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"The statement says that the planned unification jeopardizes Belarus' sovereignty and independence and leads to the extinction of the Belarusian language."
" 'We state with indignation that the draft Treaty on the Formation of a Union State shows the authors' disrespect for the language of Belarus' indigenous people. We regard as an insult the fact that Article 11 of the proposed draft names only the Russian language as the working language of all agencies of the union state. It is interesting that the advocates of the union did not take care to print the draft in Belarusian, a state language of the Republic of Belarus,' says the statement. The ignoring of the Belarusian language is evidence that 'the Belarusians will be given a secondary role in the planned state,' says the statement."
" 'We do not want to suffer the same fate as a number of peoples of the Russian empire, which lost their language, culture, and identity as a result of denationalization. We do not want to die,' says the statement."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 117; Wednesday, October 27, 1999; 6:50 p.m.
"Those present admitted to the BLS the society's branch in the town of Cherikov, the Mogilyov region; the Belarusian Musical Alternative, an association known for organizing concerts of bands singing in Belarusian; Kalyadniki, a non-governmental organization; and a BLS branch in the Belarusian Academy of Arts."
Source: BelaPAN, No. 95; Friday, October 22, 1999; 4:40 p.m.
"Mr. Gil had turned his parents' house at Vashunovo into a museum of local lore and history. On September 28, according to the BLS, the chairman of a local collective farm, the district police officer and others broke into the house and threatened to kill Mr. Gil and set the museum on fire. Mr. Gil was reportedly beaten up and arrested. Serious damage was done to the exhibits. Guided by a fake charge sheet, which was drawn up by the district police officer, a court in nearby Dokshitsy sentenced Mr. Gil to 7 days' arrest. He was denied permission to see his lawyer and contact the Lithuanian Embassy. According to the BLS, the eldery ethnographer was hazed by a thug who was put into his cell. Mr. Gil was not released until his sister appealed to the district prosecutor."
"The BLS demands that the appropriate agencies investigate the incident and institute criminal proceedings against the collective farm manager and the district police officer. According to Mr. Gil, 'the local 'elite', who used to have drunken revelries in a house next to the museum, disliked' his cultural and educative activities in the village. 'They conducted that operation to intimidate a happenstance witness of their orgies,' Mr. Gil told BelaPAN."
Source: BelaPAN,; No. 30; Thursday, October 7, 1999; 6:40 p.m.
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