Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Belarus

Russia Says West 'Counterproductive' On Belarus

Opposition protest in Minsk on the occasion of the Chornobyl disaster on April 26 (RFE/RL)

April 28, 2006 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his NATO counterparts today that Western efforts to isolate Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime are "counterproductive."

TEXT SIZE - +

April 28, 2006

Lavrov said Russia "could not agree with or approve of" such moves.

After the talks with Lavrov, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said NATO and Russia were far apart on Belarus.

Russia maintains close political, economic, and military ties with Belarus.

The March 19 Belarusian presidential election, in which Lukashenka was reelected, was denounced as fraudulent by Western countries. The European Union imposed travel bans on senior Belarusian officials, including Lukashenka.

NATO has called for the immediate release of Belarusian opposition leader Alyaksandr Milinkevich, who was sentenced to 15 days in prison along with other opposition leaders after a protest rally on April 26.

(AP, dpa)

Minsk, March 25

THE AUTHORITIES GET TOUGH: RFE/RL's Belarus Service filed these images from the police action against the March 25 demonstration in Minsk. Photographs by Maks Kapran.

LISTEN

Listen to the sounds of the demonstration:
Real Audio Windows Media

Real Audio Windows Media

(RFE/RL)

(RFE/RL)

(RFE/RL)

(RFE/RL)

THE COMPLETE PICTURE: Click on the image to view a dedicated page with news, analysis, and background information about the Belarusian presidential ballot.

COVERAGE IN BELARUSIAN: Click on the image to view RFE/RL's coverage of the election campaign in Belarusian and to listen to RFE/RL's Belarusian Service.

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

'Police Detain Stuffed Animals' In Minsk Toy Protest

Belarusian youth activists say police have "detained" some stuffed animals used in an antigovernment protest in Minsk, in an echo of similar recent protests in Russia. More

There are frequent reports in the Bulgarian and Ukrainian media about Romanian “pirates” robbing passing transport ships on the Danube. (file photo)

Reports Of 'Pirates Of The Danube' Get The Old Heave-Ho

An attack last month on a Ukrainian barge on the Romanian sector of the Danube River has caused a diplomatic tussle between Bucharest and Kyiv, sparking media reports of possible acts of piracy on Europe's second-largest river. But do “Danube pirates” actually exist? More