Oswald. The Minsk Mystery

The reputed Belarusian filmmaker Viktar Aslyuk has filmed the documentary ‘Oswald. The Minsk Mystery’.


In the film, Ernst Tsitavets, a resident of Minsk, relives certain experiences and tells about his friend Lee Harvey Oswald, the person who is allegedly responsible for assassinating U.S. President John F. Kennedy in
1963. The documentary is set in the block of flats Nr 4 in
Kamunistychnaya street, in the very apartment where the American
‘tourist’ lived after his arrival in Minsk. Ernst Tsitavets was then a
medical student and loyal Komsomol member, who, however, secretly
listened to the BBC. There they disputed on the standards of life is
better in the West and in the USSR.


“I did not keep my promises to make a great film, an extensive
investigation for, perhaps, only one reason – there are very few
witnesses left. Time was lost, I had to narrow it down, and finally, I
focused on the apartment.


The apartment has hardly changed. Its parket flooring, bathtub,
toilet, ceiling remain authentic. As a film director, I realized that
hundreds of movies telling the story of Oswald were made. And I did not
set the task to give a final answer to the question whether Oswald
killed or he did not. But I knew that there was one man in the city who
rarely appeared in films. He was one of the people who were close to
Oswald in his Minsk period – or even in his whole life, because Oswald’s
life was very short. […] Of course, in this case, I decided to follow
my character. I do not judge and do not intend to judge Oswald – it is
not my aim. But my character – Ernst Tsitavets – believes that Oswald
did not kill. And it is his emotional right, human right to think so.


When I started, I saw that anyone who would ever dig at this issue –
Oswald in Minsk – would touch the issue of Minsk itself without doubt.
The issue of the 1960s, when this man came and lived here. I admit
having a soft spot on the 1960s – maybe, due to old Soviet films. My
documentary features the best footage of the then cameramen,” the famous
film director told Belsat TV.




Belsat.eu

Canada lifts Belarus sanctions after 11 years

Canada is proceeding with a plan to ease trade restrictions imposed on Belarus 11 years ago, reports CBC News.
Canada's Foreign Ministry aka Global Affairs Canada said in a statement on Monday:
"This revised approach reflects Canada's acknowledgment that the government of Belarus has made progress in key areas, including the release of political prisoners and conducting a peaceful presidential election in October 2015. Canada also recognizes the constructive role played by Belarus in facilitating negotiations toward a ceasefire and peace agreement in Ukraine under the Minsk agreement."
After the new measure takes effect on July 12, 2017, only North Korea will remain on the restrictions list.
Ottawa imposed economic sanctions on Belarus over human rights violations during the presiential elections and a crackdown on the opposition.

Regnum publishes interview with Alexievich without permission

The Russian information agency Regnum has published an interview with Svetlana Alexievich without her consent.  The Nobel Prize laureate did not expect to be asked provocative questions.  Alexievich called the journalist’s statement about a coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014 absurd. “It was people’s desire to change the government,” she noted. However, the Regnum journalist would not calm down and kept insisting on ‘a coup d’état’. “When Ukrainians started protecting their country, you mentioned human rights that were not observed at war. You, Russians, behaved even worse in Chechnya,” the writer said.

Then they discussed the Ukrainian and Belarusian languages. Alexievich recalled the Russification and elimination of the Belarusian intellectual elite in the Soviet time and the 3 million Russians that came to Belarus after the WWII. Russia wants to absorb Ukraine and our country by means of Russification, she believes. Svetlana Alexievich touched upon the problems of freedom in modern Russia and the journalists did not like it. He asked her why she would not go to Donets Basin since she was writing about war. Russia was directly involved in the conflict in East Ukraine and “it is on Putin’s conscience”, Alexievich stressed.
“You invaded another country, why?” the writer asked. “There are millions of photos of Russian military machines there. Everyone knows who took down [that plane] and all this. Let us stop this stupid interview. I haven’t the energy for it. You are just a collection of propaganda, not a reasonable person.”

Kilde: https://euroradio.fm/en/regnum-publishes-interview-alexievich-without-permission

Belsat Music Live: «Stary Olsa» - Belarusian music.

Guests of the fifth edition of Syarhey Budkin program are the the honor and dignity of Belarusian music.


Mira Schultz is talking with the guests in the studio about their
inspiration in the past and present. The band members will tell her, why
they are not going  to play cover versions of rock classics in the
future and why they applied for popular funding. Of course, they will
talk about the success of the band in America — they will soon leave
again to perform overseas.


In a special story Khrystsina Darapey will tell the viewers how to launch a successful crowfunding project in Belarus.


Songs that will be performed in the program:


“Litvin” (folk music, the words of Zmitser Sasnouski), 3:33

‘Highway to Hell’ (music and lyrics by AC/DC), 3:28

“Knight Wheel” (folk music and lyrics, translated by Zmitser Sasnouski), 4:35

Reports: Belarus extradites Murad Amriyev

Belarus has extradited Murad Amriyev to Russia, Novaya Gazeta reports. The Chechen has not been allowed to ask for political asylum in our country (see video). Two columns consisting of three cars departed from Dobrush District Department of the Interior on the afternoon of June 8.  Amriyev was in one of them. He was handed over to the Russian police at Bryansk Oblast border.

