rferl--2020-08-30--Voters Go To The Polls In Montenegro In Elections Testing Pro-Western Government

Voters in Montenegro are going to the polls on August 30 to choose among a host of coalitions and parties competing in parliamentary elections , with the outcome too close to call .
Neither the long-ruling pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists ( DPS ) nor the leading opposition pro-Russian and pro-Serbian Democratic Front ( DF ) is tipped to win a majority in the 81-seat parliament .
Election authorities set the turnout at 51.5 percent by 1 p.m. , up from 39.9 percent at the same time during the previous general vote four years ago .
The dominant theme of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ online and on social media because of the coronavirus pandemic , was a religious law that the Serbian Orthodox Church says would strip the church of its property in the country .
The law , which came into force in January , says religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918 , the year when Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church , losing all of its property in the process .
The Serbian Orthodox Church says the law is aimed at retaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against it .
Montenegrin officials have repeatedly denied the allegations .
Montenegro split from Serbia in a referendum in 2006 and further turned away from Belgrade and its Orthodox ally Russia , taking a pro-Western course and joining NATO in 2017 .
The country has also been negotiating steps toward getting an official invitation from the European Union for membership to the bloc .
Serbian nationalists in both countries have never fully recognized Serbia 's separation from Montenegro , which they claim is a historic Serbian territory .
During the campaign , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen as a driving force behind some opposition parties , primarily the DF .
The government directed the brunt of its campaign at the church and the opposition that supports it .
After voting in the capital , Podgorica , President Milo Djukanovic told reporters he expected a majority of Montenegrin voters will opt for the country 's `` European future . ''
The political future of Djukanovic , who leads the DPS and who has overseen Montenegro 's efforts to qualify for EU membership , could be at stake in the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reelection for three more years , his party has been in power for 30 years in various coalitions .
Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is the first in its electoral list .
The DF is led by university professor Zdravko Krivokapic , a nonpartisan figure .
High on its electoral list is Marko Milacic , who has led an anti-NATO campaign in previous years and who is known for burning the alliance 's flags on a few occasions .
The elections are the 11th since a multiparty system was established in Montenegro and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2006 .
An electorate of more than 540,000 will have the opportunity to vote at 1,217 polling stations , which open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. More than 2,000 observers , including 265 foreign observers , will follow the election .
Among the parties in power that also are contesting in the elections are the Social Democrats , the Bosniak Party , two coalitions of the ethnic Albanian parties and two parties of the Croatian national minority .
The DF is the main constituent of the coalition For the Future @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Peace is Our Nation and the Black on White list .
The Social Democratic Party is running on its own .
Local elections also are being held in a handful of municipalities along the coast and in the north of the country .
The elections are taking place amid an economic crisis in the country caused by coronavirus restrictions that have reduced Montenegro 's tourism revenues by 90 percent this year

Montenegro's citizens cast their votes on August 30 for a host of coalitions and parties competing in parliamentary elections, with the outcome too close to call.
Neither the long-ruling pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) nor the leading opposition pro-Russian and pro-Serbian Democratic Front (DF) is tipped to win a majority in the 81-seat parliament.
Election authorities said the turnout was nearly 75 percent as of 7 p.m. local time, up from 71.6 percent at the same time during the previous general vote four years ago. Polls closed at 8 p.m. local time. Observers reported some irregularities, such as voters lacking identification cards.
The dominant theme of the campaign, which was mainly conducted online and on social media because of the coronavirus pandemic, was a religious law that the Serbian Orthodox Church says would strip the church of its property in the country.
The law, which came into force in January, says religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918, the year when Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, losing all of its property in the process.
The Serbian Orthodox Church says the law is aimed at retaking its property and has held daily protests against it. Montenegrin officials have repeatedly denied the allegations.
Montenegro split from Serbia in a referendum in 2006 and further turned away from Belgrade and its Orthodox ally Russia, taking a pro-Western course and joining NATO in 2017.
The country has also been negotiating steps toward getting an official invitation from the European Union for membership to the bloc.
Serbian nationalists in both countries have never fully recognized Serbia's separation from Montenegro, which they claim is a historic Serbian territory.
During the campaign, the support of the Serbian Orthodox Church was seen as a driving force behind some opposition parties, primarily the DF. The government directed the brunt of its campaign at the church and the opposition that supports it.
After voting in the capital, Podgorica, President Milo Djukanovic told reporters he expected a majority of Montenegrin voters will opt for the country's "European future."
The political future of Djukanovic, who leads the DPS and who has overseen Montenegro's efforts to qualify for EU membership, could be at stake in the election. Though Djukanovic is not up for reelection for three more years, his party has been in power for 30 years in various coalitions. Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is the first in its electoral list.
The DF is led by university professor Zdravko Krivokapic, a nonpartisan figure. High on its electoral list is Marko Milacic, who has led an anti-NATO campaign in previous years and who is known for burning the alliance's flags on a few occasions.
The elections are the 11th since a multiparty system was established in Montenegro and the fifth since the country regained independence in 2006.
An electorate of more than 540,000 had the opportunity to vote. More than 2,000 observers, including 265 foreign observers, are following the elections.
Among the parties in power that also are contesting in the elections are the Social Democrats, the Bosniak Party, two coalitions of the ethnic Albanian parties and two parties of the Croatian national minority.
The DF is the main constituent of the coalition For the Future of Montenegro. Other opposition coalitions are Peace is Our Nation and the Black on White list. The Social Democratic Party is running on its own.
Local elections also are being held in a handful of municipalities along the coast and in the north of the country.
The elections are taking place amid an economic crisis in the country caused by coronavirus restrictions that have reduced Montenegro's tourism revenues by 90 percent this year
With reporting by Reuters


rferl--2020-08-31--North Macedonia's Parliament Approves New Government Headed By Social Democrats

North Macedonia 's Parliament has approved a new coalition led by Social Democrats , ending a months-long leadership void amid the coronavirus pandemic .
The vote on August 30 just ahead of a midnight deadline returns Zoran Zaev to the post of prime minister after his party narrowly won a victory over right-wing rivals in July .
His governing coalition of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia ( SDSM ) and the largest party representing the ethnic Albanian minority was approved by 62 votes in the 120-seat assembly following two days of heated debate .
The SDSM won the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not secure enough seats for a majority .
Zaev and Ali Ahmet , the head of the Democratic Union for Integration ( DUI ) , announced on August 18 their parties had reached a power-sharing deal .
The new government will have a two-seat majority with the SDSM 's 46 seats , DUI 's 15 parliament members , and the single lawmaker from a smaller ethnic Albanian party .
`` A period of order , justice , and discipline is coming , it is time for vetting of the judiciary and unselective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the assembly .
Other priorities of the new government are the economy , education , administration , and the environment .
Zaev also promised to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and to fight crime and corruption .
He said he considers it important for the new government to complete its new four-year term “ in order to provide a favorable environment for the realization of the economic program , as well as for our European integration.
” According to the power-sharing deal with the DUI , Zaev will hand the prime minister ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposed by the junior partner 100 days before the end of the government ’ s term ends in 2024 .
Ethnic Albanians make up about a quarter of North Macedonia ’ s 2.1 million people .
It would be the first time a representative of the largest minority ethnic community held that position since North Macedonia split from the former Yugoslav federation in 1991 .
After the vote on the new government , opposition MPs left the Parliament and did not attend the swearing-in ceremony .
They said the government 's program did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's development and they believe it will not make the necessary reforms , especially in education .
`` The weakest point in the country is education , '' said conservative VMRO-DPMNE Party MP Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova , citing low funding for science .
The vote ends a period of eight months in which North Macedonia was run by a weak government that was only supposed to be in power until a snap election in April .
The vote was delayed until July because of the coronavirus pandemic .
The virus has infected about 14,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country .
Zaev pledged to tackle the pandemic and its economic consequences and make progress on European Union accession talks .
The country officially became a candidate for membership earlier this year .
During the parliamentary debate the right-wing opposition accused the Social Democrats of corruption and mismanaging the pandemic and economy .
They also accused the party of sacrificing the country 's national identity in a historic agreement with Greece .
Macedonia added North to its name last year in exchange for Greece 's promise to stop blocking its path to EU @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the name Macedonia for its own province .
The accord on the name change ushered the country into NATO and helped secure its status as an EU candidate country .
With reporting by AFP , AP , and dpa

