One million young Belarusians want to leave Belarus

70% of Belarusian youth ready to emigrate from Belarus.
Such a statement was made by Professor Aleh Manaeu, Doctor of Sociology, Radio Svaboda informs.
As said by Manaeu, the prime factor of the high level of migration sentiments of the Belarusian youth is absence or lack of good prospects in Belarus. Unlike persons of an older age, who live from day to day, it is natural for the young to think about what is to happen in 3, 5 or 10 years. That is why their intention to leave the country for the place where there are more prospects, looks understandable.
It is interesting to compare the today’s vision of their prospects by the young with what happened before. As noted by Manaeu, in 1994 the young looked to the future with optimism, prospects seemed to be much wider. Ynoug people pinned their hopes for the future on their life in the independent country in the conditions of democracy and market economy, they believed that Belarus was going to choose the European path of development and was to reach the Western standards of living soon.
“The public sentiment was like this in general,” Manaeu said. “For the young sky was the limit as far as prospects were concerned, especially as compared to what happened 40 years ago, in 1974.”
“If we make the same comparison, between 2014 and 1994, the tendency will be the opposite as compared to the previous period. In 1994 prospects were growing, becoming more profound, sky was the limit (at least for many young people), today everything is the opposite. I know that as a university professor, who communicates with students, and as a scientist, who studies the society, and the same could be said judging by opinion polls,” Manaeu noted.
He explains that the future prospects as such are a maze. Good prospects for the young people have a material component (pay rate), and political one (the level of civil and political freedoms), and a legal component (for example, how stable the legal frame for conducting business is).
Meanwhile one should understand that the desire to go abroad does not mean the person would really leave Belarus. Actually, migration moods of Belarusian citizens rarely transform into a real migration, Manaeu said.
He attracts attention to the fact that two thirds of the young people who are ready to leave the country according to the results of opinion polls amount to approximately 1 million. But in realty no more than 1-3 thousands of young people leave Belarus annually. Thus, the real level of migration is a drop in an ocean as compared to the number of those who declare their desire to move abroad.
Manau stresses that aspirations relating the countries to which young Belarusians want to migrate, are not realized as well. According to opinion polls, most Belarusians dream to leave for the West – Germany, Poland or the US. But those who actually emigrate, mostly go to Russia.
As said by Manaeu, in reality the migration balance in Belarus is positive, that is, more people immigrate into the country than leave the country. The professor stresses however that statements that the official statistics downplays the level of migration is absurdity. In practice, the figures of the Interior Affairs Ministry and the Statistics Committee of Belarus correspond to reality.
According to the official statistics of Interior Affairs Ministry, in 2013 5,715 citizens of all ages left Belarus to work abroad. 1,075 persons more left Belarus in the first quarter of 2014. The majority of them go to work to Russia.

Kilde:  http://charter97.org/en/news/2014/7/17/107344/

Plane shot down over Donbas: 295 killed

The aircraft on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur downed in Donetsk region, in east Ukraine.
Boeing 777 of Malaysian Airlines downed to earth on the territory of Ukraine not far from the Russian border. “Interfax-Ukraine” information agency was told about that on Thursday, July 17 by a source in aviation circles.
“A Malaysia Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, started a push-down 50 kilometres before entering the air space of Russia. Later it was found burning on the ground at te territory of Ukraine,” the source said.
According to the source, the plane had 280 passengers and 15 crew on board.
“It fell in the area of the settlement of Hrabovo,” a source of “UKrainskaya Pravda” news outlet informs.
Later Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, confirmed this information and told that the plane had been shot down by rebels. “Just a moment ago a passenger plane on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam was shot down near the town on Torez by terrorists operating a Buk surface-to-air missile system… 280 passengers and 15 crew members are killed,” he informed.
Ukraerorukh enterprise states that they know about this situation, however they offered to ask comments from the State Aviation Service. It is informed there that they cannot confirm or refute the report.
It should be stressed that rebels in Donetsk region have antiaircraft defense systems which can hit planes at high altitudes. It has been said by a spokesperson of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Anatoly Lysenko.
“There are reports that some defense systems able to shoot down planes at high altitudes moved through the territory of Ukraine. There was a Buk medium-range surface-to-air missile systems surface- among them. One of the columns moved through Luhansk,” he said.

