Central Europe Review - Belarusian News Review

Democrats agree to boycott parliamentary elections

Over 900 delegates from leading political parties, movements and trade unions took part in the 4th Annual Congress of Democratic Forces (CDF) on 2 July 2000, in Minsk.

They worked out a joint position as regards the farcical ballot for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the President-appointed Belarusian parliament, to be conducted this autumn.

The democrats agreed not to participate in these elections. This was mentioned in the CDF declaration "On CDF Attitude to the Elections," which was almost unanimously supported by the delegates.

The Congress approved "The Statement on the Political Situation in the Country" and three other resolutions - "On Democratic Forces' Consolidation," "On the Coordination Council of Democratic Forces" and "On the Belarusian Assembly for Independence."

The first part of the congress was dedicated to speeches by the four leaders of country's major political parties - Vintsuk Vyachorka (Belarusian Popular Front), Anatoly Lebedzka (United Civil Party), Nikalai Statkevich (Belarusian Social Democratic Party) and Stanislau Shushkevich (Belarusian Social Democratic Party).

All four spoke about the authorities' failure to comply with the four mandatory conditions that need to be in place for the elections to be considered democratic - the opposition's access to media, the release of dissidents, the cessation of show trials and liberalization of electoral laws.

Office rents will go up

Minsk city hall has imposed new rental rates on companies and individuals engaged in commerce who rent from the state, effective 1 July 2000. Now they will have to pay USD 15 to 20 per square metre, per month, as a result organizations and entrepreneurs that rent space in underground passages and stations now face a 100 percent price increase.

Deadline for intermediary business

1 July is the deadline for the offical re-registration of most companies. From now, on several provisions of the President's Decree of 7 March 2000 "On some measures to regulate intermediary trade activities" will become law.

Several key provisions of the decree took effect in March, on the very day it was issued. Entrepreneurs involved in this particular area of business (some 80,000 in Minsk alone) have suffered losses and encountered increasingly difficult labour conditions as a result.

For instance, some of the middlemen were required to present their registration certificates at the end of April, regardless of the fact that the authorities only started giving them out on 10 May.

Moreover, 1 July was officially declared the deadline to obtain them. So short a time was not long enough to satisfy everyone's needs, which led to huge queues and further losses of time and money for those standing in line.

Those who fail to get a license, but carry on doing "intermediary business," will be fined at a rate twice their income. Similar penalties will be brought against those who fail to confirm to other provisions in the Decree .

Victor Lukyanow, 8 July 2000

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