Belarus

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Saturday March 25, 2006 14:43 by ipsi 0034 636 105 231

there is a Belarus imc. Most of their articles as of today focus on the elections (which they have misspelt (?) in their english version as "erections") and "state terror". 34 articles each.

If anyone can read russian or bylerus might be an idea to do the translating thing.

meanwhile here's a link to a video of indymedia heads in Minsk, which begins nicely enough and ought remind us all, that even if you live out there beyond the borders of our understanding and interest, you still bop your head to techno.

goto this page
http://belarus.indymedia.org/3430
click on the line "video/x-ms-wmv content"
and wait a few seconds.

Meanwhile, as I've said before one of the things you can do which is simple in Ireland or any other state amongst the top 20 wealth list of the planet, is donate your old mobile phone.

don't throw it away. Send it to migrant networks working Africa or democracy groups working out east.

Sim cards are cheap and plentiful, phone cards only cost about 5€ and with those we can offer sms texting and/or up to 600 minutes global chit-chat or "important communication" time to those we are in solidarity with.

Think about setting up a "mobile recycle group" if you can't find people to send your old mobiles to on your own, drop me a line "iosaf[at]europe.com"

the BBC (whom some of us don't trust) are getting sms text messages from within Minsk prison where the belarus police have rounded up hundreds of protesters and are holding them in the yard.
Its very cold.

But outside the prison walls, thousands more are hitting the streets.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4843690.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4828848.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4842076.stm

A few "Free Radio" contacts have been set up before the elections and broadcast from Poland and Lithuania as part of a Polish government iniative and of course the "RFERL" network is buzzing in there too.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/23/news/radio.php
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/01/ef4a8d4e-9....html
(for background on REFRL C/F http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/03/336584.html )

Lets not forget that Bylerussia is a thorn in the side of both the EU and of Russia.
And that is the "buffer state" betwixt the two. And that is a sorry mess of contamination, corruption, pollution, neglect, and the full horrific legacy of the Soviet system. & lastly that it doesn't really excite much solidarity or humanitarian interest in western Europe.

Oh yeah! don't forget that its top of the list for location of a CIA secret prison for rendition.

Now don't go trying to dot the REFRL dot to the CIA black prison dot, or you'll hurt your head.
I'm not suggesting you hurt your head, I'm just asking for translations / paraphrases and if possible the setting up of a "recycle mobiles network".