SKOPJE -- North Macedonia's parliament has approved a new coalition led by Social Democrats, ending a months-long leadership void amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The vote on August 30 just ahead of a midnight deadline returns Zoran Zaev to the post of prime minister after his party narrowly won a victory over right-wing rivals in July.
His governing coalition of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) and the largest party representing the ethnic Albanian minority was approved by 62 votes in the 120-seat assembly following two days of heated debate.
The SDSM won the most votes in July 15 parliamentary elections but did not secure enough seats for a majority. Zaev and Ali Ahmet, the head of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), announced on August 18 that their parties had reached a power-sharing deal.
The new government will have a two-seat majority with the SDSM's 46 seats, DUI's 15 parliament members, and a single lawmaker from a smaller ethnic Albanian party.
"A period of order, justice, and discipline is coming. It is time for the vetting of the judiciary and unselective rule of law," Zaev told the assembly.
Other priorities for the new government are the economy, education, and the environment. Zaev also promised to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and to fight crime and corruption.
He said he considers it important for the new government to complete its new four-year term “in order to provide a favorable environment for the realization of the economic program, as well as for our European integration.”
According to the power-sharing deal with the DUI, Zaev will hand the prime minister’s office over to an ethnic Albanian politician proposed by the junior partner 100 days before the end of the government’s term ends in 2024. Ethnic Albanians make up about one-quarter of North Macedonia’s 2.1 million people.
It would be the first time a representative of the largest minority ethnic community held that position since North Macedonia split from the former Yugoslav federation in 1991.
After the vote on the new government, opposition deputies left the parliament and did not attend the swearing-in ceremony. They said the government's program did not have clear goals for the country's development and they believe it will not make the necessary reforms, especially in education.
"The weakest point in the country is education," said conservative VMRO-DPMNE deputy Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, citing low funding for science.
The vote ends a period of eight months in which North Macedonia was run by a weak government that was only supposed to be in power until snap elections in April. The vote was delayed until July because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The virus has infected about 14,000 people and killed nearly 600 in the country.
Zaev pledged to tackle the pandemic and its economic consequences and make progress on European Union accession talks. The country officially became a candidate for membership earlier this year.
During the parliamentary debate, the right-wing opposition accused the Social Democrats of corruption and mismanaging the pandemic and the economy.
They also accused the party of sacrificing the country's national identity in a historic agreement with Greece. Macedonia added North to its name last year in exchange for Greece's promise to stop blocking its path to EU membership.
Athens claimed exclusive rights to the name Macedonia for its own province. The accord on the name change ushered the country into NATO and helped secure its status as an EU candidate country.
With reporting by AFP, AP, and dpa


rferl--2020-08-31--Unofficial Results In Montenegro's Parliamentary Elections Show Pro-Serb Opposition Coalitions With

Unofficial Results In Montenegro's Parliamentary Elections Show Pro-Serb Opposition Coalitions With Narrow Victory

A coalition led by the pro-Serb Democratic Front ( DF ) and two other opposition coalitions have claimed victory over the ruling pro-Western party in a razor close parliamentary election .
For the Future of Montenegro , together with the coalitions Peace Is Our Nation and Black and White , won 41 of 81 seats in the Balkan country ’ s election on August 30 , according to preliminary unofficial results released by the monitoring organization Center for Monitoring and Research ( CEMI ) .
The unofficial result is based on 88.4 percent of ballots from a sample of polling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unofficial results show the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists ( DPS ) , the Bosniak and Albanian National Minority Party , the Social Democrat Ivan Brajovic , and the Social Democratic Party ( SDP ) among the parties claiming the remaining seats .
CEMI director Zlatko Vujović noted that the results are unofficial but were likely to be confirmed .
`` Three opposition coalitions that have announced cooperation after the elections - For the Future of Montenegro , Peace Is Our Nation , and Black and White - will have at least 41 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is something that , most likely , will not be questioned , but we should wait for the State Election Commission.
” That did not stop Zdravko Krivokapic , the leader of For the Future of Montenegro coalition , which wants closer ties with Serbia and Russia , from claiming victory .
“ The regime has fallen , ” Krivokapic said .
“ People of Montenegro , freedom has happened !
” President Milo Djukanovic , leader of the DPS , which has governed Montenegro for 30 years , said his party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concede .
“ The struggle for the majority of parliamentary seats in the Montenegrin parliament is still going on , ” said Djukanovic .
“ We will wait for the final count and the official results to see which of the two political sides will have the decisive 41st mandate.
” Djukanovic expressed hope that whoever forms the next government , Montenegro will remain on a path to join the European Union .
Election authorities said the turnout was nearly 75 percent .
The dominant theme of the campaign , which was mainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the coronavirus pandemic , was a religious law that the Serbian Orthodox Church says would strip the church of its property in the country .
The law , which came into force in January , says religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918 , the year when Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church , losing all of its property in the process .
The Serbian Orthodox Church says the law is aimed at retaking its property and has held daily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeatedly denied the allegations .
Montenegro split from Serbia in a referendum in 2006 and further turned away from Belgrade and its Orthodox ally Russia , taking a pro-Western course and joining NATO in 2017 .
The country has also been negotiating steps toward getting an official invitation from the EU for membership to the bloc .
Serbian nationalists in both countries have never fully recognized Serbia 's separation from Montenegro , which they claim is a historic Serbian territory .
During the campaign the support of the Serbian Orthodox Church was seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parties , primarily the DF .
The government directed the brunt of its campaign at the church and the opposition that supports it .
The political future of Djukanovic , who has overseen Montenegro 's efforts to qualify for EU membership , could be at stake though Djukanovic is not up for reelection for three more years .
The elections are the 11th since a multiparty system was established in Montenegro and the fifth since the country regained independence in 2006 .
More than 2,000 observers , including 265 foreign observers , followed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as voters lacking identification cards , were reported .
With reporting by Reuters and AP

PODGORICA -- A coalition led by the pro-Serbian Democratic Front (DF) and two other opposition coalitions have claimed victory over the ruling pro-Western party in parliamentary elections.
For the Future of Montenegro, together with the coalitions Peace is our Nation and Black and White, won 41 of 81 seats in the Balkan country's elections on August 30, according to preliminary unofficial results released by the Center for Monitoring and Research (CEMI) monitoring organization. The unofficial result is based on 88.4 percent of ballots from a sample of polling stations, CEMI said.
The preliminary unofficial results show the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), the Bosniak and Albanian National Minority Party, the Social Democrat Ivan Brajovic, and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) among the parties claiming the remaining seats.
CEMI Director Zlatko Vujovic noted that the results were unofficial but likely to be confirmed.
"Three opposition coalitions that have announced cooperation after the elections -- For the Future of Montenegro, Peace is our Nation, and Black and White -- will have at least 41 mandates,” Vujovic said. "This is something that, most likely, will not be questioned, but we should wait for the State Election Commission."
That did not stop Zdravko Krivokapic, the leader of For the Future of Montenegro coalition, which wants closer ties with Serbia and Russia, from claiming victory.
"The regime has fallen," Krivokapic said. "People of Montenegro, freedom has happened!"
President Milo Djukanovic, leader of the DPS, which has governed Montenegro for 30 years, said his party will respect the results but did not concede.
"The struggle for the majority of parliamentary seats in the Montenegrin parliament is still going on," Djukanovic said. "We will wait for the final count and the official results to see which of the two political sides will have the decisive 41st mandate."
Djukanovic expressed hope that whoever forms the next government, Montenegro will remain on a path to join the European Union.
Election authorities said the turnout was nearly 75 percent.
The dominant theme of the campaign, which was mainly conducted online and on social media because of the coronavirus pandemic, was a religious law that the Serbian Orthodox Church says would strip the church of its property in the country.
The law, which came into force in January, says religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918, the year when Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, losing all of its property in the process.
The Serbian Orthodox Church says the law is aimed at retaking its property and has held daily protests against it. Montenegrin officials have repeatedly denied the allegations.
Montenegro split from Serbia in a referendum in 2006 and further turned away from Belgrade and its Orthodox ally Russia, taking a pro-Western course and joining NATO in 2017.
The country has also been negotiating steps toward getting an official invitation from the EU for membership in the bloc.
Serbian nationalists in both countries have never fully recognized Serbia's separation from Montenegro, which they claim is a historic Serbian territory.
During the campaign, the support of the Serbian Orthodox Church was seen as a driving force behind some opposition parties, primarily the DF. The government directed the brunt of its campaign at the church and the opposition that supports it.
The political future of Djukanovic, who has overseen Montenegro's efforts to qualify for EU membership, could be at stake, though Djukanovic is not up for reelection for three more years.
The elections are the 11th since a multiparty system was established in Montenegro and the fifth since the country regained independence in 2006.
More than 2,000 observers, including 265 foreign monitors, followed the election. Some irregularities, such as voters lacking identification cards, were reported.
With reporting by Reuters and AP


rferl--2020-08-30--Arrests Made As Tens Of Thousands Of Protesters Rally In Minsk

