Posted on 09/09/2001 1:38:34 PM PDT by CommiesOut
Belarus: Device explodes near US embassy information centre in Minsk
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Sep 9, 2001
Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax
Minsk, 9 September: An unidentified explosive device went off in the near vicinity of the information centre of the US Embassy in Minsk on Sunday evening [9 September].
The explosion occurred in a kindergarten adjacent to the information centre, destroying a bench and damaging a veranda roof, an Interfax correspondent has reported from the scene. No-one was injured.
Officials from the US Embassy to Belarus confirmed the information about the explosion but declined to comment on the incident.
A specially-equipped team of law-enforcement agencies has arrived at the scene. Investigators told Interfax after examining the blast site that "this cannot be referred to as a terrorist attack".
Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English 1632 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
[Correspondent] With me again is the secretary of the Central Electoral Commission, Mikalay Lazavik. [Passage omitted: preliminary reports from hospitals and army units show Lukashenka leading, reports will be updated in the next hour] Do you know of any serious irregularities now that polls have closed?
[Lazavik] No serious irregularities that would challenge the election result have been reported. Naturally, the election process is very complex, it involves many participants of sometimes opposite political views. In some places today, we did find some provocative acts taking place. But, I wish to stress, we have received no reports so far of any irregularities that would affect the election result.
I heard one international observer complain that he was not given the exact number of voters on the register, and he wants to conclude therefore that our election process lacks openness. The commission is not obliged to provide this figure simply because this figure changes all the time. People who were not originally on the voter list have come to the polls and have been put on an additional list, and these lists vary by a fraction of per cent. This figure has been fluctuating until the last moment. Obviously, from the start of the count, this figure is fixed and there can be no changes.
Therefore, the statement made by the distinguished international observer who said he was not given a figure at the polling station does not prove that our election was undemocratic or that observers were not given sufficient information.
[Passage omitted: no meeting with Russian election chief yet]
Source: Belarusian Radio, Minsk, in Belarusian 1730 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Text of report in English by Belarusian news agency Belapan
Minsk, 9 September: "I think there will be no settling of accounts, no witch hunt. This is out of the question," Syarhey Posakhaw, an aide to Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka, said when asked by Belapan what would follow Lukashenka's victory in the ongoing presidential election.
Posakhaw predicted a "quiet and peaceful life" and "an evolutionary progress". He warned against overestimating the potential of the anti-Lukashenka opposition. "The overwhelming majority of the population remains deaf to their slogans," he said. "I have observed elections in every one of the CIS states," Posakhaw said. "It was a hundred times worse: people with assault rifles next to ballot boxes. `Nothing can be done. It is a transitional period,' international observers said. We have a normal, trouble-free election. It is impossible not to recognize it."
Source: Belapan news agency, Minsk, in English 1804 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Presenter Alyaksandr Zimowski
1. 0030 Headlines.
2. 0047 Presenter says Belarusian elections have been recognized as valid. Domestic and foreign observers say they have not monitored any violations on polling day.
3. 0725 Presenter's remarks about voters' high turnout are followed by a report from polling stations in Minsk. People in the streets interviewed, they say they have voted for better life and a prosperous Belarus.
4. 1007 Report from a polling station in Hrodna. Video shows people casting their ballots.
5. 1222 Correspondent Lyudmila Kavalyova reports live from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). Correspondent says 75.2 per cent of voters have cast their ballots as of 1500 gmt, speaks about voters' high turnout in Minsk, says she is expecting information about poll results in hospitals and military units soon. CEC Chairwoman Lidziya Yarmoshyna says that international and domestic observers have not monitored violations, describes new automated system used by the CEC to brief journalists and observers on the election results, says that first preliminary results from hospitals and military units will be announced by 1730 gmt. Two Russian observers interviewed, they praise the CEC for good organization of the voting process, say no violations of the law have been noticed by them. Correspondent says that 80.70 per cent of voters in Minsk Region have cast their ballots as of 1700 gmt.