Kilde:  http://charter97.org/en/news/2014/7/17/107383/

MALAYSIA AIRLINES BOEING 777 SHOT DOWN in Ukraine 295 people DEAD ! 17 July 2014 

 

 

Ukrainians mock Merkel on social media for being chummy with Putin

Ukrainians are expressing their outrage with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for looking very friendly while meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is waging war against Ukraine, during the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro on July 13.
 The two world leaders appeared to be enjoying each other’s company, chatting and laughing together during the match. At the same time, Ukrainian soldiers were fighting and dying while trying to defend the nation against Kremlin-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
Neither of the leaders’ press offices made readouts of their conversation available to the public.
Absent the detail, Ukrainians who read the body language of the two leaders became angry and lashed out at the German chancellor on her official Facebook page with tens of thousands of comments.
“Danke, Frau Ribbentrop,” or “Thank you, Miss Ribbentrop,” many wrote to Merkel, likening her to Joachim von Ribbentrop, the Nazi foreign minister and co-author with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of Aug. 23, 1939. The agreement divided Eastern Europe into either Nazi or Soviet spheres of influence.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians and their supporters worldwide began taunting Merkel immediately after photographs of her laughing with Putin were made public. Enterprising internet users used photoshop to manipulate the photos and add text.
One that spread quickly across the web read: “Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact No. 2.” Others were edited to show the two shaking hands and kissing.
A new post on Merkel’s official Facebook page on July 15 attempted to play down the fiery comments, chalking them up as spam.
“On this site there is currently a spam attack… and all contributions are being filled with specific commentary,” the post reads. “We reserve the right to delete posts that violate the law or contain slander, libel, racism and political extremism.”
Ukrainian military analyst Dmitry Tymchuk took a swipe at Merkel, writing on Facebook that “Berlin acts as an inactive and passive participant of the bloody show.”
But Serhiy Leshchenko, deputy chief editor of local news site Ukrainska Pravda, came to Merkel’s defense. He called on Ukrainians to stop mocking the German chancellor, saying she only backs the interests of Germans.
“Merkel is a German politician, and part of her society is pro-Russian, while many Germans even have Russian origin. Merkel serves her own nation, not Russia or Ukraine," Leshchenko wrote in an op-ed on the Ukrainska Pravda website.
Kyiv Post website editor Oksana Torhan can be reached at oksanaukma@gmail.com and on Twitter at @OksanaTorhan


Kilde:  http://www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/photo/ukrainians-mock-merkel-on-social-media-for-being-chummy-with-putin-356133.html

Meet The Tiny Theatre Taking On Europe’s Last Dictatorship

 A new documentary about underground political theatre in Belarus feels especially timely with conflict ongoing in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin cracking down on dissent in Russia.
“Did you bring your passports with you?” a young woman asks a small crowd gathered on the steps outside the appointed meeting place, a glass-fronted commercial building in Minsk. She leads the group down the road to a makeshift stage in a crumbling old house, where people sit knee-to-knee on wood planks laid over concrete blocks. The audience had to phone in advance for the address and know they could be arrested just for turning up.

This is just another typical evening with the Belarus Free Theatre, a dissident underground troupe in the former Soviet republic that has been called Europe’s last dictatorship. President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled there since 1994.

“Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus,” a documentary premiering on HBO July 7, paints an intimate portrait of the Free Theatre, which has continued to perform despite KGB raids and the permanent threat of lengthy prison sentences that forced some members into exile in the UK. In the film, director Madeleine Sackler captures a moment in time when, as one of the actors recounts, “there was a feeling that the regime was about to collapse.” Yet it didn’t.

Sackler’s film follows the group against the backdrop of the rigged 2010 presidential election in Belarus and the wave of popular protest that followed. But while recent protests in neighboring Ukraine ousted Viktor Yanukovych from the presidency, Lukashenko’s regime crushed the movement, detaining hundreds of demonstrators and imprisoning opposition leaders. Belarus remains so restrictive that all the footage shot there for the documentary had to be smuggled out by car over the border.