MINSK -- Tens of thousands of Belarusians have streamed into the center of the capital for the latest mass demonstration against longtime authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka .
Columns of protesters on August 30 joined what was called a Peace and Independence March toward Minsk 's Independence Square , which was previously cordoned off by security forces .
Many participants waved banned red-and-white flags that have long been a symbol of opposition to his regime .
Riot police blocked crowds from advancing in several areas of the city , and detained at least 125 protesters near Independence Square and elsewhere , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protesters were carried away into prisoner transport vehicles as other demonstrators shouted `` shame . ''
Armored vehicles were brought into Minsk and parked near the residency of Lukashenka `` to strengthen the security of personnel , '' the Interior Ministry said .
Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti on August 30 posted a photograph of Lukashenka walking around his residence with an automatic weapon that it said it received from the Belarusian leader 's press secretary .
It was unclear whether the photo was taken that day .
Some of the protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the day amid heavy rain .
Belarus has been rocked by 22 days of protests and strikes over a disputed presidential election that has given Lukashenka a new six-year term .
The protests have posed the greatest challenge yet to Lukashenka 's 26-year rule .
Ahead of the planned march , the Interior Ministry has warned citizens not to take part in the unauthorized rally , while Minsk police recommended journalists covering the rally to stay at least 100 meters away from the protesters “ for their own safety.
” On previous Sundays @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the streets of Minsk over an August 9 presidential election widely believed to have been rigged in favor of Lukashenka , who claimed a landslide victory .
Anti-government demonstrations held over the past few days have been disbanded and participants detained by riot police .
Amid Western condemnation of the vote and the harsh police crackdown on opposition protesters , the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart planned face-to-face talks in Moscow in the coming weeks .
The two leaders have recently spoken on the phone several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Belarus , including on August 30 , when Putin congratulated Lukashenka on his 66th birthday .
Both sides reaffirmed their intention to strengthen and expand their neighborly alliance , according to the Kremlin .
On August 29 , a crowd estimated at up to 10,000 people , mainly women , marched through the city center , singing and chanting “ Sasha , You ’ re Fired !
” -- a reference to Lukashenka .
A total of 29 protesters were detained in Minsk and elsewhere in Belarus that day , according to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Security Council stripped accreditations from at least 17 journalists from major foreign news organizations who have been covering the country ’ s turmoil .
The Foreign Ministry said the decision was taken for security reasons .
Acting RFE/RL President Daisy Sindelar denounced “ a desperate and ominous move by an authoritarian government to stifle the independent media and ruthlessly control the availability of credible information inside Belarus.
” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned “ these clear attacks on media freedom , ” while the U.S. Embassy in Minsk called on the Belarusian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We stand by our long-term commitment to support Belarus ’ s sovereignty and territorial integrity , as well as the aspirations of the Belarusian people to choose their leaders and to choose their own path , free from external intervention , ” the statement said .
A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that instead of “ intimidating and hindering media in reporting , ” the authorities should “ focus on reflecting on and addressing the desires and aspirations of the Belarusian population.
” A week ago , public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the capital despite a brutal police crackdown against protesters and widespread evidence of beatings and torture of those detained .
The leading opposition candidate , Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , has told the European Parliament that at least six people have been killed in the crackdown and dozens of protesters have gone missing after being detained by authorities .

MINSK -- Tens of thousands of Belarusians streamed into the center of the capital to demand Alyaksandr Lukashenka step down as the defiant, longtime authoritarian ruler turned 66.
Waving banned red-and-white flags that have long been a symbol of opposition to Lukashenka’s rule, the protesters marched toward Minsk's Independence Square on August 30, ignoring an earlier Interior Ministry call not to assemble.
They chanted, “Happy birthday, rat” and “Leave” as they gathered outside the presidential palace where Lukashenka is currently staying. Many carried anti-Lukashenka signs, while one group carried a black coffin. Lukashenka last week described the protesters as “rats.”
The BelaPAN news agency put the number of protesters in Minsk at more than 100,000.
Riot police blocked the crowds from advancing in several areas of the city and detained at least 125 protesters near Independence Square and elsewhere, according to the Interior Ministry.
Several armored vehicles were brought into Minsk and parked near the presidential residency "to strengthen the security of personnel," the Interior Ministry said.
Lukashenka has shown no intention of negotiating with the protesters, who he claims are influenced by outside forces.
Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti posted a photograph of Lukashenka carrying an automatic weapon inside the palace grounds earlier in the day. RIA Novosti said the photograph was sent by Lukashenka’s press secretary.
It is the second time since the protests began that Lukashenka has released photos of himself armed with heavy guns.
Rigged Vote
Belarus has been rocked by three weeks of protests and strikes after the nation’s election commission claimed Lukashenka won a new six-year term in a landslide victory.
The opposition claimed the election was marred by irregularities and rigged in Lukashenka’s favor.
Belarusian presidential candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya attracted tens of thousands of supporters to her rallies across the country in the run-up to election day, underscoring the growing disillusion with Lukashenka’s Soviet-style rule.
However, the election committee claimed Tsikhanouskaya won only about 10 percent of the vote to Lukashenka’s 80 percent, angering voters and pushing them to take to the streets.
Unlike in the past, mass arrests and police torture in the days following the election failed to stem the protests, raising questions about whether Lukashenka can hold on to power.
Thousands of people, mainly women, took to the streets on August 29 to protest Lukashenka’s rule and tried to break through a line of riot police.
Tsikhanouskaya told the European Parliament that at least six people have been killed in the crackdown and dozens of protesters have gone missing after being detained by authorities.
Ahead of the planned August 30 protest, the Interior Ministry warned citizens not to take part in the unauthorized rally, a call that was widely ignored.
In an attempt to stifle global coverage of the protests, the Belarusian authorities days earlier stripped accreditation from at least 17 journalists representing major foreign news organizations, including RFE/RL.
The West has condemned the vote and the harsh police crackdown on opposition protesters, forcing Lukashenka to look to Moscow for support.
The Kremlin announced on August 30 that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenka plan to hold face-to-face talks in Moscow in the coming weeks.
Putin also congratulated Lukashenka on his birthday during a phone call. The two leaders have spoken by phone several times since the protests began.
Both sides reaffirmed their intention to strengthen and expand their neighborly alliance, according to the Kremlin's readout of the call.
With additional reporting by Current Time


rferl--2020-08-30--Montenegro Awaits Results In Elections Testing Pro-Western Government

Montenegro 's citizens cast their votes on August 30 for a host of coalitions and parties competing in parliamentary elections , with the outcome too close to call .
Neither the long-ruling pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists ( DPS ) nor the leading opposition pro-Russian and pro-Serbian Democratic Front ( DF ) is tipped to win a majority in the 81-seat parliament .
Election authorities said the turnout was nearly 75 percent as of 7 p.m. local time , up from 71.6 percent at the same time during the previous general vote four years ago .
Polls closed at 8 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ irregularities , such as voters lacking identification cards .
The dominant theme of the campaign , which was mainly conducted online and on social media because of the coronavirus pandemic , was a religious law that the Serbian Orthodox Church says would strip the church of its property in the country .
The law , which came into force in January , says religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918 , the year when Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process .
The Serbian Orthodox Church says the law is aimed at retaking its property and has held daily protests against it .
Montenegrin officials have repeatedly denied the allegations .
Montenegro split from Serbia in a referendum in 2006 and further turned away from Belgrade and its Orthodox ally Russia , taking a pro-Western course and joining NATO in 2017 .
The country has also been negotiating steps toward getting an official invitation from the European Union for membership to the bloc .
Serbian nationalists in both countries have never fully recognized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they claim is a historic Serbian territory .
During the campaign , the support of the Serbian Orthodox Church was seen as a driving force behind some opposition parties , primarily the DF .
The government directed the brunt of its campaign at the church and the opposition that supports it .
After voting in the capital , Podgorica , President Milo Djukanovic told reporters he expected a majority of Montenegrin voters will opt for the country 's `` European future . ''
The political future of Djukanovic , who leads the DPS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to qualify for EU membership , could be at stake in the election .
Though Djukanovic is not up for reelection for three more years , his party has been in power for 30 years in various coalitions .
Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is the first in its electoral list .
The DF is led by university professor Zdravko Krivokapic , a nonpartisan figure .
High on its electoral list is Marko Milacic , who has led an anti-NATO campaign in previous years and who is known for burning the alliance 's flags @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are the 11th since a multiparty system was established in Montenegro and the fifth since the country regained independence in 2006 .
An electorate of more than 540,000 had the opportunity to vote .
More than 2,000 observers , including 265 foreign observers , are following the elections .
Among the parties in power that also are contesting in the elections are the Social Democrats , the Bosniak Party , two coalitions of the ethnic Albanian parties and two parties of the Croatian national minority .
The DF is the main constituent of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Other opposition coalitions are Peace is Our Nation and the Black on White list .
The Social Democratic Party is running on its own .
Local elections also are being held in a handful of municipalities along the coast and in the north of the country .
The elections are taking place amid an economic crisis in the country caused by coronavirus restrictions that have reduced Montenegro 's tourism revenues by 90 percent this year


rferl--2020-08-31--North Macedonia's Parliament OKs New Government, Ending Leadership Void

