Charter ‘97 reports that “European Belarus” performed a campaign promoting the oppositional red-and-white flag on October 29.

One hundred flags where hung along central streets in Minsk and created a lot of attention for the hour that they where allowed to hang there.

The activists was arrested and sentenced to heavy fines, however not for actually hanging the flags themselves (since it is not against any Belarusian law) but for “petty hooliganism”.

Yesterday the exhibition Art Against Dictatorship had its opening in Oslo, Norway.

The exhibition is made by artists Aleksander Pushkin, Yelena Sarikas and Aleksandr Shaternik, and the first attended the opening in Oslo.

In addition to the exhibition Liberal Youth of Norway (NUV) will have serveral other activities relating to Belarus in the coming days.

Links related to Art Against Dictatorship in Oslo:

http://www.ungevenstre.no/arkiv/artikler/kunst-mot-diktatur/

http://www.amnestyfilmfestival.nl/film/2144

Now that all delegates from IFLRY has returned safely we can report that a succesful fact-finding mission was made to Belarus in October.

We had four days full of meetings and sightseeing in the country often called the “Last Dictatorship of Europe”, and had the chance to hear about and even experience a bit of what challenges the political opposition here faces.

A report, in the form of an article, will be published in Libel, in connection with the IFLRY General Assembly in the Hague, mid-November.

Young Liberals of Norway (in Norwegian) made a statement on Eurovision winner Alexander Rybak’s visit and apparent tribute to Belarus in its current form.

Rybak who was born in Belarus, but brought up in Norway won the Eurovision Song Contest this year and was initially cheered on by most of Belarusian diaspora.

However, in May Rybak went to Belarus and performed for the dictator in the Presidential palace, and has recieved great critique for not putting the violations against human rights in his birthcountry on the agenda but instead supporting the current regime.

Young Liberals of Norway critiques Rybak for posting a picture of him and Lukashenko where Rybak is smiling. With the picture a statement was also posted where Rybak is claiming: “because of him (Lukashenko) Minsk is the cleanest and most beautiful city in Europe.”

Also the Secretary General of Amnesty Norway John Peder Egenaes says in Dagbladet.no (Norwegian), that Rybak’s statement promotes the dictator despite proof of human rights violations in Belarus.

In new Swedish dictionaries one can finally see that Belarus is called Belarus. Earlier it has been known as Vitryssland (Whiterussia) in Sweden but there has been an immense work from liberals to change the name.

Belarus is still officially knwon as Vitryssland in Sweden, but after the victory with dictionaries there is great hope for the government to make if final.

Swedish public service (read Swedish Radio) has decided to shut down the biweekly radio shows in Belarusian from 1 September this year.

This is the state radio in a country that allegedly promotes democracy and human rights in Belarus, and on top of all just entered their six months presidency for the EU.

According to an article in ekuriren.se Ingemar Löfgren, editor-in-chief of SR International claims that the Swedish transmissions in Belarusian can be replaced by Russian radio since the Belarusians speak and understand Russian as well.  The authors of the article deems  this statement to be very ignorant considering the importance of the Belarusian language for the opposition in Belarus.

Young Front activist Artsyom Dubski, who was arrested on February 13 this year when returning to Belarus from exile in Ukraine to participate in a rally on February 14, was sentenced to one year of imprisonment.

This has led the Charter ‘97 Press Center to conclude that the freedoms of the Belarusian people, on the contrary to what EU might want to think, still are repressed. It is also obvious that the writers of the article do not have the same belief in todays attempts at diplomacy as the European politicians.

Two days ago, on 3 July, Belarusians celebrated that is was 65 years since the liberation of Minsk from the Nazis. However, as the Charter ´97 Press Center states, there is a dispute around the calling of the 3 July the Independence Day for Belarus, which is something proclaimed by Lukashenka. 

There was still fighting going on after the 3 July, and on 27 July 1944 the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Belarus was signed and is thus be considered the real Independence Day by some.

The controversy regarding three jailed entrepreneurs in Belarus keeps on.

Charter ´97 Press Center reports that activists from European Belarus has been brought to court charged with disorderly conduct after hanging up a banner saying: “Freedom to Autukovich”.

Apparently the activists have now been charged with sham offenses with the help of a sham witness. 

Mikalai Autukovich is currently on hunger strike since April 16, demanding that his case gets tried fairly or that he is released.

The  Charter ´97 News Center reports that work in cooperation between the Central Election Commission of Belarus and OSCE has been done, to try and change the electoral laws in the country.

However, the chairwoman of the CEC claims that there will be no great changes. “Only some electorial technologies and organizational issues will be changed,” says chairwoman Lydzia Yarmoshyna.

The proposal which is the outcome of the talks betwen the CEC and the OSCE is to contain some suggestions for making the campaigning easier for all candidates, such as permission to fund any candidate and easier access to mass events.

However, Yarmoshyna also says that the proposal is to be sent to the ministries of Belarus and no actual draft of a new law will be started until there is an order to do so.