The events in “Dangerous Acts” are now more than three years old, but feel especially resonant as Ukraine grapples with its post-Yanukovych transition and Russian President Vladimir Putin cracks down on dissent. The beleaguered Belarusian opposition has looked to Ukraine’s Euromaidan protest movement as an inspiration. Belarusians joined Ukrainians on Kiev’s Independence Square and one of the first demonstrators killed in the crackdown was from Belarus.
 Belarus has consistently ranked near the bottom of international indices on freedom and democracy, but unlike Ukraine, it has attracted relatively little international attention. Dissident Andrei Sannikov, whose 2010 campaign against Lukashenko is featured in “Dangerous Acts,” told BuzzFeed that Europe should do more to uproot authoritarian rule in Belarus. He called for tougher sanctions against Belarus as well as Russia, where Germany and the United Kingdom have significant business interests.

“Europe must understand that it has to sacrifice something,” Sannikov, who spent 481 days in prison after the election on charges of organizing “mass riots,” said from his current home in Poland. “Because people are sacrificing their lives in Belarus, in Ukraine, fighting for European values.”

Sannikov denounced the new Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko’s decision to invite Lukashenko to his June inauguration when the regime has jailed Belarusians for protesting in solidarity.

“It was kind of contempt of the Ukrainian authorities for the real emotions that Belarusians had for Maidan,” he said. “The new Ukrainian authorities should be committed to the principles that made it possible for them to come to power.”

Though Lukashenko has sometimes appeared to publicly undermine Putin, commenting on his divorce to Russian television host Ksenia Sobchak, and applauding when Poroshenko affirmed Crimea as Ukrainian territory, the Belarusian leader remains firmly in the Kremlin’s orbit. Minsk is a member of the Russian-led Customs Union, which Putin has positioned as a geopolitical, economic and moral counterweight to the European Union.

“He is attacking European values and he is attacking the EU,” Sannikov said of Putin. “It’s a different vision than recreating the USSR. It’s an attempt to create a powerful Russian center that would dominate European policy. ”

Sannikov told BuzzFeed he hopes viewers will feel emotionally involved with the Belarusian opposition movement after watching “Dangerous Acts.”

“This involvement of people who care about Belarus is really the hope for the Belarusian future,” he said, noting that Ukraine’s protesters enjoyed “what we never had in Belarus: involvement of Europe in the situation.”

Though the Belarusian opposition protests flickered out in 2011 after brutal government crackdowns and Sannikov considers the upcoming 2015 presidential election a farce, he remains hopeful.

“People there are no less courageous than in Ukraine,” Sannikov said. “Simply we are in a more difficult situation.

Kilde:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/susiearmitage/meet-the-tiny-theatre-taking-on-europes-last-dictatorship

Soldier of Belarusian squad Pahonia: We are going to win

Belarusian volunteers explain why they are helping Ukrainians.
The story about Pahonia squad consisting of Belarusian volunteers was shown on Ukraine's most popular TV channel, Inter. Igor Guz, a deputy head of the Volyn regional council, posted the video on YouTube.
Belarusian volunteers say why they came to fight against Russian occupants for freedom of the neighbouring country. “Russia will go to Belarus after the defeat in Ukraine,” one of them said.
Belarusians know about threats of Belarusian authorities and about possible prison terms for helping Ukraine. They do not consider themselves to be mercenaries. “It's not the money that we came here for. We are not going to die. We are going to win,” a Pahonia soldier says.
The Ukrainian authorities announced the organising of the squad on July 7. More than 50 Belarusians have applied for the squad. They will join volunteer battalions Aidar, Azov and Donbas after a training course.

Kildet: http://charter97.org/en/news/2014/7/11/106480/

Dette skjer i Ukraina

Opprørere ute av Slavjansk

Prorussiske separatister har forlatt sin viktigste skanse Slavjansk øst i Ukraina. Regjeringshæren patruljerer i gatene.

