Poland’s foreign minister called upon the US to deploy its troops on the territory of the country to defend it from military aggression.

Мінску трэба прайсці яшчэ “вельмі доўгі шлях” для паляпшэння двухбаковых адносін са Злучанымі Штатамі Амерыкі, лічыць памочнік дзяржсакратара ЗША па справах Еўропы і Еўразіі Філіп Гордан. Пра гэта ён заявіў на слуханнях па палітыцы адміністрацыі Барака Абамы ў дачыненні да АБСЕ.

Excerpts on Belarus from the US Helsinki Commission hearing held on October 28, 2009 in Washington, D.C.: Present: Philip H. Gordon, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs; Alexander Vershbow, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Iryna Khalip of Belarus Wins Courage in Journalism Awards from the International Women`s Media Foundation. 2009 Courage in Journalism Award winners: Iryna Khalip of Belarus, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta; Agnès Tailé of Cameroon, media consultant and former reporter for Canal 2 International, radio and television; and Jila Baniyaghoob* of Iran, freelance reporter and editor-in-chief of the Web site Kanoon Zanan Irani (Iranian Women`s Center). The 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award winner: Amira Hass, a reporter and columnist for Ha`aretz Daily, anewspaper based in Tel Aviv. For more in-depth bios of Iryna Khalip please visit this link. WHEN: Monday, October 26, 2009 @ 7:00 p.m.** WHERE: The National Press Club, Washington D.C.

On October 16, 2009, a screening of "The Soviet Story" followed by a reception was organized by members of the DC chapter of the Belarusian-American Association (BAZA) as part of the activities aimed to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with Belarus.

On Sept. 17, to Russia’s satisfaction and to Poland’s chagrin, President Obama announced canceling US plans to build a missile base in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic. The revelation came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland and was widely seen as US betrayal of its Eastern European ally.

У 1949 годзе была заснавана найстарэйшая арганізацыя беларускай дыяспары ў ЗША - Беларуска-Амэрыканскае Задзіночаньне (БАЗА). З гэтай нагоды БАЗА сумесна з іншымі беларускімі арганізацыямі Нью-Ёрка ладзяць сьвяткаваньне 60-й гадавіны працы. Праграма ўключае дзённую частку, што будзе праходзіць у беларускай праваслаўнай царкве ў Брукліне, а таксама вячэрнюю забаўляльную частку, што пройдзе на арэндаваным прагулачным караблі. ДЗЁННАЯ ПРАГРАМА (пачатак а 1:00 папаўдні)

Evgeny is known to Belarusians of Washington because of his article in Newsweek on how this blog had been shut down ealier this year. You can watch his talk on how authoritarian regimes use internet below.

PDFPrinthttps://belarusdigest.com/story/debut-of-belarus-free-theater-in-washington-in-russian/

Yesterday was the seventieth anniversary of yet another alteration of the Belarusian borders. On September 17, 1939, Western Belarus was reunified with Eastern Belarus and the Red Army marched into Poland. The reunification was made possible by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, concluded between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany a month earlier.