World champion Murad Amriyev left Russia. The police had been torturing him and wanted his elder brother to return from Germany , he said. Amriyev was heading for Moscow from Ukraine to make a visa when he was detained. He was suspected of using fake documents but there was only a misprint in his passport. He became wanted by the federal police. The Chechen was released on June 6 and taken to the Transport Office of the Public Prosecutor for an interrogation. He saw Chechen policemen near the building and recognized one of them – the person who had tortured him 4 years before. Amriyev managed to leave the building and headed for Belarus together with friends. He was detained and jailed in Dobrush. Belarus was going to extardite him. It has happened despite numerous protests of rights defenders and Murad’s family who said that his life would be in danger in Groznyi.

Kilde:  https://euroradio.fm/en/reports-belarus-extradites-murad-amriyev

Murad Amrijev rømte til Hviterussland. Nå er han utlevert til Tsjetsjenia.

MMA-utøver på flukt fra tsjetsjenske styrker: – Han har blitt bortført og torturert der

Murad Amrijev (32) har vært på flukt fra tsjetsjensk politi i fire år. Nå frykter foreldrene for livet hans, om han blir utlevert fra Hviterussland.

 

Tirsdag ble den tsjetsjenske MMA-utøveren Murad Amrijev, tidligere amatørverdensmester, arrestert av hviterussiske grensevakter da han forsøkte å ta seg over grensen fra Russland.
Nå sitter han i hviterussisk arrest, med en utleveringsordre hengende over seg, ifølge den sterkt regimekritiske avisen Novaja Gazeta.
Om Amrijev blir deportert til den russiske republikken Tsjetsjenia, frykter både foreldrene og menneskerettighetsorganisasjoner at han risikerer å bli drept.
– Vi ber om hjelp til å forhindre at sønnen vår blir sendt til Tsjetsjenia, der han vil være i livsfare, sier de til den russiske avisen.
Menneskerettighetsorganisasjoner har kontaktet den europeiske menneskerettighetsdomstolen, fordi de mener at hans helse og liv er i fare, melder den russiske avisen.
Amrijev selv håper i det lengste at han kan bli værende i Hviterussland.
 – De gir meg ikke advokater, jeg får ikke lov å ringe, jeg har ingen rettigheter. Jeg vil ha politisk asyl her, sier han til den russiske TV-kanalen Dozjd, gjennom vinduet fra cellen sin.
Ifølge OC Media, skal en lokal byråkrat ha fortalt at utleveringen vil skje torsdag kveld eller fredag.

– Han har tidligere blitt bortført og mishandlet

Frykten for hva som kan skje med ham om han ender opp i Tsjetsjenia, stammer fra fire år tilbake.
Da skal 32-åringen han blitt bortført og torturert av lokale sikkerhetsstyrker. Ifølge menneskerettighetsorganisasjonen Memorial for å tvinge hans eldre bror hjem fra Tyskland.
– Han har tidligere blitt bortført og mishandlet der, og vi kunne ikke hjelpe ham, sier hans fortvilte foreldre, som fremdeles bor i Tsjetsjenia, til Novaja Gazeta.
Amrijev har fortalt at han ble mishandlet fordi en tsjetsjensk politisjef anklaget hans storebror for å forsøke å drepe ham. Siden politisjefen ikke kunne få tak i storebroren, som bor i Tyskland, pekte han seg ut Amrijev, skriver Radio Free Europe.
Ifølge flere medier skal politisjefen ha begynt en regelrett blodfeide mot Amrijev og broren.
Tsjetsjenia styres med jernhånd av president Ramzan Kadyrov, som en rekke menneskerettighetsorganisasjoner beskylder for å stå bak omfattende brutalitet mot befolkningen i republikken.

Arrestert i Russland – rømte til Hviterussland

Etter hendelsene i 2013 flyktet MMA-utøvere til Ukraina, og begynte å gå stevner der. Søndag reiste han tilbake til Russland, til byen Brjansk, ikke så langt fra den ukrainske grensen.
Amrijev skulle fornye visumet sitt, men endte opp med å bli anholdt av russisk politi på grunn av en trykkfeil i passet.
Han ble sittende i 48 timer i en provisorisk arrest, mens tsjetsjenske spesialstyrker ventet på utsiden, ifølge OC Media.
Tirsdag slapp det lokale politiet ham fri, og han greide å snike seg forbi vaktene utenfor. 24 timer senere ble han arrestert på den hviterussiske grensen.
– Vi ber om hjelp til å forhindre at sønnen vår til sendt til Tsjetsjenia, der han vil være i livsfare, sier Amrijevs foreldre i en video.