to it by the member states. The parliament will consist of two chambers, the Council of the Union [upper chamber] and the Council of Representatives [lower chamber]. The upper chamber will include deputies from the Russian Federal Council and the Belarusian National Assembly. The lower chamber, the Council of Representatives, will be elected on the basis of general, direct and equal suffrage, with 25 deputies from Belarus and 75 deputies from Russia. The first elections to the union's parliament will probably coincide with the elections to the Russian and Belarusian parliaments.
The same day parliamentarians approved a draft law on common citizenship of the Union. The law determines the legal status of the union's citizens and stipulates that the citizens of the member states will have equal legal status and will not be considered as foreigners on each other's territory. A person who has acquired Belarusian or Russian citizenship automatically becomes a citizen of the union.
On November 3 parliamentarians approved as a basis for further discussion the draft concept of border policy of the Union of Belarus and Russia. The concept has been worked out on the basis of a treaty between Russia and Belarus and reflects the idea of national security for the two countries. Deputies of the two parliaments also adopted in principle on November 3 the draft legislation "On the Property of the Union of Belarus and Russia." This normative act provides conditions for the implementation of joint programs of financial, industrial and other economic groups. (ITAR-TASS, November 3)
RUSSIA AND BELARUS COORDINATES RESPONSES TO NATO
Russia and Belarus are adjusting their operational plans to NATO expansion and a certain cooling of relations with the block, also regarding the situation with Kosovo, Colonel-General Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the main operational agency of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, told reporters on November 4. He said that joint actions of the Russian and Belarusian armed forces in the framework of their Union attest to this adjustment. Joint training of the armed forces of the two countries to protect their national interests is being perfected. A delegation of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces arrived at the Russian Defense Ministry on November 4 to work out practical measures toward the implementation of accords reached in the framework of the Union of Belarus and Russia in the defense area, Baluyevsky said. "I hope our joint actions with Belarus will cool some hot heads in the North Atlantic Alliance," Baluyevsky said. (ITAR-TASS, November 4)
RUSSIA, BELARUS AGREE ON CONCERTED EURO-STRATEGY
Russia and Belarus are interested in coordinating their steps concerning European integration, Ivan Antonovich, Belarusian Foreign Minister, and Alexander Avdeyev, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, agreed at their talks in Minsk on October 30. Avdeyev told Interfax that his talks with Antonovich centered on pan-European integration, plans for NATO expansion eastward and the European security system in the 21st century. On the prospects for the enlargement of the European Union, Avdeyev said that neither Russia nor Belarus could afford to ignore the issue because the problem may seriously influence the political and the economic situation in Europe. The two allies should develop their relations with Western Europe on the basis of the OSCE principles, he said. Moscow and Minsk are interested in expanding economic cooperation with the European Union and developing confidence-building measures in Europe, Avdeyev said. Such steps will contribute to stability on the continent, he added. (Interfax, October 30)
SERBIA DEPUTY PM SEEKS UNION WITH RUSSIA, BELARUS
Vojislav Seselj, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister, appealed on November 2 to his countrymen to join a union with the fellow Slavic states of Russia and Belarus. Seselj, head of the Serbian Radical Party, attended a meeting of parliamentarians from Belarus and Russia. The two former Soviet republics have formed a loose customs union intended as a platform for political and economic integration. "The West actively supports all our enemies. Its real target is Russia. Belarus, with its unshakable President Alexander Lukashenko, is also a thorn in their side," Seselj said. Seselj expressed hope that all Slavic peoples will understand the need for unity, and that Ukraine would join the union of Russia, Serbia and Belarus. "The hearts of our peoples are beating in unison. Our unity now needs a legislative and political form," he said. (Reuters, November 3)
UKRAINE DRAWS CLOSER TO THE BELARUS-RUSSIA UNION?
Sergei Kiyashko, Ukrainian parliamentary who coordinates the inter-faction alliance entitled "Cooperation of the Sovereign Slav States", told the ninth session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Russia and Belarus in Yaroslavl on November 3 that Ukraine had begun to draw closer to the Union of the two Slav republics. "The process of rapprochement between Ukraine and the Union of Belarus and Russia has begun," Kiyashko declared. "We need to be together," the Ukrainian parliamentarian said in his address to the session of the Parliamentary Union of Russia and Belarus. (ITAR-TASS, November 3)
BLDP INITIATES REFERENDUM ON CONFEDERATION
Activists of the Belarusian Liberal Democratic Party have applied for the registration of an initiative group for holding a nation-wide referendum. The plebiscite's question will be "Do you agree to the formation of a confederation of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation?" The group comprises 1,117 people. They represent almost all the administrative regions of Belarus, sources at the party press service told ITAR-TASS. As soon as the group is registered, it will start to collect the 450,000 signatures necessary to hold the referendum. The final say on the plebiscite will belong to President Alexander Lukashenko. (ITAR-TASS, November 3)
... OTHERS REMAIN SKEPTICAL
Belarus opposition representatives are quite skeptical about the initiative put forward by the Belarusian Liberal Democratic Party to create an initiative group on holding a nation-wide referendum to establishing a Belarus-Russian confederation. According to Nikolai Statkevich, leader of Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada), this initiative should be regarded as "another attempt to draw attention to the activities of this scandalous organization." Gennady Karpenko said that such statements keep appearing because "leaders of some parties are mistaken in thinking that their efficiency and influence depend on outrageous statements."