6. 2455 Report from polling stations in Belarusian Regions. Video shows people casting their ballots, saying they have voted for Belarus's future and prosperity, domestic and foreign observers say they have not monitored any violations.
7. 3455 Report about three presidential candidates casting their ballots in Minsk. Video shows the candidates at polling station, talking to journalists, incumbent Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka talking to OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice President Kimmo Kiljunen and domestic observers, who say they have not monitored any violations of the law, Kiljunen talking to domestic observers.
8. 4535 Presenter says that all political parties and public associations were able to send their observers to polling stations. An independent observer says he has not monitored violations at his station.
9. 4624 Report from Zaslawl, Minsk Region, where (?Sam Haydenson), who allegedly introduced himself as a US congressman, and his interpreter, have been involved in an incident. Presenter slams (?Haydenson's) interpreter who allegedly ran up to a woman and cried she allegedly had two ballots. Witnesses of the incident and independent observers slam the interpreter and deny any violations of the law, call this incident a provocation. See separate report.
10. 5000 Presenter slams (?Haydenson) for being the author of anti-Belarusian resolutions in the US Congress, says he was not elected to the US Congress during the last elections in the USA.
11. 5100 Correspondent Lyudmila Kavalyova reports live from the CEC. She says she has no final figures concerning the voter turnout, says it will be over 80 per cent, gives figures at four polling stations in different Regions, where the majority of people cast their ballots in Lukashenka's favour.
12. 5353 Presenter says further poll results will be announced later tonight.
13. 5410 End of programme.
Source: Belarusian television, Minsk, in Belarusian 1700 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Text of report by Russian news agency Interfax
Minsk, 9 September: According to the returns of the Belarusian presidential elections held on Sunday [9 September], Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been re-elected for a second term. This was stated by the incumbent president himself at a press conference in Minsk on Sunday evening.
"Early returns allow me to say that I have been elected president," he said. Lukashenka said that over 80 per cent of citizens who voted in the so-called "closed establishments" - military and border guard units and hospitals - voted for the incumbent president.
Lukashenka also said that over 85 per cent of the five per cent of the votes counted in Minsk Region in one hour had voted for him. "The army has fully supported the incumbent president," Lukashenka said. He is confident that these facts give him grounds to say that he has been re-elected for a second term.
Citing the results, Lukashenka said at the press conference that his rival in the presidential elections, leader of the country's national trade union federation Uladzimir Hancharyk, had got from three to seven per cent of the votes, whereas about two per cent had voted for Liberal Democratic Party leader Syarhey Haydukevich.
Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1834 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Belarusian opposition holds rally in Minsk
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Sep 9, 2001
Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS
Minsk, 9 September: A rally of the Belarusian opposition is under way in front of the Palace of the Republic, downtown Minsk.
About 500 people, among them presidential candidate Uladzimir Hancharyk, are taking part in the rally despite the drizzle. They are chanting "Freedom" and "For free Belarus" and call for staying on the square until the announcement of the election results by the independent observation group. The group is counting votes parallel to the officials.
The rally is calm, and no incidents have happened, a police source has told ITAR-TASS.
Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1837 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Text of report by Russian news agency Interfax
[no dateline as received] According to the returns of the Belarusian presidential elections, [Belarusian President] Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been re-elected for a second term.
Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1825 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Incumbent Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka had a huge lead over his opponents at 1830 gmt on 9 September, when more than 16 per cent of votes had been counted, Belarusian radio has reported, quoting the Central Electoral Commission. Approximately 81 per cent of the votes counted were cast for Lukashenka, 10 per cent for Uladzimir Hancharyk and 2 per cent for Syarhey Haydukevich, the radio said
Source: Belarusian Radio First Programme, Minsk, in Belarusian 1900 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ ©
Belarus' Central Electoral Commission said on Sunday night that with 30 per cent of the vote counted incumbent president Alyaksandr Lukashenka had 80 per cent of the vote, Belarusian TV reported.
Uladzimir Hancharyk received 10.6 per cent and Syarhey Haydukevich 2.1 per cent.
