Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report 28.08.2012 A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. For more stories on Afghanistan, please visit and bookmark our Afghanistan page .

 

Belarus Extra Year For Jailed Belarus Activist The jailed leader of the unregistered Young Front opposition organization, Zmitser Dashkevich, has received one additional year in prison. More   Bishkek Recalls Belarus Ambassador Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry said on August 24 that it has recalled its ambassador to Belarus, Erik Asanaliev, "for consultations." More   A Tale Of Two Political Refugees: Ecuador May Revoke Asylum Of Belarusian Emigre WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be the most famous person to be granted political asylum in Ecuador. But he isn't the only one. Alyaksandr Barankou fled Belarus in 2009 and was later granted asylum by Ecuador after claiming he was being persecuted after seeking to expose official corruption. But now, Ecuador may revoke his status and extradite him. More   Bishkek Asks Belarus To Arrest Bakiev's Brother Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry has said it has officially asked authorities in Belarus to arrest and extradite Janysh Bakiev, a brother of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev, whose photo allegedly taken in Minsk last week has been circulating on the Internet. More   Belarus: Lukashenka Names New FM Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has dismissed Foreign Minister Syarhey Martynau and replaced him with Uladzimer Makei, the head of the presidential administration. More   Moldova The Green, Green (Missing) Grass Of Chisinau They say it’s the first impression that counts, and Moldovan authorities decided that German Chancellor Angela Merkel should definitely have a good first impression when she arrived in Chisinau on August 22. More   Germany's Merkel Visiting Moldova German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Moldova that its European aspirations must be fulfilled gradually and called for renewed international efforts to resolve the frozen Transdniester conflict. More   Ukraine Photos Of The Week -- August 18-24 Eid al-Fitr celebrations mark the end of Ramadan, protests in Russia, Egypt and Israel, China's "facekini" craze, and National Flag Day in Ukraine. More   Ukraine's Real-Life 'Sleeping Beauties' A Ukrainian artist has created a living fairy tale at the National Art Museum in Kyiv. Five "Sleeping Beauties" are lying in the gallery for three days -- and they've agreed to marry any male suitor who can wake them with a kiss. (Reuters video) More   Ukraine Suspends Extradition Of Chechen Wanted For Plotting Putin's Assassination Ukraine's prosecutor-general has suspended the extradition proceedings to Russia of one of two men suspected of plotting to assassinate Vladimir Putin on orders from self-styled Caucasus Emirate head Doku Umarov. More   Ukrainian Paralympic Team Heads To London Games More than 200 Ukrainian athletes are taking part in the London Paralympics, including the first disabled Ukrainians to compete in cycling. More   Ukraine's Granny And Cat Meme The "kotofot" (kittypic) controversy over a billboard in Ukraine of an elderly woman proposing to bequeath her belongings to her cat instead of a grandson who voted for the ruling Party of Regions unleashed a slew of satirical imagery on social networks. Here's a sample, with hat tips to Korrespondent.net's Tatiana Kozak and internetUA.com's Natalia Kilyushik . More   Ukraine's Ruling Party Gets Catty, Opposition Bares Its Claws For the second week in a row, Ukrainian social networks have been awash with cats. As cute little kitties tend to abound everywhere on the Internet, you might think this is hardly unusual. But what makes these felines special is that they are at the heart of an intriguing political row ahead of Ukraine's parliamentary elections in just over two months. More   Femen Activists Cut Down Cross In Kyiv Ukrainian activists from the Femen movement have cut down a cross in central Kyiv in a gesture of solidarity with the members of the Russian feminist performance-art group Pussy Riot. More   Ukraine's Lutsenko Gets Two Years A court in Kyiv has sentenced Ukraine's former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko to two years in prison in a second case against him. More   I Can Has Political Advertising: Cat-Themed Opposition Billboards Taken Down In Ukraine With Ukraine's parliamentary elections just over two months away, opposition campaigners in eastern Ukraine say their voices are being muffled. More