Sergei Kalyakin, the leader of Belarusian Party of Communists, believes that an attempt to hold a national referendum in Belarus on unification of Russia and Belarus is doomed to failure. In his opinion, "it does not make sense to hold another referendum as the previous referenda agenda has not been carried out". He said that the referendum proposal does not stipulate clearly how the unification will be implemented. Moreover, a legitimate referendum is possible only when the freedom of expression and unhindered access to media is granted. (Radio 101.2, November 6)
LUKASHENKO BLAMES RUSSIAN LIBERALS
Alexander Lukashenko accused prominent Russian pro-reform politicians
Gregory Yavlinsky, Yegor Gaidar and Anatoly Chubais of creating conditions for
the flourishing of corruption in Russia. On November 2, he admitted the existence of corruption in both Russia and Belarus in an interview to Interfax. He said that he could not silently "watch people creating a basis for destruction of the Primakov's government." Yavlinsky's recent claims of corruption in Russia's top echelons "are a mechanism of opposing the policy of the new Russian government," Lukashenko said. Lukashenko suggested that Yavlinsky's Yabloko movement is itself corrupted. "[Yabloko] political councils hold three day sessions, renting suburban luxurious homes. Where do they get the money? Do you think Yabloko is earning it? No. The money is given by the swindlers who stand behind them," Lukashenko said. (Interfax, November 2)
CONGRESS OF THE UNION OF COMMUNIST PARTIES
The role and place of Communist parties in present-day society and problems of uniting the Communists of CIS countries were the focus of attention at the 31st congress of the Union of Communist Parties. The congress, which took place at the Izmailovo cinema and concert hall, closed on November 1. Along with Russian Communists, the congress was attended by representatives of the former Soviet Union Republics and by Communists from a number of European and Southeast Asian countries. (ITAR-TASS, November 1)
LEFT-WINGERS PROTEST AGAINST US "INTERFERENCE" IN KOSOVO
On October 30, representatives of Belarusian left-wing groups held another picket near the US embassy in Belarus, protesting "against US interference in Yugoslavia's internal affairs in the settlement of the Kosovo problem." The action was staged by the Minsk city branches of the Communist Party of Belarus, the Movement for Social Progress and Justice, the Slav Assembly Belaya Rus, the Belarusian Patriotic Party and the Belarusian Patriotic Youth League. An appeal to the President and Congress of the United States was handed to a US embassy official. (Belapan, October 30)
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--Diplomacy--
LUKASHENKO CONCERNED ABOUT POSITIVE INTERNATIONAL IMAGE
President's Administration approved a program of informational support to the foreign political and trade activities of Belarus in 1999. The program envisages increasing the broadcasting by the Mir Interstate Television and Radio Company, launching a TV/Radio Broadcasting Organization of the Russia- Belarus Union, expanding broadcasting of Belarusian Radio to the Russian regions, informing the Russian regions of the situation in Belarus, a more efficient use of Internet, etc. The program also notes that ensuring a highly-professional, targeted and efficient foreign political propaganda to create a positive international image of this country is the government's most important function. (Radio 101.2, November 4)
OSCE MISSION HOLDS MEETING AT THE BELARUS' FOREIGN MINISTRY
The meeting of the Inter-Ministry Commission and OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group was held at the Belarus Foreign Ministry on November 2. The Belarusian side was headed by Foreign Minister Ivan Antonovich; the OSCE delegation was headed by Ambassador Hans-George Wiek. He informed participants of the meeting on preliminary results of the OSCE group operations in Belarus. During the exchange of opinions the sides discussed problems of implementing the laws as well as the ways concerning much-needed improvements in the human rights field. Despite a number of significant differences in assessing the political situation in this country, both sides expressed their confidence that a constructive dialogue between Belarus and OSCE is necessary. (Radio 101.2, November 4)
COUNCIL OF EUROPE SEEKS TO RENEW BELARUS DIALOGUE
The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly is looking to see whether the time is right for a rapprochement with hard-line Belarus, officials said on November 6. "The goal of our mission is to determine whether any grounds have appeared for the start of a dialogue between the countries of the European Union and Belarus," Robert Antretter, the head of the mission, told a news conference. "The arrival of our mission does not in any way mean discrimination against the country, but on the contrary expresses the interest of European states in developing democratic processes." (Reuters, November 6)
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