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Belarusians Protest Against Russian Military Drills
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Opposition activists in Belarus staged an antigovernment protest in Minsk on July 3, a rally that coincided with Independence Day celebrations in the ex-Soviet republic.

Some 150 people took to the streets of the capital to protest against the government of authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and military exercises Belarus is set to hold with Russia in September.

The protest, organized by opposition leader Mikalay Statkevich, concluded without incident, and there were no immediate reports of arrests or detentions.

Belarusian authorities in the past have cracked down on antigovernment rallies, often detaining protest leaders prior to the rallies.

Statkevich ran against Lukashenka in the 2010 election. Lukashenka, in office since 1994, was reelected in the vote that his critics say was rigged.

Statkevich was arrested after a large demonstration protesting the election results. He spent five years in prison.

The Independence Day protest came two days before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's planned annual session in Minsk.

The World Bank’s support has created the impression that Uzbekistan is working to end forced labor in good faith, when it is not, Human Rights Watch and the Uzbek-German Forum said in the new report.
The World Bank’s support has created the impression that Uzbekistan is working to end forced labor in good faith, when it is not, Human Rights Watch and the Uzbek-German Forum said in the new report.

On this week's show, the Majlis podcast returns to Uzbekistan’s cotton fields.

The Majlis has looked at the forced labor campaign in Central Asia's cotton fields before, but on June 27, Human Rights Watch and the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights released a report drawing attention to World Bank loans for Uzbekistan’s agricultural programs that use forced labor.

Muhammad Tahir, RFE/RL's media relations manager, moderated a discussion on the topic.

Jessica Evans, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, took part. Also participating was Allison Gill, an associate at the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights. And Kirill Buketov, international officer at the International Union of Food and Agriculture Workers, joined the discussion. And I had a couple of things to say, too.

Majlis Podcast: World Bank Linked To Forced Labor In Uzbekistan
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"Watchdog" is a blog with a singular mission -- to monitor the latest developments concerning human rights, civil society, and press freedom. We'll pay particular attention to reports concerning countries in RFE/RL's broadcast region.

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