Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report 2/21/2012 8:47:33 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. For more stories on Eastern Europe, please visit and bookmark our Eastern Europe page .

 

Belarus Belarus Activist Hospitalized, Trial Halted The trial of Belarusian opposition activist Syarhey Kavalenka in the eastern city of Vitsebsk has been halted as doctors decided that he has to be hospitalized. More   Byalyatski Moved To Belarus Labor Camp A prominent Belarusian human rights activist who was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in jail for tax evasion has been transferred from a detention center in Minsk to a labor camp in the eastern city of Babruysk. More   Skoda 'Supports Sports, Not Belarus' Officials at Skoda, the Czech Republic-based automaker, say that by supporting international sporting events, their company "supports sports interests, not a concrete state or national organization." More   EU Urge Belarus To Abolish Death Penalty The European Parliament has unanimously passed a resolution condemning the death penalty in Belarus and urging the country to adopt a moratorium on the practice. More   Belarus Authorities Warn Labor Leader The chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Labor Unions has been warned by authorities in connection with what is described as his alleged responsibility for "discrediting Belarus abroad." More   Siberian City Bans 'Toys' Protest Authorities in the Russian Siberian city of Barnaul have rejected an application for a protest involving toys. More   Exile Bakiev Buying Property In Belarus Real estate agents in Minsk say former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev is negotiating to buy a house in the elite Raubichi suburbs of the Belarusian capital, Minsk. More   EU Parliament Head 'Appalled' By Belarus European Parliament President Martin Schulz has said he is "appalled by the deteriorating situation in Belarus regarding human rights and political freedoms." 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   Jailed Belarus Activist Nominated For Nobel Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova has nominated the jailed Belarusian rights activist Ales Byalyatski for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. More   Moldova 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   Transdniester's Hard Currency 'Missing' Yevgeny Shevchuk, the newly-elected leader of the breakaway Moldovan territory of Transdniester, has told a meeting of the separatist Supreme Council that almost all of Transdniester's currency reserves disappeared under the administration of his predecessor, Igor Smirnov. More   U.S. Sanctions Men For PKK Trafficking The U.S. Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on three Moldova-based men that Washington says work as drug traffickers on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). More   Call To Repeal Jackson-Vanik For Moldova Moldova should be exempted from the Jackson-Vanik amendment to allow for normal trade relations with the United States, according to a group of experts participating in a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. More   Ukraine The Force Is Strong In The Ukrainian Internet Earlier this month, the Ukrainian authorities shut down a file-sharing website called Ex.ua, seemingly in an effort to combat copyright infraction and piracy. But when hackers broke into their websites, they blinked. More   Tymoshenko: 'I Fear For My Mother's Life' The daughter of Ukraine's jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko tells RFE/RL that she's afraid her mother may die because of what she describes as abusive prison conditions. More   Ukraine: No Surgery For Tymoshenko Ukrainian members of the international medical panel that examined the health of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko say no surgery is needed for her treatment. More   Ukraine President Snubbed By Veterans Ukrainian veterans of the Afghan-Soviet war, angry about proposed cuts to payouts, snubbed President Viktor Yanukovych at a ceremony to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. More   First Wine, Then Meat, Then Veggies. Now Russia Cuts The (Ukrainian) Cheese Ukraine and Russia are trading harsh words in an escalating row over Ukrainian cheese. Russia last week barred imports of some Ukrainian cheeses, citing poor quality. More   Officials: Tymoshenko Rejects Health Check Prison authorities say jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has rejected a medical examination by an international panel because it included local doctors. Her lawyer said she would not allow government medical workers to examine her. More   Tymoshenko 'Denied Painkillers' The daughter of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko says her mother is being denied access to painkillers despite being in "horrendous" pain. More   Cold-Weather Deaths Shed Light On Plight of Ukraine's Homeless Ukrainian officials say that at least 135 people have died as a result of the ongoing cold spell gripping Europe. Authorities have erected heated tents and provided food and warm tea to help residents cope with the subzero temperatures. But homeless people and social workers in the capital Kyiv say authorities are not doing enough to help the country's most vulnerable citizens find shelter from the cold. More   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   EU Gas Supplies Down The European Commission says deliveries of natural gas from Russia have fallen in eight countries -- Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia -- as temperatures plunged to new lows in a week-long cold snap. More   U.S. Appeal To Free Tymoshenko Eugenia Tymoshenko told a Senate hearing "restrictive measures" are needed against Ukraine's government. More