SKOPJE -- North Macedonia 's parliament has approved a new coalition led by Social Democrats , ending a months-long leadership void amid the coronavirus pandemic .
The vote on August 30 just ahead of a midnight deadline returns Zoran Zaev to the post of prime minister after his party narrowly won a victory over right-wing rivals in July .
His governing coalition of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia ( SDSM ) and the largest party representing the ethnic Albanian minority was approved by 62 votes in the 120-seat assembly following two days of heated debate .
The SDSM won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elections but did not secure enough seats for a majority .
Zaev and Ali Ahmet , the head of the Democratic Union for Integration ( DUI ) , announced on August 18 that their parties had reached a power-sharing deal .
The new government will have a two-seat majority with the SDSM 's 46 seats , DUI 's 15 parliament members , and a single lawmaker from a smaller ethnic Albanian party .
`` A period of order , justice , and discipline is coming .
It is time for the vetting of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Zaev told the assembly .
Other priorities for the new government are the economy , education , and the environment .
Zaev also promised to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and to fight crime and corruption .
He said he considers it important for the new government to complete its new four-year term “ in order to provide a favorable environment for the realization of the economic program , as well as for our European integration.
” According to the power-sharing deal with the DUI , Zaev will hand the prime minister @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Albanian politician proposed by the junior partner 100 days before the end of the government ’ s term ends in 2024 .
Ethnic Albanians make up about one-quarter of North Macedonia ’ s 2.1 million people .
It would be the first time a representative of the largest minority ethnic community held that position since North Macedonia split from the former Yugoslav federation in 1991 .
After the vote on the new government , opposition deputies left the parliament and did not attend the swearing-in ceremony .
They said the government 's program @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country 's development and they believe it will not make the necessary reforms , especially in education .
`` The weakest point in the country is education , '' said conservative VMRO-DPMNE deputy Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova , citing low funding for science .
The vote ends a period of eight months in which North Macedonia was run by a weak government that was only supposed to be in power until snap elections in April .
The vote was delayed until July because of the coronavirus pandemic .
The virus has infected about 14,000 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Zaev pledged to tackle the pandemic and its economic consequences and make progress on European Union accession talks .
The country officially became a candidate for membership earlier this year .
During the parliamentary debate , the right-wing opposition accused the Social Democrats of corruption and mismanaging the pandemic and the economy .
They also accused the party of sacrificing the country 's national identity in a historic agreement with Greece .
Macedonia added North to its name last year in exchange for Greece 's promise to stop blocking its path to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the name Macedonia for its own province .
The accord on the name change ushered the country into NATO and helped secure its status as an EU candidate country .
With reporting by AFP , AP , and dpa


rferl--2020-08-31--Unofficial Results In Montenegro's Parliamentary Elections Show Pro-Serbian Opposition Coalitions Wi

Unofficial Results In Montenegro's Parliamentary Elections Show Pro-Serbian Opposition Coalitions With Narrow Victory

PODGORICA -- A coalition led by the pro-Serbian Democratic Front ( DF ) and two other opposition coalitions have claimed victory over the ruling pro-Western party in parliamentary elections .
For the Future of Montenegro , together with the coalitions Peace is our Nation and Black and White , won 41 of 81 seats in the Balkan country 's elections on August 30 , according to preliminary unofficial results released by the Center for Monitoring and Research ( CEMI ) monitoring organization .
The unofficial result is based on 88.4 percent of ballots from a sample of polling stations , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists ( DPS ) , the Bosniak and Albanian National Minority Party , the Social Democrat Ivan Brajovic , and the Social Democratic Party ( SDP ) among the parties claiming the remaining seats .
CEMI Director Zlatko Vujovic noted that the results were unofficial but likely to be confirmed .
`` Three opposition coalitions that have announced cooperation after the elections -- For the Future of Montenegro , Peace is our Nation , and Black and White -- will have at least 41 mandates , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , most likely , will not be questioned , but we should wait for the State Election Commission . ''
That did not stop Zdravko Krivokapic , the leader of For the Future of Montenegro coalition , which wants closer ties with Serbia and Russia , from claiming victory .
`` The regime has fallen , '' Krivokapic said .
`` People of Montenegro , freedom has happened ! ''
President Milo Djukanovic , leader of the DPS , which has governed Montenegro for 30 years , said his party will respect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` The struggle for the majority of parliamentary seats in the Montenegrin parliament is still going on , '' Djukanovic said .
`` We will wait for the final count and the official results to see which of the two political sides will have the decisive 41st mandate . ''
Djukanovic expressed hope that whoever forms the next government , Montenegro will remain on a path to join the European Union .
Election authorities said the turnout was nearly 75 percent .
The dominant theme of the campaign , which was mainly conducted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus pandemic , was a religious law that the Serbian Orthodox Church says would strip the church of its property in the country .
The law , which came into force in January , says religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918 , the year when Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church , losing all of its property in the process .
The Serbian Orthodox Church says the law is aimed at retaking its property and has held daily protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied the allegations .
Montenegro split from Serbia in a referendum in 2006 and further turned away from Belgrade and its Orthodox ally Russia , taking a pro-Western course and joining NATO in 2017 .
The country has also been negotiating steps toward getting an official invitation from the EU for membership in the bloc .
Serbian nationalists in both countries have never fully recognized Serbia 's separation from Montenegro , which they claim is a historic Serbian territory .
During the campaign , the support of the Serbian Orthodox Church was seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parties , primarily the DF .
The government directed the brunt of its campaign at the church and the opposition that supports it .
The political future of Djukanovic , who has overseen Montenegro 's efforts to qualify for EU membership , could be at stake , though Djukanovic is not up for reelection for three more years .
The elections are the 11th since a multiparty system was established in Montenegro and the fifth since the country regained independence in 2006 .
More than 2,000 observers , including 265 foreign monitors , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as voters lacking identification cards , were reported .
With reporting by Reuters and AP


rferl--2020-08-30--Tens Of Thousands Rally In Minsk To Demand Lukashenka's Resignation

MINSK -- Tens of thousands of Belarusians streamed into the center of the capital to demand Alyaksandr Lukashenka step down as the defiant , longtime authoritarian ruler turned 66 .
Waving banned red-and-white flags that have long been a symbol of opposition to Lukashenka ’ s rule , the protesters marched toward Minsk 's Independence Square on August 30 , ignoring an earlier Interior Ministry call not to assemble .
They chanted , “ Happy birthday , rat ” and “ Leave ” as they gathered outside the presidential palace where Lukashenka is currently staying .
Many carried anti-Lukashenka signs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coffin .
Lukashenka last week described the protesters as “ rats.
” The BelaPAN news agency put the number of protesters in Minsk at more than 100,000 .
Riot police blocked the crowds from advancing in several areas of the city and detained at least 125 protesters near Independence Square and elsewhere , according to the Interior Ministry .
Several armored vehicles were brought into Minsk and parked near the presidential residency `` to strengthen the security of personnel , '' the Interior Ministry said .
Lukashenka has shown no intention of negotiating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are influenced by outside forces .
Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti posted a photograph of Lukashenka carrying an automatic weapon inside the palace grounds earlier in the day .
RIA Novosti said the photograph was sent by Lukashenka ’ s press secretary .
It is the second time since the protests began that Lukashenka has released photos of himself armed with heavy guns .
Belarus has been rocked by three weeks of protests and strikes after the nation ’ s election commission claimed Lukashenka won a new six-year term in a landslide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was marred by irregularities and rigged in Lukashenka ’ s favor .
Belarusian presidential candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya attracted tens of thousands of supporters to her rallies across the country in the run-up to election day , underscoring the growing disillusion with Lukashenka ’ s Soviet-style rule .
However , the election committee claimed Tskihanouskaya won only about 10 percent of the vote to Lukashenka ’ s 80 percent , angering voters and pushing them to take to the streets .
Unlike in the past , mass arrests and police torture in the days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests , raising questions about whether Lukashenka can hold on to power .
Thousands of people , mainly women , took to the streets on August 29 to protest Lukashenka ’ s rule and tried to break through a line of riot police .
Tsikhanouskaya told the European Parliament that at least six people have been killed in the crackdown and dozens of protesters have gone missing after being detained by authorities .
Ahead of the planned August 30 protest , the Interior Ministry warned citizens not to take part in the unauthorized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ignored .
In an attempt to stifle global coverage of the protests , the Belarusian authorities days earlier stripped accreditation from at least 17 journalists representing major foreign news organizations , including RFE/RL .
The West has condemned the vote and the harsh police crackdown on opposition protesters , forcing Lukashenka to look to Moscow for support .
The Kremlin announced on August 30 that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenka plan to hold face-to-face talks in Moscow in the coming weeks .
Putin also congratulated Lukashenka on his birthday during a phone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by phone several times since the protests began .
Both sides reaffirmed their intention to strengthen and expand their neighborly alliance , according to the Kremlin 's readout of the call .


rferl--2020-09-01--Belarus Blocks Catholic Church Head From Entering Country After He Criticizes Government

