BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

03/05/2007

'Manifesto Of Belarusian-Russian Unification' Appears On Internet

The Russian website stringer.ru has published a document called "Minsk Manifesto of Belarusian-Russian Unification," which is signed by Leanid Sinitsyn and Uladzimir Parfyanovich, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported on May 2. The authors present themselves as adherents of "true" Belarusian-Russian integration and propose that Belarus joins Russia on the basis of the Russian Constitution as an "associate subject" of the Russian Federation. According to them, Belarus can remain a "sovereign state" after such a move. Sinitsyn and Parfyanovich suggest that Belarus adopts the Russian ruble as its currency and transfers its gas-pipeline network to Russian ownership. "It is an attempt to fill the niche of those who want to sell Belarus at the lowest price possible. It is quite a cynical and open [attempt]," Anatol Lyabedzka, leader of the opposition United Democratic Party, told RFE/RL's Belarus Service. "There can be no sovereignty [for Belarus] within the Russian Federation. Russia is a country based on a principle of federalism. Giving some sovereign status for Belarus means creating problems within Russia," Lyabedzka added. Sinitsyn was manager of the presidential election campaign of Alyaksandr Lukashenka in 1994, the first head of Lukashenka's presidential administration, and a deputy prime minister. Sinitsyn quit the Belarusian government in 1996. Parfyanovich, a three-time Olympic kayaking champion, was a member of Belarus's Chamber of Representatives in 2000-2004. JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/05/3-CEE/cee-030507.asp