E-bulletin of IISEPS Center for Documentation, N 9, 2006 – ISSN 1822-5578 (only Russian)
Content:
Introduction
Theme of the month:
Revision of Orthography and Punctuation: Policy or Linguistics?
Person of the month:
Yuri Sivakov: a Slip or a Challenge?
Document of the month:
Report of President A. Lukashenko in Havana: Counteractions against the West or Strengthening of Authority in the Eyes of Voters?
Organization of the month:
Transformation from Institute for Socio-Political Studies into Informational and Analytical Center: Scientific Researches or Political Manipulation?
From IISEPS Desktop
Introduction:
Dear readers!
Starting from this issue “Infofocus” bulletin is a mass medium (periodical) registered in Lithuania: the appropriate ISSN’s (different for printed and electronic version of the Russian and English issues) are given on the first page. On the one hand, this means that activity of the IISEPS is moving more and more outside Belarus due to constant pressure on the part of the Belarusian authorities. On the other hand, legal status of a Lithuanian periodical edition will let the Belarusian mass media and all the citizens distribute our data and analytics without a fear of being jeopardized by the repressive legislation of their own country.
The “Topic of Month” in September is the Belarusian language, or to be more exact the public response caused by President A. Lukashenko’s instruction “to revise and harmonize the current rules of orthography and punctuation” that he gave to the Education Minister at a working meeting. How topical is the discussion of linguistic problems? Is there any political component in the proposed project of orthography revision in the Belarusian language? To what extent will the expected reform influence the choice of school-leavers in favor of the Belarusian language at the entrance exams? We asked these questions to our expert and a noted Belarusian journalist A. Feduta, PhD. We will also present here the opinion of Prof. A. Lukashanets, PhD in Linguistics, Director of the Institute of Linguistics of Yakub Kolas at the National Academy of Sciences.
The “Person of Month” column is already fourth time given to Lieutenant-General Yu. Sivakov. Having quit a chair of state he headed the Association of Veterans from the departments of MIA’s Special Forces “Honor” and managed to draw everyone’s attention with an article quoting different statements of A. Hitler which he published in Spetsnaz magazine (“Special Forces”). What are the chances of the claim which V. Svyatskaya, member of BPF’s Seim, submitted in this regards to the court? Appearance of such an article, is this a slip of a certain person or an act within the framework of the policy of reduction of civil freedoms carried by the state? Are we to expect an official response to this publication from numerous supervising state bodies? Here you will find opinions of Yu. Karpitsky, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Magazine of Special Purpose,” and H. Pogonyalo, Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee.
In the “Organization of Month” column we will speak about the Institute for Socio-Political Studies (already former institute). It was closed by president’s Edict No. 570 of September 13, 2006. This doesn’t mean that the Presidential Administration was left without sociological data. By that same edict, they formed Informational and Analytical Center of the Presidential Administration. What was the reason of the Edict? Why don’t the Charter of the Institute or of the newly formed Center mention public education? What caused conversion from scientific surveys to practical politics which is now the objective of the Center? We offer you the opinion of political scientist S. Naumova. Unfortunately, this is not for the first time that state experts refused to give their comment. The majority of them said they “had no information.”
The “Document of Month” column this time considers the report of President A. Lukashenko delivered at the summit of the Non-Alliance Movement in Havana, Cuba. Does the West really make its welfare with the hands of the member-states of the Non-Alliance Movement? How real is the formation of a new center of power? In 2006 A. Lukashenko many times stated about the European choice of Belarus. How do such statements comply with the Havana rhetoric about active resistance to the West? We asked these questions to political scientist A. Suzdaltsev and to V. Popov, Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission for International Affairs and CIS.
On the “IISEPS Desktop,” we offer to your attention analytics of the nation opinion poll conducted by independent sociologists in August of 2006.
IISEPS executive board