Belarusian authorities have barred Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz from entering the country , a day after the head of the Catholic Church in Belarus warned the nation ’ s political crisis could lead to civil war .
Border guards blocked the 74-year-old archbishop of Minsk and Mohilev from entering from neighboring Poland on August 31 , despite him being a citizen of Belarus .
“ Border guards of the Republic of Belarus denied the head of the Belarusian Catholic episcopate entry to the country without explanation , ” Bishop Yuri Kasabutsky , an auxiliary bishop in Minsk and Mohilev archdiocese , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as saying .
The president of the Belarusian bishops ’ conference has been a vocal critic of the brutal crackdown on protesters in the wake of the country ’ s contested August 9 vote .
President Alyaksandr Lukashanka , who has ruled Belarus for 26 years , was declared the winner of the election , which was widely viewed as rigged .
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets over the past three weeks to protest the results and demand he step down despite a crackdown that has left hundreds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In an address read at Catholic churches on August 30 , Kondrusiewicz wrote that the country faced an “ unprecedented socio-political crisis ” and the prospect of civil war .
“ In a peace-loving and tolerant Belarus -- as our country is known in the world -- brother raised his hand against his brother , as a result of which blood was shed and many people were injured , ” the metropolitan said .
“ The difficult economic situation is also very alarming today .
We are threatened by international isolation .
More @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opinion that the threat of a civil war is becoming real , which none of us could have even thought of a few months ago , ” he continued .
“ From the very beginning of the socio-political crisis , the Catholic Church has encouraged prayer and called problems to be solved through dialogue , remembering Christ ’ s words that without him we could do nothing , ” Kondrusiewicz said .
Earlier this week , Kondrusiewicz condemned security forces after they blocked the entrance to the Church of Saints Symon and Alena @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the Red Church .
He has also condemned police beatings and detentions of protesters .
“ The beating of peaceful demonstrators who want to know the truth , their cruel treatment and inhumane detention , is a grave sin on the conscience of those who give criminal orders and commit violence , ” he wrote in a message to Belarus state officials on August 14 .
According to official numbers , about six percent of Belarus ’ s 9.5 million people are Roman Catholic , while 53 percent belong to the Belarusian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population identifies as atheist , uncertain or belonging to minority religions .

Belarusian authorities have barred Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz from entering the country, a day after the head of the Catholic Church in Belarus warned the nation’s political crisis could lead to civil war.
Border guards blocked the 74-year-old archbishop of Minsk and Mohilev from entering from neighboring Poland on August 31, despite him being a citizen of Belarus.
“Border guards of the Republic of Belarus denied the head of the Belarusian Catholic episcopate entry to the country without explanation,” Bishop Yuri Kasabutsky, an auxiliary bishop in the Minsk and Mohilev archdiocese, was quoted by the Catholic News Agency as saying.
The president of the Belarusian bishops’ conference has been a vocal critic of the brutal crackdown on protesters in the wake of the country’s contested August 9 vote.
President Alyaksandr Lukashanka, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, was declared the winner of the election, which was widely viewed as rigged. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets over the past three weeks to protest the results and demand he step down despite a crackdown that has left hundreds injured and at least six dead.
In an address read at Catholic churches on August 30, Kondrusiewicz wrote that the country faced an “unprecedented sociopolitical crisis” and the prospect of civil war.
“In a peace-loving and tolerant Belarus -- as our country is known in the world -- brother raised his hand against his brother, as a result of which blood was shed and many people were injured,” the metropolitan said.
“The difficult economic situation is also very alarming today. We are threatened by international isolation. More and more often you can hear the opinion that the threat of a civil war is becoming real, which none of us could have even thought of a few months ago,” he continued.
“From the very beginning of the sociopolitical crisis, the Catholic Church has encouraged prayer and called problems to be solved through dialogue, remembering Christ’s words that without him we could do nothing,” Kondrusiewicz said.
Earlier this week, Kondrusiewicz condemned security forces after they blocked the entrance to the Church of Saints Symon and Alena in Minsk, a structure also known as the Red Church.
He has also condemned police beatings and detentions of protesters.
“The beating of peaceful demonstrators who want to know the truth, their cruel treatment and inhumane detention, is a grave sin on the conscience of those who give criminal orders and commit violence,” he wrote in a message to Belarusian state officials on August 14.
According to official numbers, about 6 percent of Belarus’s 9.5 million people are Roman Catholic, while 53 percent belong to the Belarusian Orthodox Church. The remainder of the population identifies as atheist, uncertain, or belonging to minority religions.
With reporting by the Catholic News Agency


rferl--2020-08-31--Montenegro's DPS Benefited From 'Uneven Playing Field' During Parliamentary Elections, OSCE Says

Montenegro ’ s pro-Western party enjoyed an unfair advantage during parliamentary elections due to its access to state resources and misuse of office , according to western observers .
The Democratic Party of Socialists ( DPS ) , which has ruled for thirty years , also benefited from greater press coverage , the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in an August 31 statement .
Nonetheless , the pro-Serb Democratic Front ( DF ) and two other opposition coalitions claimed victory over DPS in the razor-thin August 30 parliamentary election .
Preliminary unofficial results indicated the opposition won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Djukanovic , leader of the DPS , said his party will respect the result but did not yet concede .
“ This was a hard-fought campaign , but the ruling party benefited from an uneven playing field , ” OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Margareta Cederfelt , who is special coordinator and leader of the OSCE short-term observers , said in the statement .
The OSCE said the elections were held in “ patchy compliance ” with legislation , pointing out that political rallies were banned due to the coronavirus pandemic even though there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country .
The election observers also faulted the lack of independent editorial coverage of the candidates and parties , which it said was the result of politically-affiliated business interests controlling national media .
“ It is most regrettable that the gaps in the legislation and lack of independent media scrutiny make the misuse of office and state resources possible , ” Tamas Meszerics , head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights , said in the statement .

Montenegro’s pro-Western party enjoyed an unfair advantage during parliamentary elections due to its access to state resources and misuse of office, according to Western observers.
The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which has ruled for 30 years, also benefited from greater press coverage, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in an August 31 statement.
Nonetheless, the pro-Serb Democratic Front (DF) and two other opposition coalitions claimed victory over DPS in the razor-thin August 30 parliamentary elections. Preliminary unofficial results indicated the opposition won 41 of 81 seats.
President Milo Djukanovic, leader of the DPS, said his party will respect the result but did not yet concede.
“This was a hard-fought campaign, but the ruling party benefited from an uneven playing field,” OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Margareta Cederfelt, who is special coordinator and leader of the OSCE short-term observers, said in the statement.
The OSCE said the elections were held in “patchy compliance” with legislation, pointing out that political rallies were banned due to the coronavirus pandemic even though there was no state of emergency declared inside the country.
The election observers also faulted the lack of independent editorial coverage of the candidates and parties, which it said was the result of politically affiliated business interests controlling national media.
“It is most regrettable that the gaps in the legislation and lack of independent media scrutiny make the misuse of office and state resources possible,” Tamas Meszerics, head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, said in the statement.


rferl--2020-08-31--Navalny Team Member Claims He Was Pursued In Tatarstan After Filming Investigation

A member of Aleksei Navalny ’ s team said his vehicle was pursued by individuals on quadricycles in Tatarstan after @ @ @ @ @ region .
Georgi Alburov said in a post on Twitter that after filming a residence @ @ @ @ @ Kazan with the use of drones , guards protecting the property chased them on quadricycles @ @ @ @ @ quadricycles blocked the road and damaged the vehicle he and his filming group were traveling @ @ @ @ @ The guards contacted the police , who proceeded to seize the filming group ’ s @ @ @ @ @ filter , and laptop , he said in a Twitter post .
Alburov did not @ @ @ @ @ investigation .
Tatarstan is an oil-rich republic in central Russia .

A member of Aleksei Navalny’s team said his vehicle was pursued by individuals on quadricycles in Tatarstan after filming an investigation in the region.
Georgi Alburov said in a post on Twitter that after filming a residence outside the regional capital of Kazan with the use of drones, guards protecting the property chased them on quadricycles.
The guards on the quadricycles blocked the road and damaged the vehicle he and his filming group were traveling in, Alburov said.
The guards contacted the police, who proceeded to seize the filming group’s equipment, including camera, filter, and laptop, he said in a Twitter post.
Alburov did not disclose the object of his investigation.
Tatarstan is an oil-rich republic in central Russia.


rferl--2020-08-31--Russian Glacier In Urals Region Has Completely Melted, Scientists Say

One of the largest glaciers in Russia ’ s Urals region has completely melted , according to members of a @ @ @ @ @ an expedition .
The glacier known as MGU , which was 2.2 kilometers long when @ @ @ @ @ , has vanished , the researchers from the Scientific Center for Arctic Studies said in @ @ @ @ @ The researchers carried out their expedition from August 19 to August 28 and visited the @ @ @ @ @ .
MGU was the second largest glacier by mass in the Urals polar region and @ @ @ @ @ initially discovered .
Mikhail Ivanov , one of the scientists , said a “ large @ @ @ @ @ existed when they last visited MGU in 2010 .
Parts of the iceberg were still @ @ @ @ @ tourists to the area in recent years , he said .
“ This year , @ @ @ @ @ completely melted , ” Ivanov said .
Russia ’ s Urals and Siberian regions have @ @ @ @ @ recent years that have been blamed on global warming .

