Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Fri, 9 May 1997 16:12:50 -0700 (PDT)
Sender: "A. Donovan Meyers III" <[email protected]>
Subject: Soros in Belarus: Update
CCSI,
I have been asked to pass on the below message to raise awareness of the
attacks on the Belarusian Soros Foundation. There is more info at
http://www.bsf.minsk.by/he/00.htm
Regards,
Donovan
*********
Belarusian Authorities Demand Three Million Dollar Payment
From The Belarusian Soros Foundation
Minsk, April 29, 1997
The latest step aimed at taking reprisals against the Belarusian Soros
Foundation came on April 29, 1997. The Foundation was submitted a document
signed by the head tax inspector of the Belarusian State Tax Committee
which stated the results of the inspection [of the Soros office].
According to this document, theBelarusian Soros Foundation must pay fines
amounting to almost $3 million US dollars.
The Foundation is accused of a whole host of contraventions it is alleged
to have committed during its period of charitable activities, including
making a profit. It is hard to say how these accusations would appear from a
legal point of view, since there is simply no legislation regulating the
activity of charitable organisations in Belarus. Obviously, that is why the
Foundation was verified according to identical criteria as those applied
to commercial organisations.
These allegations are more than absurd from a common sense point of view. A
non-governmental organisation funded by a private individual has been
requested to pay the state a sum equal to half its annual budget (in 1996,
the Belarusian Soros Foundation expended approximately $6 million on the
implementation of various programs).
Is it really true that our support for Belarusian hospitals, schools, youth
organisations, kindergartens, higher educational establishments, libraries,
academic institutions, environmental organisations, museums, theatres,
creative groups and research centres was of no benefit to the country and
its people? Over the four years the Foundation has been in existence, the
support it provided came to $13 million.
No doubt the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus could answer
this question more fully, since it was they who issued two resolutions in
1995 to exempt Belarusian Soros Foundation grants from taxation. However,
as it turned out, even such high-level documents were insufficient to
protect the Foundation from fines.
The Belarusian Soros Foundation refutes the accusations which have been
made against it and intends to protest at the main provisions of the
inspection's findings within the allotted five days.
The Belarusian Soros Foundation's Information and Public Relations
Department
*******
A. Donovan Meyers, III, ECOLOGIA Nerd
[email protected] http://www.ecologia.org/staff/donovan/
P.O. Box 142 ; Harford, PA 18823 ; (717) 434-9588; fax (717) 434-9589
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