Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report 29.05.2012 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 Given New Jail Time A court in the Belarusian capital has ordered that an opposition activist spend six months in jail for parole violation. More   Prominent Belarusian Rights Defender Sentenced For 'Vulgar Words' Belarusian human rights activist Aleh Vouchak has been found guilty by a Minsk court of using vulgar words in public and sentenced to nine days in jail. More   Amnesty Says Gov'ts 'Failing To Lead' Amnesty International says courage shown by rights protesters during the past year has been matched by an "endemic failure of leadership" from local and international authorities. More   Ukraine Euro 2012 Racism Claims Irk Ukraine Ukraine has accused the British media of waging a campaign to discredit the country ahead of the European soccer championship that it is co-hosting next month with Poland. More   Fistfight Won't Derail Ukraine Parliament Ukrainian lawmakers have rejected a call by the the speaker of parliament to dissolve the legislature and hold early elections following an outbreak of violence between parliament members in the chamber. More   Ten Memorable Eurovision Moments As the Eurovision final draws near, the Internet is awash with "best of" and "worst of" lists featuring songs from the contest over the past seven decades. More   Ukraine Activists Protest Language Law More than 1,000 activists of nationalist and opposition groups have picketed the Ukrainian parliament building protesting the ruling Regions Party's proposed draft law on languages. More   Kyiv's First International Biennale Of Contemporary Art Ukraine's first Biennale of Contemporary Art kicked off this month at Kyiv’s Mystetskyi Arsenal art center. Staged at a cost of $4.75 million in a space comprising 20,000 square meters, this landmark event features the work of 80 artists from 40 countries. Here's a quick look at some of the artworks renowned curator David Elliot has chosen for the exhibition. More   In Annual Rights Report, U.S. Warns Of 'Instability' Following Arab Spring In a new report, the U.S. State Department calls last year’s uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa “inspirational," with citizens in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria standing up and demanding their universal rights, greater economic opportunity, and participation in their countries’ political future. More   Dolphin Deaths Alarm Black Sea Ecologists Dolphins have been dying in large numbers along the Black Sea coast in Russia and Ukraine. Local officials have blamed the cold winter, poachers, and a possible infectious disease for the mysterious die-off. But local environmentalists say pollution, particularly around the Olympic construction sites in Sochi, is the real culprit. More   EU: Independent Tymoshenko Panel The European Parliament has called on the Ukrainian authorities to establish an independent panel to investigate alleged rights abuses against jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. More   Beaten Ukrainian Gay Activist Unbowed The May 20 public beating of a gay rights activist in Ukraine shocked many people around the world and brought condemnation from Amnesty International. But the victim, Svyatoslav Sheremet, wasn't surprised. He was prepared. And the incident hasn't dimmed his commitment to opening people's minds to the fact that gay rights are first and foremost human rights. More   'Chernobyl Diaries' Horror Film Angers Victim Support Group Fans of exploitation cinema might be happy, but support groups for victims of the world's worst civilian nuclear disaster are not. More