Siden april har det russiske flagget vaiet over den viktigste administrasjonsbygningen i byen, men lørdag ble det erstattet av Ukrainas gule og blå striper.

– Din ordre om å frigjøre Slavjansk fra opprørskrigerne er blitt utført, sa forsvarsminister Valerij Heletej til president Petro Porosjenko, ifølge presidentens nettsted.

Omkring 100-150 ukrainske soldater patruljerte sentrum av byen. Det kunne høres skyting fra et område rundt byen der opprørskommandantene hadde sine baser.

At ukrainske myndigheter har klart å ta tilbake Slavjansk representerer et viktig vendepunkt i den flere måneder lange krisen som har truet selve eksistensen til landet.

Bekrefter flukt

Den selvutnevnte ordføreren i Slavjansk, Volodymor Pavlenko, bekrefter at opprørere har forlatt byen som separatistene tok kontroll over i april.

Slavjansk, som har over 100.000 innbyggere er strategisk viktig og huser et av landets største våpenlagre, som separatistene også har kontrollert.

– Lokale innbyggere skal overlevere våpnene, som ble etterlatt av opprørerne, til regjeringsstyrker, sier president Porosjenko i en uttalelse.

– Dette er den nedrustningen jeg snakket om da jeg avduket min fredsplan for å løse situasjonen i øst, sier Porosjenko videre.

Anklager Putin

Opprørerne skal ha dratt i retning byen Kramatorsk, melder BBC.

– Vår motstand er ikke ødelagt, sier opprørsleder Andrej Purgin, og la til at opprørerne kun har forlatt byen for å beskytte sivilbefolkningen.

Den militære lederen for separatistene i Slavjansk, Igor Strelkov, også kalt Girkin, anklager imidlertid Russlands president Vladimir Putin for å ha sviktet.

– De fylte oss med håp, og så forlot de oss. Det var fine ord fra Putin om å beskytte det russiske folk, forsvare det nye Russland. Men det var bare ord, skriver han på Twitter.

Opphevet våpenhvile

Porosjenko ga mandag ordre om at den knapt to uker lange våpenhvilen med separatistene skulle oppheves, noe som vakte sterk fordømmelse i Russland.

Siden har Slavjansk vært senter for en ny militæroffensiv fra regjeringen.

Presidenten har foreslått nye samtaler om en våpenhvile med opprørerne i helgen, men så langt er det ikke kommet noen kunngjøring om noe møte.

Nærmere 500 mennesker har blitt drept under krisen i Ukraina etter at den russiskstøttede presidenten Viktor Janukovitsj ble tvunget til å gå av i februar og Russland annekterte Krim-halvøya.

 

Kilde:  http://www.abcnyheter.no/nyheter/verden/ukraina

Belarusian ultras to Ukrainians: Hold on, friends, you are not alone

Here is a selection of photo and video materials from rallies in support of Ukraine by football Belarusian fans.
Rallies were held at various times and on various occasions, however, they have been gathered on the website of Belarusian ultras Belultras.by.
“It should be understood that each action like this involves high risk. Law-enforcers are keeping a close eye on such things, and they try to nip in the bud any rallies of solidarity with the Ukrainian nation. Many participants of such rallies were sentenced to several says in detention facilities. But in spite of such harsh measures taken by the authorities, Belarusian football fans have hold rather many rallies to voice their point of view and pass words of support to Ukrainians,” football fans remind.
The second and the most widely-known rally was held by fans of BATE football club. After this rally its two participants were imprisoned for several days; decrees of the court were drawn up against the rest of its participants. All major Belarusian and Ukrainian mass media informed about this protest. A great wave of solidarity from Ukraine took place.
Graffiti of Minsk football club fans.
Graffiti by fans of Dinamo Minsk, which was painted over by workers of community services on the next morning.
Fans of the national team of Belarus and Dinamo Minsk during a fan tournament “Eurofan” in Lviv.
The national team of Belarus during the awarding ceremony.
Fans of Karpaty with a banner presented by Belarusians at Russia-Belgium game in Brasil.
Friendship of Belarusian and Ukrainian fans.
Graffiti which has been made together.
Fans of Volna from Pinsk sing a hit “Warriors of light”