One of the largest glaciers in Russia’s Urals region has completely melted, according to members of a research group that carried out an expedition.
The glacier known as MGU, which was 2.2 kilometers long when it was discovered in 1953, has vanished, the researchers from the Scientific Center for Arctic Studies said in an August 31 statement.
The researchers carried out their expedition from August 19 to August 28 and visited the sites of two other glaciers.
MGU was the second largest glacier by mass in the Urals polar region and its longest when it was initially discovered.
Mikhail Ivanov, one of the scientists, said a “large amount” of ice still existed when they last visited MGU in 2010.
Parts of the iceberg were still visible in photographs taken by tourists to the area in recent years, he said.
“This year, it turned out, it completely melted,” Ivanov said.
Russia’s Urals and Siberian regions have experienced unusually high temperatures in recent years that have been blamed on global warming.


rferl--2020-08-31--Belarus Detains Member Of Coordination Council, Searches Her Home

Belarusian law enforcement have detained a top member of a council set up to coordinate a transition of power as authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka seeks to extend his rule .
Police from the financial crimes unit detained Lilia Vlasova , one of seven members of the Coordination Council Presidium , on August 31 after searching her home earlier in the day , her colleague Paval Latushka said in a Telegram post .
Vlasova , 67 , is at least the third member of the presidium to have been detained since it was set up earlier this month following nationwide protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9 presidential election .
Two members of the presidium were jailed for 10 days while at least six of the seven have been questioned .
Lukashanka , who has ruled Belarus for 26 years , was declared the winner in the election , which was widely viewed as rigged in his favor .
Citizens have taken to the streets over the past three weeks to protest the results and demand he step aside .
As many as 200,000 people took part in the August 24 protest in the capital , Minsk .
Lukashenka @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the protesters .
In a demonstration of his defiance , he was photographed again on August 30 carrying an automatic weapon .
His prosecutor-general has opened an investigation into the council , claiming it is attempting to “ seize ” power illegally and of having an “ anti-Russian ” agenda .
As many as 600 people have been involved with the Coordination Council with about 70 forming its “ backbone , ” opposition lawyer Maksim Znak said August 24 .
Vlasova founded one of the first private law practices in Belarus in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resolving cases through mediation for which she was recognized by the Union of Belarus Lawyers .

Belarusian authorities on August 31 jailed a strike leader and detained a top member of an opposition council aiming to coordinate a transition of power, in the latest attempt by authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to quell opposition to his 26-year rule.
Police from the financial-crimes unit detained Lilia Vlasova, one of seven members of the Coordination Council Presidium, on August 31 after searching her home earlier in the day, her colleague Paval Latushka said in a Telegram post.
Vlasova, 67, is at least the third member of the presidium to have been detained since it was set up earlier this month following nationwide protests in the wake of the disputed August 9 presidential election.
Two members of the presidium were jailed for 10 days while at least six of the seven have been questioned since the prosecutor-general opened an investigation into the council, claiming it is attempting to illegally “seize” power.
Separately, Anatol Bokun, co-chair of the Belaruskali factory strike committee, was sentenced to 15 days in jail on charges of organizing an unsanctioned protest.
The state-run factory, which accounts for a fifth of the world’s potash fertilizer output, is the nation’s top cash earner.
Workers at the factory and some other state-run plants went on strike two weeks ago to protest the election results, posing an unprecedented challenge to Lukashenka.
The Belaruskali strike committee spokesman, Gleb Sandras, told AP news agency that the potash mines are now working after state security services pressured workers to end the strike.
Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
“The authorities have powerful economic instruments. They are blackmailing workers with mass dismissals,” Sandras said.
Bokun's detention follows the arrests of strike leaders at two other major industrial plants in Minsk last week.
Deputy Prime Minister Yury Nazarov said on August 31 that all major industrial plants have resumed normal operations.
Lukashenka has shown no sign of giving in to nearly three weeks of protests demanding his resignation, the release of all political prisoners, and free and fair elections.
The authorities have cracked down on the opposition and the media despite international outrage and the threat of isolation.
Eliot Engel (New York), the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Michael McCaul (Texas), the committee’s ranking member, on August 31 denounced the Belarusian authorities’ recent decision to strip the accreditation from at least 17 journalists representing major foreign news organizations.
“This latest move, along with efforts to disrupt internet access, to restrict access to independent media and to detain and harass journalists, is part of a malicious campaign to silence those opposed to the dictatorship of [Lukashenka] and conceal the horrific stories of the regime’s violent crackdown,” they said in a joint statement.
With reporting by AP


rferl--2020-08-31--Russian, Belarusian Foreign Ministers To Hold Talks In Moscow On September 2

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with his Belarusian counterpart Uladzimer Makey in Moscow on September 2 , @ @ @ @ @ Zakharova said on August 31 .
The meeting comes amid three weeks of mass protests @ @ @ @ @ ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka following disputed presidential elections on August 9 that handed him another six-year @ @ @ @ @ the biggest challenge to Lukashenka since he came to power 26 years ago and the @ @ @ @ @ nation 's traditional ally , Russia , for support .
The Kremlin announced over the @ @ @ @ @ Putin and Lukashenka had agreed to meet in Moscow in the coming weeks .
The @ @ @ @ @ the phone several times since the protests began .
Western leaders , on the other @ @ @ @ @ election and the police crackdown on protesters .
They have called on Lukashenka to negotiate @ @ @ @ @ to impose sanctions on members of his government .
Based on reporting by Reuters and @

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with his Belarusian counterpart Uladzimer Makey in Moscow on September 2, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on August 31.
The meeting comes amid three weeks of mass protests against the rule of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka following disputed presidential elections on August 9 that handed him another six-year term.
The protests represent the biggest challenge to Lukashenka since he came to power 26 years ago and the 66-year-old has turned to his nation's traditional ally, Russia, for support.
The Kremlin announced over the weekend that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenka had agreed to meet in Moscow in the coming weeks. The two leaders have spoken over the phone several times since the protests began.
Western leaders, on the other hand, have criticized the election and the police crackdown on protesters. They have called on Lukashenka to negotiate with the protesters and threatened to impose sanctions on members of his government.
Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax


rferl--2020-08-31--Afghan President Faces Pushback After Naming Members To Reconciliation Council

KABUL -- Abdullah Abdullah , the former chief executive officer of Afghanistan 's unity government , said President Ashraf Ghani doesn ’ t have the authority to appoint people to the body tasked with leading peace talks with the Taliban , raising questions about how quickly those negotiations can progress .
Abdullah said in a statement on August 31 that based on an agreement he reached with Ghani earlier in the year , the president can not issue decrees naming people to the High Council for National Reconciliation .
“ Consultations about the formation of the council continue with political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soon , ” Abdullah said in the statement .
Ghani on August 29 published the names of people he appointed to the High Council for National Reconciliation , which Abdullah chairs .
Ghani named more than 40 individuals , including current and former officials , leaders of political parties , and renowned religious leaders to the council .
Former mujahedin leaders Abdul Rasul Sayyaf and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar , as well as civil-society activist Safia Sediqqi and eight other women were among those chosen .
Former President Hamid Karzai was also named , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on August 30 , saying he did not want to be part of any government structure .
The High Council for National Reconciliation is to oversee a 21-member negotiating team appointed by Ghani in March to conduct face-to-face talks with the Taliban .
The talks are part of an agreement reached between the militants and the United States in February in an effort to end nearly 19 years of war in Afghanistan .
On August 26 , the Taliban announced it had formed a new 20-member department responsible for Taliban representation at both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States .
The beginning of the planned peace talks has faced some serious challenges , including the issue of the release of prisoners .
The internationally recognized government in Kabul has recently reversed a decision to release the last 320 Taliban prisoners it is holding until the insurgents free more captured soldiers .
“ The Taliban will have to release our commandos held by them before the government resumes the release of the remaining 320 Taliban prisoners , ” Javid Faisal , spokesman for the Afghan National Security Council , tweeted @ @ @ @