 “I brought you a greeting from the Axis of Evil,” ironized Chavez, who visited Cuba, Algiers, Libya, and Turkmenistan on his way to Belarus. None of these countries were actually included in the “Axis of Evil” coined by George W. Bush to describe Iran, Saddam Hussein's Iraq and North Korea. However, all countries Chavez visited on his trip have a roguish reputation in the West for their human rights violations, dictatorial tendencies, and widespread corruption. If Lukashenka takes up Chavez’s call to unite against “hegemonic” capitalism, one day some other political leader may enlist Minsk itself into the infamous Axis – jokingly or in earnest. This September is not the first time Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visits his “favorite” country Belarus. This time he extolling Belarus as “a model social state like the one we [Venezuelans] are beginning to create.” No less enthusiastic, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka praised the benefits of the likely “strategic partnership” between Minsk and Caracas and thanked Chavez for his “colossal support.” The presidents agreed not “to be deceived or exploited by anyone” and “defend the interests of the individual and not the hegemonic interests of the capitalists, wherever they may be, in Europe or Latin America.” Chavez went as far as flaunting the idea of “a new union of republics” incorporating Belarus and Venezuela. “This will not be a union of Soviet or socialist republics,” he clarified. “It will be free republics with their own systems, but united in a union.” Some may dismiss the presidents’ rhetoric as mere posturing. However, Belarus-Venezuela partnership could have far-reaching consequences, provided the marriage of Belarusian arms to Venezuelan oil lasts. Contemporary examples of such oil-for-arms arrangements include the US-Saudi Arabia partnership, in which American weaponry pays for Saudi oil, and China’s relationship with African oil-producers, in which Chinese arms pay for African crude.  “I brought you a greeting from the Axis of Evil,” ironized Chavez, who visited Cuba, Algiers, Libya, and Turkmenistan on his way to Belarus. None of these countries were actually included in the “Axis of Evil” coined by George W. Bush to describe Iran, Saddam Hussein's Iraq and North Korea. However, all countries Chavez visited on his trip have a roguish reputation in the West for their human rights violations, dictatorial tendencies, and widespread corruption. If Lukashenka takes up Chavez’s call to unite against “hegemonic” capitalism, one day some other political leader may enlist Minsk itself into the infamous Axis – jokingly or in earnest. This September is not the first time Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visits his “favorite” country Belarus. This time he extolling Belarus as “a model social state like the one we [Venezuelans] are beginning to create.” No less enthusiastic, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka praised the benefits of the likely “strategic partnership” between Minsk and Caracas and thanked Chavez for his “colossal support.” The presidents agreed not “to be deceived or exploited by anyone” and “defend the interests of the individual and not the hegemonic interests of the capitalists, wherever they may be, in Europe or Latin America.” Chavez went as far as flaunting the idea of “a new union of republics” incorporating Belarus and Venezuela. “This will not be a union of Soviet or socialist republics,” he clarified. “It will be free republics with their own systems, but united in a union.” Some may dismiss the presidents’ rhetoric as mere posturing. However, Belarus-Venezuela partnership could have far-reaching consequences, provided the marriage of Belarusian arms to Venezuelan oil lasts. Contemporary examples of such oil-for-arms arrangements include the US-Saudi Arabia partnership, in which American weaponry pays for Saudi oil, and China’s relationship with African oil-producers, in which Chinese arms pay for African crude.

Washington, D.C. — The Georgetown University Theater and Performance Studies Program, in association with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and in cooperation with the We Remember Civil Initiative, presents the internationally acclaimed Belarus Free Theatre at the Davis Performing Arts Center’s Devine Studio Theatre. Effectively banned in its home country, this underground troupe from Minsk, Belarus will perform the area premiere of “Generation Jeans” on Sept. 15, a freedom fighter’s semi-autobiographical monologue which details growing up as a member of the counterculture that regarded jeans and Western pop music as a symbol of rebellion. On Sept. 16, the company performs the U.S. premiere of “Discover Love,” based on the true story of Irina Krasovskaya, whose husband Anatoly, a businessman who supported the Belarus opposition movement, was kidnapped and murdered. The performance takes place exactly 10 years after Anatoly and Victor Gonchar, the Vice-Speaker of the Belarusian Parliament, disappeared on Sept. 16, 1999. Irina, who is now based in Washington, D.C., co-founded We Remember, a civil initiative that disseminates information about politically motivated disappearances of Belarusian citizens and informs the world community about the situation. A memorial reception organized by Irina Krasovskya follows the Sept. 16 premiere.

On September 2nd, Belarus moved one step closer to building its first nuclear reactor by signing an agreement with Russia’s AtomStroyExport for constructing a nuclear power plant in Astravets, Hrodna region. The launch of the first nuclear plant unit is scheduled for 2016 and the second – for 2018.