On the 18th of February, Alexander Lukashenko ordered to draw up the law on alternative (civilian) military service. On the 18th of March, the Minsk district court withdrew the decision, according to which Ivan Mikhailov was to be jailed for three months for avoiding military service. Civic Belarus and other Belarusian and European organizations had previously protested against the denial of the right of Belarusian citizens to civilian service and against the prosecution of Ivan Mikhailov.

 

In 2009, the broadcasting of the European Radio for Belarus continued. This radio station broadcasts from Warsaw with the support of Czech, American and other governments since 2005 and currently has 280 000 listeners and over 150 000 Belarusians read each month the ERB reports reproduced in other media, for example the popular http://www.tut.by.

 

On April 25, elections into local councils will take place in Belarus. These days, local election commissions and registration of candidates is taking place. Preparations for the elections again reflect many irregularitis. More information you can find in English on the website of European Exchange and in Belarusian on the website of Viasna a Belarusian Helsinki Committee. Once a week you can also recieve a newsletter in English on the procceedings of the campaign from the point of vies of human rights defenders. You can subcribe to it by sending an email to info(at)european-exchange.org.

Assembly of pro-democratic non-governmental organizations issued a monitoring of the conditions for NGOs in Belarus during 2009. See attached.

Looking for European partners are Belarusian organizations active in the following fields: spreading of European values and intercultural dialogue, regional informational and educational projects (local civic initiative), support to children with health problems and those who suffered from Chernobyl catastrophe and protection of animals. More information on the Belarusian organizations you can find here. Civic Belarus will answer your questions regarding potential partnership with a Belarusian organization (info@civicbelarus.eu).

 

Civic Belarus joined an open letter to president Lukashenka. Twelve European organizations asked Belarusian state to stop persecution of men, who ask for alternative (civilian) army service on grounds of their conscience (religious beliefs). The letter was sent on 27 January 2010 and you can find its text and list of organizations that joined the campaign here. On February 1, one of the young men who asked for alternative civilian service - a possibility granted by Belarusian laws - was sentenced to three months in prison. Campaign for the right of Belarusians to alternative civilian service continues: www.ags.by.

In second half of March, young Belarusians who are active in their city or region will spend two weeks in the Czech Republic. They will meet local civic initiatives, learn about the system of local self-government, receive training on public campaigns and work with the media. Deadline for submitting applications is February 5th 2010. You can find more information here.