Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky (L) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (R) visit Russia to sign a number of Russia-Belarus agreements.
Photo: ITAR-TASS
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Lukashenko to Reshuffle Belarus
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko decided to dismiss the government of Sergei Sidorsky. The decree might be published soon. New prime minister is to initiate privatization, which might open the way for Russian business into Belarus’ petrochemical sector.
Kommersant’s source in the Belarusian government said that President Alexander Lukashenko had signed the decree on dismissing Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky a week ago. “The decree is ready. It’s on the president’s desk, and might be published very soon,” the source said.
There are different versions in Minsk concerning why Sidorsky is being dismissed. First, it might be a regular rotation. Lukashenka is known for changing the country’s prime minister every 2 or 3 years, to prevent the minister’s political strengthening. Second, it is a tradition that a prime minister serves as a scapegoat when Belarus’ economy is falling.
Belarusian authorities plan to initiate privatization of some enterprises of the country’s petrochemical center. Russian companies will take part in the tenders for the shares in those enterprises. Apparently, it will be a new prime minister to supervise the privatization procedures. Sidorsky might be replaced by Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov, Belarusian politicians say off-the-record.
The West believes that Naumov is linked to the disappearance of businessman Anatoly Krasovsky in 1999 and ORT camera-operator Dmitry Zavadsky in 2000. During the last year’s presidential election, Naumov personally sanctioned the harsh crackdown of opposition rallies in Minsk. Due to these actions, Naumov is now in the blacklist of Belarusian officials whose foreign accounts are frozen and who are banned from entering the countries of Western Europe and North America, compiled by the European Union and the United States.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 21, 2007
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