Another blow was delivered to Lukashenka from Canada. This country stopped significant portion of its diplomatic relationships with Belarus. This move is explained as a protest against actions taken by Belarusian authorities during the presidential elections that took place last week. Earlier, Canada condemned brutal suppression of peaceful demonstrations by Belarusian authorities.

For some reason, Alexander Lukashenka postponed a ceremony of inauguration earlier scheduled on March 31. Why did he do that is not clear and no official explanation was offered. But it seems pretty strange because for the past 8 days Lukashenka has not been seen on TV screens or public. Official Belarusian mass media do not offer any reports about Lukashenka’s whereabouts. Yep, it is like he disappeared and nobody knows where and when he will resurface. Russian radio station “Echo of Moscow” discussed this topic and according to it, the last time when journalists saw Lukashenka he looked pretty bad. Among many things they stressed that Lukashenka looked tired and “disoriented in times in space”.

Oleg Volchek, a close friend of Alexander Kozulin, said that Kozulin has not been charged by Belarusian authorities yet. According to Volchek, Igor Rynkevich, an attorney for Kozulin will meet with his Kozulin who is being held in a jail in Zhodino today. Volchek also confirmed that Kozulin was beaten up by police, has multiple injuries yet his spirits are high.

In Rogachev, a town in Gomel district, in a course of election campaign was administratively charged family of Zhelinskikh. Head of a family and public activist for Alexander Milinkevich, Victor zhelinsky planned to observe election at one voting site in Rogachev. On March 18, he got a phone call inviting him for an accreditation as an official observer. When he was stepping out of his house, a passing by man threw a bottle of beer in a direction of Zhelinsky and immediately accused him of knocking out a bottle from his hands. Momentarily police was there and arrested Zhilinsky for cursing in a public place and put him behind the bars for 7 days with administrative charges. His wife Svetlana and daughter Ekaterina went to Minsk on March 19 to join protesters at the October Square. They were arrested on March 24 during a raid on the Camp-town. Svetlana got 7 days of an administrative arrest while charges and verdict against Ekaterina are not know yet.

A former President, Vaclav Gavel and many other Czech politicians went to the Belarusian embassy in Czech Republic to present officials with a petition. Vaclav Gavel was not allowed on a territory of the Embassy and nobody from officials bothered to come down and talk with him. A clerk from the Embassy advised Gavel to put the petition into a box for correspondence and that’s what Vaclav Gavel did.

In St-Petersburg, a group of Russian liberals and anarchists organized a graffiti-attack on Belarusian Consulate. They did so in support of people who protested against Lukashenka’s regime in Belarus. Some graffiti read: Freedom to political prisoners, Shame, “Lukashenka is Nation’s Butcher”

In the special detention center in Akrestsin Street one could see the only almost happy man: after three days a Minsk dweller found his family! Since March 25 he was looking for his wife and two sons.

The elder son, Dzmitry Paulenka, was arrested on March 24 during the disbanding of a tent camp on October Square in Minsk. The parents were calling to all police departments, hospitals, and detention centers of Minsk. They haven’t given information about Dzmitry’s whereabouts. On the next day mother, Tatsyana Paulenka and her younger son, Alyaxandr, took some food, warms clothes, and went to the pre-trial detention center in Akrestsin Street. They heard that that all political prisoners are taken to that detention center.

Last time Paulenka heard the voice of his wife on March 25 in the afternoon. She only told that she is arrested right near the prison walls together with younger son…

For three days policemen refused to answer, where Tatsyana, Dzmitry and Alyaxandr Paulenki were kept. The man stricken with grief was ignored by policemen, judges, guards of detention centers. They refused to obey the law and provide information, or simply held the man who cannot find all his family.

As it turned out only today, the three members of the Paulenka family are in prison. Tatsyana is sentenced to 15 days of arrest, Dzmitry – to 15 days of arrest, and Alyaksandr – to 10 days of arrest.

9 district courts of Minsk have been trying the detained participants of the protest on October Square and of the demonstration on March 25. 293 persons were sentenced to an administrative arrest. But relatives and friends of the detainees still do not have information about them. The administration of detention centers refuse to tell the names of prisoners. Since 5 a.m. people are standing in queues near the doors of the special detention center in Akrestsin Street and of other detention centers, in an attempt to deliver them food and warm clothes. The situation is monstrous: parents do not know exactly, where their children are. 5 days have passed since their arrest.

charter97.org

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 28th, 2006 at 10:13 am and is filed under Free Belarus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.