BELARUSAN INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS DEMAND REGISTRATION.

Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (CDTU) members yesterday picketed presidential administration and government buildings in Minsk, demanding legal registration. The authorities are denying the registration on the grounds that one of CDTU’s constituent organizations was banned by a decree of President Aleksandr Lukashenko following a 1995 subway strike. The Constitutional Court had in vain invalidated that decree. CDTU claims some 20,000 members, mainly in transport and heavy industry. Its leader Hennadz Bykau yesterday appealed for international support. (Belapan, February 24)

Georgia Hits Russian Disapproval of Direct Ties Among CIS Countries.