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WEEKLY DIGEST
OF BELARUSIAN NEWS
November
11, 2004
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NATIONAL NEWS
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Statement of the Press-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus on the elections in the USA
The Republic of Belarus attentively followed the course of the presidential elections in the USA.
We respect the choice of the American people.
At the same time we would like to note the following.
According to the information from independent international observers and representatives of mass media there were a number of violations of fundamental international commitments related to elections both during the election campaign and on the voting day. Among them were violations of the obligations under the OSCE Copenhagen Document of 1990.
The United States authorities did not make sufficient efforts to eliminate the serious shortcomings of the US electoral system, revealed in September 2004 by the fact-finding Mission of OSCE
ODIHR.
Therefore we are not surprised by the numerous reports on the large number of missing preliminary voting-papers, failures of electronic voting systems, intimidation of voters, missing voters in electoral registers, impossibility to freely obtain information at local and county electoral commissions on the voting procedure and sites.
According to the reports of Belarusian observers, some foreign NGOs, including American ones, the US authorities have not ensured an unimpeded work of the international observers, including those who represented the Republic of Belarus. Accreditation of international observers was practically impossible in a number of states. In the states where accreditation was possible, the international observers, including the OSCE observers, were limited by unprecedented strict constraints, imposed by local state authorities.
These facts dispute the transparency and democratic nature of the elections that took place in the USA.
We hope that the OSCE ODIHR mission of international observers will accurately and impartially reflect the course of the electoral campaign and will give a relevant assessment to the US elections.
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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
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WB, IMF mission to evaluate Belarus’ financial sector Nov 1-18
The joint mission of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to evaluate Belarus’ financial sector during its visit in November.
The mission is to focus on Belarusian banking sector operation, especially observance of Basel principles, use of banking services by the population and sector’s sensibility to adverse effects.
Besides, the analysts are to study the securities market, insurance sector and pensions provision.
The results will be integrated in recommendations to the Belarusian government to improve Belarusian financial sector.
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
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International
Exhibition "Advance Technologies and Systems: Information Science,
Telecommunication and Security" starts in Minsk
Belarusian largest state companies and institutions, the National Academy of
Sciences, Industry Ministry, Beltelecom and leading universities as well as
more than 70 IT companies will participate in the 6th International
exhibition "Advance Technologies and Systems: Information Science,
Telecommunication and Security" PTS’2004, which is taking place in
Minsk on November 9-12.
PTS'2004 is a real source of promotion for IT-solutions. The latest domestic
and world solutions of modern electronics, radio electronics, communication,
computer techniques and software are widely represented there. |
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CULTURE AND SOCIETY
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National Museum of Fine Arts Marks 65th Anniversary
The National Museum of Fine Arts, Belarusian famous museum, will celebrate its 65th anniversary on November 8.
An exhibition Nesvizh Collections of the Radzivills showcasing 47 portraits dated to XVII-XVIII centuries, 10 of then will be offered to the public for the first time. The collection was initiated by Nikolai Radzivill (1549-1616). It was later enhanced by his descendants.
The National Museum of Fine Arts of Belarus is the largest depository of works of art in Belarus.
In 1957 the picture gallery became State Museum of Fine Arts of Byelorussian Soviet Republic and in 1993 the Museum received the right to be called “National”.
At present, the museum can present more then 22,500 exhibits.
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