Kilde:  http://charter97.org/en/news/2014/7/9/106263/

Svyatlana Zavadskaya: Zmitser’s abductors' paymasters are known

The real abductors and assassins of Zmitser Zavadski are at large.
It has been stated by Svyatlana Zavadskaya, the widow of Zmitser Zavadski, a journalist abducted 14 years ago, in her interview to charter97.org.
- The investigation of the case related to Zmitser’s abduction was suspended back in 2006. Is there a hope that it would out be reopened and we shall find out the truth?
- So far there is no hope that investigation is to be reopened. And today I am sure that it would be possible to find out the truth only after the regime change in Belarus. The current regime does not have political will for investigation of this case. So we have only one thing left, to wait.
- Do you believe that the real abductors and murderers of Zmitser Zavadski went to jail?
- I have information that Valery Ihnotovich, who is serving the life sentence for abduction of Zmitser, told to his relatives that he had not seen Zavadski at all. So I do not believe that it had been done by him. It is clear that investigators know this information too, as they do not carry out investigative activities with him all these years. That is why we know nothing about whereabouts of Zmitser, what was done to him after abduction, where is his body…
- So the real criminals are at large?
- Yes, and the names of persons who had ordered the crime could be found in the report of Christos Pourgourides “Disappeared persons in Belarus.” But investigation does not with these people. Why they had not been interrogated until this moment is again a question to the Belarusian authorities. And the answer was given to me by Harry Pahanyajla, who said: “It’s clear they could not set up a gallows for themselves.”
- Zmitser was a journalist, not a politician. How could he get in the way of someone so that he was dealt with this way?
- There are many suppositions, and everyone who carried out own investigation has own conclusions and deductions. But there are no doubts it is a politically motivated case.
- They say time is a healer. Has the grief at the loss of Zmitser subsided over these 14 years?
- I would like it to be this way. But it is always with me and is never subsiding; I cannot escape it or go away from it. And probably that’s the reason it is more painful with every new year.

Kilde:  http://charter97.org/en/news/2014/7/8/106086/

Belarusian army gets equipped with drones

Belarusian Armed Forces will come into possession of unmanned aviation complexes of two types.
These are the 100 km range drones and tactical low-range drones Berkut-2, they told charter97.org at Belarus State Military Industry Committee.
The first drone type is intended to be used for air intelligence purposes, including television, thermal imaging, laser and radiation intelligence. State tests of the unmanned aviation complex were successfully finished on 30 June 2014 at the base of the 927 center for preparation and utilization of unmanned aviation complexes of the Air Defense and Air Forces.
The peculiarity of the Belarusian product is its self-sufficiency, agility, the ability to complete tasks in the absence of an aerodrome network and the respective infrastructure.
In its turn, the tactical low-range drone Berkut-2 has been developed specifically for Belarus Border Service and will be supplied to the army shortly. The complex was developed by the “AGAT- management systems” company and is intended for optical and electronic intelligence around the terrain at day and nighttime as well as for target designation for shooting machines. Apart from monitoring, detection and automatized object support the Berkut-2 is capable of transmitting real-time intelligence data to command points of motorized infantry units, missile troops and artillery.
Take off is carried out by the means of a catapult, while for landing a parachute is used.
In its tactical and technical features the BErkut-2 drone significantly excels over the previous models: the flying time is at least 120 minutes, tactical application radius is up to 35 km at heights from 100 to 3000 meters.
Apart from the unmanned flying machine, the complex includes a land-based protected laptop control station, task-specific appliances, including a photo-module, infra-red intelligence module and a television intelligence module. The weight of the drone is below 50 kg, the combat unit consists of two persons.
  Kilde:  http://charter97.org/en/news/2014/7/2/105464/

“We want to give Belarusians a hope”