Source: Belarusian television, Minsk, in Belarusian 1930 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Text of report by Belarusian newspaper Belorusskaya Gazeta, web-site, on 9 September
Minsk, 9 September: It is raining heavily in Minsk, but people are actively gathering in the city centre, in October Square. No additional security measures have been taken [by the authorities] beforehand, and maybe, that is why young people are coming into the square without any obstacles so far.
At first, the participants gathered at the steps to the Belarusian Trade Unions Culture Palace. Whereas at 2005 [1705 gmt] there were about 500 of them, by 2030 [1730 gmt] their number had already risen to over 2,000. For the most part, they are young people and many of them have whistles, all they are making noise and chanting slogans: "[Single opposition candidate Uladzimir] Hancharyk!" and "Long live Belarus!"
At 2015 [1715 gmt], Hancharyk appeared on the steps. It is believed that he will make a speech. Riot police are moving towards the square.
Provided the rate of people arriving does not change, it is likely that at least 10,000 people will be in October Square by 2100 [1800 gmt].
Source: Belorusskaya Gazeta, Minsk, in Russian 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Text of report by Belarusian news agency Belapan
Minsk, 9 September: At about 1300 [1000 gmt] today, Belarusian Internet users were denied access to sociopolitical web sites, including those covering the presidential election in real time, according to the Charter-97 NGO. The sites included the Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta, the Belorusskaya Gazeta and the Nasha Svaboda newspapers, Radio Liberty and Charter-97 itself.
According to Charter-97, correspondents of Russian television channels have been denied the right to send video material to Moscow. However, in an interview with Belapan, Pavel Antonov of NTV's Minsk bureau, denied these reports: "The transmitter was actually cut off for 40 minutes, however, this was due to a fault. Now everything is normal. Material is being sent without obstruction."
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
An unidentified man inspects the site of a blast near the U.S. Embassy in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2001. A small explosion blew up a bench near the U.S. Embassy in Belarus' capital Minsk on Sunday during presidential elections that autocratic Alexander Lukashenko is expected to win. It was unclear whether the blast was aimed at the embassy. (AP Photo/ Sergei Grits)
You got to love them AP neo-commies...
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has hailed the first preliminary results of voting, describing them as a victory for the Belarusian people and a defeat for those used dirty tricks against him. He said that the unprecedentedly numerous observers recorded no serious irregularities and estimated public support for him at about 80 per cent. He also thanked Russian people and politicians for support. The following is an excerpt from a report broadcast by Belarusian radio on 9 September:
[Presenter] Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka met numerous journalists, who have been covering the elections, at his working residence today at 2100 [1800 gmt].
[Lukashenka, in Russian] Esteemed ladies and gentlemen, esteemed comrades. I will not take the bread away from the Central Electoral Commission. I think it will inform you of the results, the figures, certain data. I will touch on the figures that I know at this moment today only in the context of general thoughts and statements, and answers to your questions.
The first thing I would like to say is to express my deep gratitude to the Belarusian people - the winning people. Today our people are the winners, they have elected their president in the first round. I would also like to use the occasion, the occasion of all leading Russian TV channels being present here - I hope that journalists here represent the Russian state - to ask them to pass my sincere gratitude to the Russian man, to Russians for the colossal moral support that they have given me and the Belarusian people at this very difficult political moment. No matter how hard or difficult things may have been, I have always sensed the support of the Russian man, Russian citizen, I have always sensed this support, and so have my people, the people of Belarus. Therefore, I once again appeal to you, Russian journalists to convey my sincere gratitude to the Russian man, Russian citizen for this support. I also ask you to pass my sincere gratitude to all Russian politicians who have been constantly supporting me, believing in my victory, and also to the president of the Russian Federation for the support that has been given.