The education of girls and women is universally accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, including nearly 50 Muslim-majority nations.
But Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned teenage girls from attending school after the sixth grade since they returned to power two years ago. The ban was extended in December to women in universities.
Countless protests by Afghans inside the country, pressure from the international community, and lobbying by Muslim scholars and clerics have failed to convince the fundamentalist Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
Experts are divided over whether the ban is rooted in how the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam is shaped by conservative Pashtun tribal customs and cultural practices or if it is prompted by how senior Taliban ideologues interpret Islamic teachings.
Most Taliban leaders are ethnic Pashtun, Sunni Muslim clerics. Many were educated in Deobandi madrasahs in neighboring Pakistan. Deobandism emerged as a puritanical Islamic revivalist movement in 19-century British Colonial India. Based on the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is a prominent strain among Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribal Influences
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, argues that the Taliban restrictions against women are linked to social customs and cultural practices in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Most Taliban leaders come from various Pashtun rural tribal communities in these regions bordering Pakistan.
"They believe that a woman's place is either inside a house or in a grave," Yousafzai said of the basic Taliban belief influenced by the status of women in the families of clerics and religious leaders in these Pashtun regions.
“Women living in the households of the current Taliban policymakers were never educated and never left their homes,” said Yousafzai, who has tracked the Islamist group since it emerged as a ragtag militia in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in late 1994. “These women never performed any government or nongovernmental jobs.”
Yousafzai says the Taliban backs policies shaped by this worldview by leaning on Islamic teachings supporting such ideas. He says Taliban leaders rely on sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that discourage women from leaving their homes.
“Their primary belief is that pubescent girls should not leave home under any circumstance,” he said. “This is why they view women leaving home for education or work as engaging in moral corruption.”
In Afghanistan, a Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.
Most Muslims agree that Islam allows women to get an education. Yet the Taliban publicly says that it will allow girls access to education only after ensuring complete gender segregation and other unspecified conditions.
Almost all Afghan secondary schools were gender segregated and universities imposed a strict separation between men and women after the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai says in conservative and traditional Muslim societies around the world, some clerics also favor restrictions on women's education, work, and their role in public life. But the governments in those countries usually oppose or limit such ideas.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia -- one of the most conservative Sunni Muslim nations -- has allowed women to drive and granted them freedom of movement without a male guardian. These steps are part of a reform and modernity drive by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The Taliban ban on education has invited universal condemnation from Muslims globally.
“The Taliban's ban on women's education is not rooted in [the Islamic] Shari’a law but rather reflects cultural biases that contradict the teachings of Islam,” said Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.
He said that contrary to Taliban practices, “Islam emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge and encourages all individuals, regardless of gender, to acquire an education.”
Historical Conflict
But Islamic scholars and those who have attempted to convince the Taliban about reopening girls schools offer a different explanation.
John Mohammad Butt, an Islamic scholar and former BBC broadcaster who is the only Westerner to graduate from India’s Darul Uloom Deoband, argues that the Taliban's policy on girls' education is not tribal but shaped by the century-old conflict over modern education.
“The problem is that girls' education in Afghanistan -- indeed, contemporary education in general -- has generally been introduced in Afghanistan in line with a secular agenda,” he said.
In the 1920s, a coalition of conservative clerics and tribal and community leaders deposed reformist King Amanullah Khan. He wanted to modernize Afghanistan along Turkish leader Kamal Ataturk's secular lines and championed modern education and rights for women.
This opposition to modernity and secularism continued, and conservative clerics opposed women's education and work. It became a key part of the Islamist opposition to the pro-Soviet Afghan communist governments after the April 1978 military coup that ended the Afghan monarchy. The mujahedin accused the communists of spreading immorality by promoting women’s education and empowerment.
“This has led to particular wariness on the part of conservative circles in Afghanistan with regard to girls' education,” Butt said.
'Deep Ideological Conviction'
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, became part of an effort to rescind the ban by talking to the Taliban last year.
But he says the effort failed because “the ban is a matter of deep ideological conviction” for the current supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Baheer says that the most prominent Taliban leaders have studied in Pakistani madrasahs and were thus disconnected from village and tribal life.
“They have been indoctrinated by the Deobandi school of thought so that they now enforce the strictest version of Islam on the Afghan population,” he said.
He argues that the ban on girls’ schools is a deliberate policy championed by Akhundzada, who he says has endorsed Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani's Arabic language book The Islamic Emirate And Its System. In this book, Haqqani supports a fringe Islamic opinion of preferring the choice of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, Sawdah Bint Zam'ah, who chose to stay at home until her death.
Baheer says Haqqani ignores his other wives and other female companions that played an active role in many sectors of society and how they served as students and teachers for men.
“This fringe opinion is not held by all Taliban leaders but is one that the current absolute sovereign, the Taliban emir, seems to be convinced of,” he said.
Butt says that even Haqqani has acknowledged the principle that if there is something that women need to act upon, then that is also something that women need to learn about.
“I hope the Taliban authorities will come to realize in the not-too-distant future that education for women will make Afghan women into better Muslims,” he says. “It will enable them to make a stronger contribution to the well-being of their country.”
Two years after grappling with the issue, Western diplomats appear to be encouraging Afghan conservative and clerical circles to find ways to end the ban.
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, recently tweeted that Afghan women must be educated and contribute to the economy to help their country stand on its own two feet.
“If change to policies is made, it will be because Afghans have asked for it, not a result of foreign requests,” he wrote.


rferl--2020-08-31--Navalny's Team Publishes Siberian Investigation Conducted Just Prior To Poisoning

Aleksei Navalny ’ s team has published its investigative report about corruption in Siberia , where the Russian opposition politician was apparently poisoned earlier this month while conducting research .
The report , published on Navalny 's website on August 31 , claims 18 out of 50 lawmakers in Novosibirsk , Russia ’ s third-largest city , are owners or represent owners of construction companies .
The report also gives detailed information about properties and assets of the lawmakers and their relatives and calls on people in Novosibirsk to vote for opposition candidates supported by Navalny 's Smart Voting project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experiencing a building boom , including government-funded projects , raising questions about conflicts of interest among the lawmakers .
Navalny was touring Siberia , including Novosibirsk and Tomsk , where municipal elections will be held in September , when he suddenly felt sick aboard a plane flying from Tomsk to Moscow on August 20 .
The 44-year-old spent two days in a hospital in the city of Omsk before being transferred to Germany , where he remains in an intensive-care unit in a medically induced coma .
Doctors at the Charite Hospital in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a group of active substances called cholinesterase inhibitors , which are found in several drugs as well as in some pesticides and nerve agents .
Navalny ’ s team claims he was deliberately poisoned and have blamed the Kremlin .
The Russian doctors in Omsk who treated Navalny said their tests did not find any trace of poison in Navalny .
The German doctors ’ conclusion has prompted Western governments to demand Russia fully investigate how Navalny was poisoned .
So far , Russian officials have brushed aside allegations Navalny was deliberately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to fully investigate the case .

Aleksei Navalny’s team has published its investigative report about corruption in Siberia, where the Russian opposition politician was apparently poisoned earlier this month while conducting research.
The report, published on Navalny's website on August 31, claims 18 out of 50 lawmakers in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest city, are owners or represent owners of construction companies.
The report also gives detailed information about properties and assets of the lawmakers and their relatives and calls on people in Novosibirsk to vote for opposition candidates supported by Navalny's Smart Voting project.
Novosibirsk and the surrounding region is experiencing a building boom, including government-funded projects, raising questions about conflicts of interest among the lawmakers.
Navalny was touring Siberia, including Novosibirsk and Tomsk, where municipal elections will be held in September, when he suddenly felt sick aboard a plane flying from Tomsk to Moscow on August 20.
The 44-year-old spent two days in a hospital in the city of Omsk before being transferred to Germany, where he remains in an intensive-care unit in a medically induced coma.
Doctors at the Charite Hospital in Berlin have concluded that Navalny was poisoned by a group of active substances called cholinesterase inhibitors, which are found in several drugs as well as in some pesticides and nerve agents.
Navalny’s team claims he was deliberately poisoned and have blamed the Kremlin. The Russian doctors in Omsk who treated Navalny said their tests did not find any trace of poison in Navalny.
The German doctors’ conclusion has prompted Western governments to demand Russia fully investigate how Navalny was poisoned.
So far, Russian officials have brushed aside allegations Navalny was deliberately poisoned and shown little indication they plan to fully investigate the case.


rferl--2020-08-31--Witness Says Russian Actor And Kremlin Critic Yefremov Was Not Alone In Car During Deadly Accident

A defense witness in the high-profile trial of Russian actor Mikhail Yefremov , an outspoken Kremlin critic who is charged with killing a person while driving under the influence of alcohol , says the actor was not alone in the car at the time of the accident .
Tevan Badasyan said at Moscow 's Presnensky district court on August 31 that he saw `` a tall man wearing a baseball hat getting in Yefremov 's car just minutes before the accident . ''
`` The man was seated in the rear seat and there was nobody on the front seats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , adding that the car was parked near the “ Uliss ” bar and had a special license plate which he remembered and later turned out to be Yefremov 's car .
On August 20 , another witness , Aleksandr Kobets , testified that another person was driving Yefremov 's car when it collided with a vehicle in an oncoming lane .
Yefremov again on August 31 asked the Judge Yelena Abramova to allow him to be treated by psychiatrists in order to recall all of the details of what happened in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rejected the request .
Yefremov ’ s trial started on August 5 .
He pleaded not guilty , saying `` I do not remember anything . ''
On August 11 , the judge had to stop the trial after an ambulance was called to the courtroom to treat Yefremov who felt unwell .
If convicted , Yefremov , who in recent years has criticized the Kremlin in his one-man performances , faces up to 12 years in prison .
Police say Yefremov was inebriated when he drove his car at a high speed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the evening of June 8 , hitting another car .
Yefremov did not suffer any injuries in the accident , but the driver of the other vehicle , identified as 57-year-old Sergei Zakharov , was rushed to hospital with multiple injuries and died hours later .
After Zakharov was pronounced dead , Yefremov was charged with `` causing a deadly traffic accident while driving under the influence '' and later placed under house arrest .
Authorities later said that medical tests confirmed that Yefremov had traces of drugs , including cocaine , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the accident .
Performances by the 56-year-old Yefremov satirizing President Vladimir Putin and his policies have been very popular in recent years .
With reporting by TASS and Interfax

