Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report 24.09.2013 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 'Teddy Bear' Airplane That Taunted Lukashenka Goes On eBay The Swedish PR man behind a daring stunt to embarrass Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka over his miserable rights record is at it again, taking bids on eBay for the single-engine French Jodel aircraft that he and a colleague flew unannounced into Belarusian airspace one year ago to drop hundreds of teddy bears with free-speech messages attached. More   Activists Fined For Honoring Dead Inmate A court in Minsk has found four activists guilty of organizing an illegal gathering after they sought to commemorate a man who died in prison. More   EU Commissioner Fuele: Political Prisoners Are 'Ultimate Issue' For Belarus In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL's Armenian Service, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said that any opening for Belarus to make progress in its dialogue with the EU depends on the release and rehabilitation of political prisoners. More   Sakharov Prize Nominees Announced Malala Yousafzai, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and three Belarusian political prisoners are among the nominees for this year's Sakharov Prize. More   Lukashenka Brings Home A 'Peace Prize' Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been awarded the Ig Nobel Peace Prize for 2013 for making it illegal to applaud in public. The Ig Nobel awards are handed out at Harvard University each year and are parodies of the Nobel Prizes. More   EU Calls For Cheaper Belarus Visas The European Parliament has adopted a report calling on the EU to reduce the costs of visas for Belarusians and to reconsider a decision to allow Belarus to host the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship. More   Moldova Moldova PM Meets Transdniester Leader Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca is meeting with the leader of the country's breakaway region of Transdniester, Yevgeny Shevchuk. More   Moldovan Foreign Minister Says Country 'Strong Enough' To Resist Russian Pressure Moldova's foreign minister says her country is "strong enough to resist any pressure" from Russia as it strengthens ties with the European Union. Natalia Gherman, who also serves as Moldova's deputy prime minister, spoke to RFE/RL at the end of a three-day visit to Washington. More   Moldova Seeks U.S. Political, Economic Support Moldova's foreign minister has arrived in the U.S. capital to seek an "intensification" of political and economic ties between the countries. More   Enlargement Commissioner Fuele: EU Will Stand By Partners Ukraine, Moldova In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL's Armenian Service, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said that the EU's partners beyond the bloc's borders -- in particular Moldova and Ukraine -- can count on the support of Brussels in facing economic and political pressure from Russia. More   Moldovan Pottery Artisans from all over Moldova have been taking part in the National Pottery Fair in the Nisporeni region. More   Dour Grapes: Russia Bans Moldovan Wine, Again Russia uncorks another punitive trade ban seemingly aimed at punishing a former Soviet republic for its pro-Western tilt and nipping a budding relationship with the European Union. More   Ukraine Ukrainian Group Drawn Into Ugly Dolphin Debate A Ukrainian group that trades in dolphins has come under unflattering scrutiny in connection with a captivity debate over a planned Qatari dolphinarium. More   Tymoshenko Trial Postponed Again Thousands of supporters and opponents of Yulia Tymoshenko have rallied in front of the court of appeals in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv ahead of a court hearing in the tax-evasion case against the jailed former Ukrainian prime minister. More   Ukraine Gov't Backs EU Association Text Ukrainian cabinet ministers have unanimously approved the draft of an Association Agreement with the European Union. More   Caricatures: What EU Integration Means For Ukraine "Europe's best side" -- that's what the Institute of World Politics in Ukraine called its latest campaign on Ukraine's European integration. It implies that Ukraine has always been part of Europe but that there is a better side of Europe: the European Union. And the closer Ukraine is to the EU, the more opportunities it will have to develop, the campaign proclaims. The institute came up with a booklet of cartoons that depict two realities -- the Ukrainian and the European reality. The cartoonists aimed to demonstrate why Ukraine is still not the "best side" of Europe. They want Ukrainians to stop blaming others for their country's failures, to change their mindsets, and to learn about the best things the EU has to offer. (By Maryna Turovska, Kostyantyn Kazanchev, Ihor Bezhuk, and Oleksiy Kustovsky) More   Ukrainians Honor Gongadze, Other Slain Journalists Ukrainian journalists and activists held a protest in Kyiv calling for the authorities to identify those behind the murder and beheading of critical journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, on the 13th anniversary of his disappearance in 2000. More   Oligarchs Give Ukraine's President Crucial Support In EU Drive Ukraine's main oligarchs seem to be lining up in support of Kyiv's pro-European policy, seeing their political and economic interests in closer relations with Brussels. More   Fuele Slams Russia Over EU Neighbors The European Parliament has overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that deplores different types of pressure being exercised by Russia on the EU's Eastern neighbors. More