As the main result, today I must note not even the victory of the incumbent president, or rather not only the victory of the incumbent president. I guess many of you forecast such a course of events. I would like to say that it is a brilliant victory of all those who ensured the presidential elections in Belarus. It is an elegant and beautiful victory. Don't you agree that on the part of the current authorities, with all their shortcomings - they have not allowed themselves to use dirty techniques. Apparently, in connection with this, a statement can be made that the outcome of our presidential elections is that for the first time in recent history, dirty public-relations tricks in Russia - [corrects himself] in Belarus have suffered a fiasco. Black public-relations [techniques] have failed here. We, the authorities, and I as the incumbent president, have shown that victory can be achieved without the use of black techniques. In a way, it is also a conclusion to be drawn from the presidential elections in Belarus. We hope that such behaviour by the authorities will also be characteristic of other states in our Europe.
Thus, the Belarusian people have elected their president. This is the first result. Now second. The elections were held strictly in accordance with the Belarusian constitution and the Election Code of the Republic of Belarus. To date, by this very moment, not a single foreign observer has reported any significant shortcoming in our presidential elections. The third result. The high turnout indicates nonacceptance of outside pressure by the Belarusian people. The stronger the pressure, the more intense Belarusians' desire to go to the polling station and vote despite a very serious personal situation in every family. You know that the agricultural year is drawing to a close, urban people are going out to the countryside to help out their parents and so on and so forth. Nevertheless, the turnout is unprecedented and this has been noted by all foreign observers, including your colleagues from the Russian mass media.
The fourth thing. An unprecedented case. Polling stations in the Belarusian elections were attended by more than 20,000 observers, about 1,000 foreign monitors from other countries of the world, about 600 journalists, both Belarusian and predominantly foreign. It is unlikely that any other state in the world has ever seen anything like this. The interest was tremendous, striking, and I would like to repeat my thanks to all the journalists that have been working here - irrespective of what picture they were giving or what they were speaking about. What matters is that the foreign observers and foreign journalists got to see our country and the real situation in our state.
I have already said that we can talk about some preliminary results. [Passage omitted: cites figures on his brilliant performance in individual regions, in army units]
I think we can forecast now that the incumbent president in our country will get the backing of somewhere in the region of 80 per cent of votes. Thus, I draw the conclusion that the elections in Belarus have taken place and the president has been elected in the Belarusian state. He will govern the country in the next five years. Thank you for listening to my short introduction, I am ready to answer your questions.
Source: Belarusian Radio First Programme, Minsk, in Belarusian 2055 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
Text of report in English by Belarusian news agency Belapan
Minsk, 10 September: The Belarusian opposition's presidential candidate Uladzimir Hancharyk at a rally of his supporters in Minsk on 9 September said that he would not recognize the officially announced results of the voting and would demand the second round.
The Central Electoral Commission, after having counted 60 per cent of the vote, gave a sweeping victory to incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka, but the opposition candidate said he had information that Mr Lukashenka had gained 46.7 per cent of the vote and 40.8 per cent were for Mr Hancharyk. It was not clear where the figures that Mr Hancharyk announced came from. Probably, they originated from by the opposition-conducted parallel vote tabulation (PVT). At about midnight [2100 gmt], the opposition candidate urged hundreds of his supporters, who waited for the PVT results on October Square in central Minsk, to go home, but called on them to amass the next day to demand the second round. Mr Hancharyk said that he would inform international organizations and people in Belarus of what he called the real election results.
Source: Belapan news agency, Minsk, in English 2300 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
LOL!!!
At least you, Western neo-commies, managed to ruin pro-Western Solidarity and bring commies back to Warsaw. Quit whining!
At least you, Western neo-commies, managed to ruin pro-Western Solidarity and bring commies back to Warsaw. Quit whining!
Ah, but the beast is never satisfied.
Text of report by Russian news agency RIA
Minsk, 9 September: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is going to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon.
Lukashenka said this tonight at a news conference in his residence.
Lukashenka said that a preliminary agreement to hold such a meeting had been reached before. "As soon as the final results of the presidential election in Belarus [on 9 September] are announced, Putin and I will fix the date and place of the meeting," he said.
Lukashenka said that Putin and he would "outline prospects for further cooperation".
Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 2102 gmt 9 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
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