A defense witness in the high-profile trial of Russian actor Mikhail Yefremov, an outspoken Kremlin critic who is charged with killing a person while driving under the influence of alcohol, says the actor was not alone in the car at the time of the accident.
Tevan Badasyan said at Moscow's Presnensky district court on August 31 that he saw "a tall man wearing a baseball hat getting in Yefremov's car just minutes before the accident."
"The man was seated in the rear seat and there was nobody on the front seats of the car," Badasyan said, adding that the car was parked near the “Uliss” bar and had a special license plate which he remembered and later turned out to be Yefremov's car.
On August 20, another witness, Aleksandr Kobets, testified that another person was driving Yefremov's car when it collided with a vehicle in an oncoming lane.
Yefremov again on August 31 asked the Judge Yelena Abramova to allow him to be treated by psychiatrists in order to recall all of the details of what happened in the June 8 high-speed collision.
The judge rejected the request.
Yefremov’s trial started on August 5. He pleaded not guilty, saying "I do not remember anything."
On August 11, the judge had to stop the trial after an ambulance was called to the courtroom to treat Yefremov who felt unwell.
If convicted, Yefremov, who in recent years has criticized the Kremlin in his one-man performances, faces up to 12 years in prison.
Police say Yefremov was inebriated when he drove his car at a high speed into an oncoming lane in central Moscow on the evening of June 8, hitting another car.
Yefremov did not suffer any injuries in the accident, but the driver of the other vehicle, identified as 57-year-old Sergei Zakharov, was rushed to hospital with multiple injuries and died hours later.
After Zakharov was pronounced dead, Yefremov was charged with "causing a deadly traffic accident while driving under the influence" and later placed under house arrest.
Authorities later said that medical tests confirmed that Yefremov had traces of drugs, including cocaine, in his blood at the moment of the accident.
Performances by the 56-year-old Yefremov satirizing President Vladimir Putin and his policies have been very popular in recent years.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax


rferl--2020-08-31--Jury Selection For Khachaturyan Sisters' Trial In Moscow Postponed To October 5

Jury selection in the high-profile trial of two sisters , Krestina and Angelina Khachaturyan , who along with their youngest sister are accused of killing their father in Moscow in 2018 , has been postponed until October 5 .
Lawyers for the two sisters said on August 31 , the day the selection process was scheduled to begin , that the proceedings were postponed after some of the plaintiffs who had expressed a willingness to take part in the selection process were unable to do so after testing positive for the coronavirus .
The Moscow City court ruled on August @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tried by jury , a procedure allowed under the Russian legislation in the case of serious crimes .
Investigators say that in July 2018 , Krestina , Angelina , and a third sister , Maria Khachaturyan -- then 19 , 18 , and 17 years old , respectively -- killed their father , Mikhail Khachaturyan , at their home on the outskirts of Moscow .
Materials gathered by investigators included substantial evidence of regular sexual and physical abuse by Khachaturyan against his daughters .
The case has attracted widespread attention from the Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defenders of conservative values , backed by the Russian Orthodox Church , against women 's rights activists who have been calling for the introduction of legislation on domestic violence as a way to bring alleged perpetrators like Khachaturyan to justice and enable their victims to plead self-defense .
In early December 2019 , investigators finalized their indictment against the three sisters and sent it to the prosecutor 's office to prepare for trial .
Krestina , Angelina , and Maria had acted with premeditation , it concluded , governed by “ a strong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to continued physical and sexual abuse .
Later in December 2019 , Deputy Prosecutor-General Viktor Grin cited flaws in the investigation and asked officials to reclassify the sisters ’ actions as self-defense , which would pave the way for the women to be set free .
But earlier in July 2019 , according to the defense team , Grin confirmed the original murder charges , meaning the case will almost certainly go to trial .
Maria Khachaturyan , who was 17 when the alleged crime took place , is being tried separately .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ her mentally unsound at the time of the crime , and it was recommended she undergo psychological treatment .
Her trial began behind closed doors at Moscow 's Butyrsky district court on August 10 .

Jury selection in the high-profile trial of two sisters, Krestina and Angelina Khachaturyan, who along with their youngest sister are accused of killing their father in Moscow in 2018, has been postponed until October 5.
Lawyers for the two sisters said on August 31, the day the selection process was scheduled to begin, that the proceedings were postponed after some of the plaintiffs who had expressed a willingness to take part in the selection process were unable to do so after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The Moscow City court ruled on August 3 that the two sisters will be tried by jury, a procedure allowed under the Russian legislation in the case of serious crimes.
Investigators say that in July 2018, Krestina, Angelina, and a third sister, Maria Khachaturyan -- then 19, 18, and 17 years old, respectively -- killed their father, Mikhail Khachaturyan, at their home on the outskirts of Moscow.
Materials gathered by investigators included substantial evidence of regular sexual and physical abuse by Khachaturyan against his daughters.
The case has attracted widespread attention from the Russian media and civil society and has pitted defenders of conservative values, backed by the Russian Orthodox Church, against women's rights activists who have been calling for the introduction of legislation on domestic violence as a way to bring alleged perpetrators like Khachaturyan to justice and enable their victims to plead self-defense.
In early December 2019, investigators finalized their indictment against the three sisters and sent it to the prosecutor's office to prepare for trial. Krestina, Angelina, and Maria had acted with premeditation, it concluded, governed by “a strong personal enmity toward their father” due to continued physical and sexual abuse.
Later in December 2019, Deputy Prosecutor-General Viktor Grin cited flaws in the investigation and asked officials to reclassify the sisters’ actions as self-defense, which would pave the way for the women to be set free.
But earlier in July 2019, according to the defense team, Grin confirmed the original murder charges, meaning the case will almost certainly go to trial.
Maria Khachaturyan, who was 17 when the alleged crime took place, is being tried separately. A medical evaluation following the killing found her mentally unsound at the time of the crime, and it was recommended she undergo psychological treatment.
Her trial began behind closed doors at Moscow's Butyrsky district court on August 10.


rferl--2020-09-01--Uzbek Citizens Allowed To Enter Kyrgyzstan At Dostuk Border Point

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan has allowed Uzbek citizens to enter the country via the Dostuk checkpoint along the border of the @ @ @ @ @ of September 1 in a minor easing of some restrictions implemented to battle the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ the Kyrgyz Border Guard Service , Gulmira Borubaeva , told RFE/RL that Kyrgyz citizens are @ @ @ @ @ as Tashkent has not dropped its measures barring foreigners from entering the country .
Uzbekistan @ @ @ @ @ Kyrgyzstan included on a list of countries whose citizens are allowed to enter the Central @ @ @ @ @ government said that the list will be updated twice a month due to the changing @ @ @ @ @ the world .
As of September 1 , the number of registered coronavirus cases and @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19-like symptoms in Kyrgyzstan was reported at 43,958 , including 1,060 deaths .
In Uzbekistan @ @ @ @ @ September 1 that 41,944 coronavirus cases had been registered in the country since mid-March , @ @ @ @ @ lethal .

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that there can be no advancement in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless there is an improvement in the treatment of women in the country.
Speaking to reporters on August 15, the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Kabul, Blinken said the United States continues to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the commitments that it's made, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls.
"We've been very clear with the Taliban -- and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear -- that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported," Blinken said.
No country has recognized the Taliban-led government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over the treatment of women and girls, who have seen their rights drastically curbed by the hard-line Islamists. This includes a ban on women working in local and international nongovernmental organizations and a ban on education beyond the sixth grade.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops under the terms of an agreement reached in February 2020 between the Taliban and the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Blinken defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.
"The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one," Blinken said. "We ended America's longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don't have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die."
A number of international human rights organizations earlier on August 15 called the Taliban's two years of rule shameful and worrying.
Amnesty International and several other international human rights organizations demanded in a statement an effective response to the situation, noting the Taliban's strict decrees against human rights in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls.
The organizations said in a statement that in the past two years, the Taliban has increasingly imposed harmful policies against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities that clearly violate Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law.
The Taliban has previously rejected reports on the treatment of women as propaganda of international organizations. The militant group's leaders have said they have strengthened all the rights of women in Afghanistan in light of Islamic principles.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview with the AP marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country that the Taliban views its rule of Afghanistan as open-ended and as drawing legitimacy from Islamic law. He also suggested a ban on female education will remain in place.
Female activist Soheila Yousefi calls the situation alarming and wants the world to pay attention.
"The international community should take serious action in this regard because the world chose to be silent in these two years and did not take any practical steps. Our request is that they should look at the current situation in Afghanistan, then take a serious and comprehensive review."
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi's questions before the release of the report, but the rulers have spoken of strengthening human rights in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women and girls, according to Islamic principles.
With reporting by AP and AFP