Belarus will be free, because there are people ready to sacrifice a lot for it.
Film director Aleh Dashkevich presented The Chronicle of Judgment Time, a series about Belarusian political prisoners, in the Belarusian House in Warsaw. The film shows tens of Belarusian prisoners of conscience, who were arrested before, during and after the 2010 presidential election.
Each story is devoted to a particular person and the ordeals he or she had to go through for a dream of a free, democratic and independent Belarus.
The first episode tells the stories of Ales Bialiatski, the head of Viasna human rights centre; Andrei Sannikov, a presidential candidate in the 2010 election and leader of the civil campaign European Belarus; Mikalai Statkevich, a political prisoner and presidential candidate; former political prisoners Zmitser and Anastasia Dashkevich; coordinator of European Belarus Zmitser Bandarenka; activist of the Conservative Christian Party BPF Siarhei Kavalenka; co-head of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party Pavel Seviarynets and charter97.org editor-in-chief Natallia Radzina.
Aleh Dashkevich said why he had shot The Chronicle of Judgment Time:
“Our films were a reaction to the events of December 2010 in Belarus. The country fell into a hole, and we wanted to give people a hope. It was important for everyone: for those behind the bars, because people remember them, and for society that was at a loss and didn't know what to do. We wanted to show there is a way out.
We need to record time and record history. Several years have passed, but I know the events of 2010 will always be in our memory. We didn't give just bare information in our films, we tried to show the events through the prism of a particular person.
Society should be based on something. There is no society without a foundation. It is very important that people should do what they declare. Unfortunately, we've seen a lot of inconsistency in the country's contemporary history: politicians were making statements, people believed them, but it turned out later that they were not able to back up their words with deeds. The belief was killed.
In December 2010, the foundation, on which society can build something, was laid. Principles are very important, especially in our situation. This is a struggle for the spirit. If there's no spirit, there will be darkness. If there is spirit, there will be truth. The truth was laid in the foundation by the people who didn't betray their principles.
Everyone asks themselves sooner or later: Why do I live? If a person understands why, if he has strength, he becomes the example for those who need a guide. All standards – social, cultural, ethical, aesthetic – are broken in Belarus. There are no moral restrictions, everything is permitted. But there should be moral restrictions. People should answer for their words. Heroes of the film are the ground and the foundation of the nation.”
Ales Bialiatski, a recently released political prisoner, addressed the audience via Skype. He was one of the initiators of the project, but it happened so that he became its first hero.
“We have seen a lot for the last few years. We went through ordeals in December 2010 and later. Nevertheless, we managed not to give up our civic position. My only wish is to see everyone free. The virus of fear remains in society as long as at least one political prisoner is in jail. We are being held in jail, because it is a tool for the authorities to keep society in fear,” Bialiatski said about The Chronicle of Judgment Time.
Natallia Radzina, the editor-in-chief of charter97.org, asked Ales Bialiatski if the Lukashenka regime could count on better relations with the West if all political prisoners were released as prisoners of conscience had been bargaining chips for the dictator for the last 20 years.
“The release of the political prisoners is the first step. Seven persons, who are currently in jails, should be released immediately. All civil and political freedoms, all opportunities are 'cemented'. People cannot exercise them. Everything – the media, assemblies, elections – doesn't work. Everything has become graved under sand and mud in the last 20 years. The release of the political prisoner will not solve the situation, but it is clear that significant for the regime issues, first of all economic ones, cannot be discussed without the release,” the head of Viasna human rights centre said.
The human rights defender also spoke about the upcoming “presidential election”, which is due to be held in 2015.
“I think the campaign won't be significant. We cannot hope that we are able to change the political situation in the country or at least count the votes objectively with the current procedures. We need to take it into consideration and look for parallel and other ways of working with Belarusian society, not putting much hope on the electoral campaign,” Bialiatski said.
The human rights defender noted many Belarusians had to leave the country in 2010 due to criminal prosecution or pressure from the secret services:
“Returning to Belarus is one of the ways to ease the tension between democratic society and the authorities. If the authorities agreed on changes and a package of measures to improve the situation, the issue of Belarusian emigration would be solved as it happened after the collapse of the Soviet Union: many returned after political pressure disappeared and restrictions were removed. There are some problems in Belarus, there is a real danger for civic and political activists and members of their families.”
Former political prisoner Zmitser Bandarenka, who spent 16 months in prison after December 19, 2010, congratulated Ales Bialiatski on the release:
“I though in prison that the main thing was not to turn into an inmate and to remain a free person. It was possible to achieve in certain situations. I am free now, but I automatically continue holding my hands behind my back, because it helps me think. It seems to me you should remember after the release that you was a prisoner.
I have a task for you, Ales. It happened so that you represent Belarus as a human rights defender (you even looks like Gandhi). You must speak on behalf of all of us: those who are in prison or not, and for those who already left us. We give you some time to have a rest, but then you will be our voice.”
Ales Bialiatski answered he would do his best:
“Of course, I will do everything I can. I understand the responsibility. It's a big question how to draw interest of the European community to the problems of Belarus. All attention is focused on our southern neighbour. It is fair to a certain extent, because the events in Ukraine will impact the future of Belarus. But we continue our common struggle.”

Kilde:  http://charter97.org/en/news/2014/6/30/105109/

Ukrainas president Petro Porosjenko avblåste mandag kveld våpenhvilen med separatistene i Øst-Ukraina.

– Vi vil angripe og befri landet, sier Petro Porosjenko.
– Etter å ha gått nøye gjennom situasjonen, har jeg som øverstkommanderende besluttet ikke å forlenge våpenhvilen, sa han videre i en TV-tale sent mandag kveld.
Ifølge Porosjenko ble våpenhvilen avblåst på grunn av «kriminelle aktiviteter» begått av separatistene.
Beslutningen kommer etter at Porosjenko møtte sine rådgivere sent mandag kveld. Tidligere på dagen opplyste presidenten av våpenhvilen kom til å bli forlenget.
President Porosjenko og Russlands president Vladimir Putin har hatt en rekke telefonmøter søndag og mandag, der også Frankrikes president François Hollande og Tysklands statsminister Angela Merkel har deltatt

Skjør våpenhvile

Ukraina innførte en ensidig våpenhvile 20. juni. Kort tid etter sluttet flere separatistledere seg til våpenhvilen, og senere har den blitt utvidet. Det har imidlertid vist seg å være en skjør våpenhvile fra første stund, og fortsatt meldes det om brudd.
Ifølge den russiske TV-kanalen Channel One ble deres kameramann Anatolij Kljan (68) skutt og drept av ukrainske styrker, mens han var på en reportasjetur med separatistene. Russisk UD mener hendelsen er et tegn på at ukrainske styrker ikke ønsker å dempe konflikten.
Samtidig melder ukrainske styrker om at fem soldater ble drept av prorussiske separatister i helgen.

Vil styrke grenseposter

Putin og Porosjenko sier de vil arbeide for at flere gisler og fanger blir frigitt. De er også enige om å få på plass sterkere grensekontroll mellom de to landene. Det kan bidra til å blidgjøre EU-landene, som har kommet med en rekke krav til Russland.
Blant kravene er at de prorussiske separatistene får tilbake kontrollen over landets grenseposter i øst. Unionen krevde også at våpenhvilen følges opp bedre, og varslet nye sanksjoner mot Russland dersom dette ikke skjer.
Putin har på sin side hevdet at Russland ikke har noe med separatistene å gjøre, og at den ukrainske regjeringen må ta ansvar for volden øst i landet.

OSSE-stans

Det siste EU-kravet var at observatørene fra Organisasjonen for sikkerhet og samarbeid i Europa (OSSE) skulle frigis. De siste gislene ble sluppet fri lørdag, og alle var i god behold.
OSSE har likevel besluttet å redusere aktiviteten i Øst-Ukraina, og for å stanse utsendelsen av nye observatører til området.
– Vi gleder oss til den dagen da vi kan gjenoppta vår aktivitet i Øst-Ukraina for fullt, men før det skjer må en rekke forhold forbedres. Vi vil ikke utsette observatørene våre for ytterligere fare, sier OSSE-nestleder Alexander Hug.
– Våpnene må bort, kontrollpostene må bort, og vi må få bevege oss fritt i området, er kravene Hug stiller. (©NTB)

Kilde:  http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/ukraina/ukrainas-president-vi-vil-angripe/a/23243804/