Vol.1, No. 20 September, 1998 |
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Vol. 1; No. 20 September 1998 IN THIS ISSUE:
BELARUSIAN CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEYS VISIT U.S. Prof. Pastukhov and Ms. Stremkovskaya met with representatives of a number of NGOs in New York and Washington, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, as well as with the National Endowment for Democracy, the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Kennan Institute, and the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative. The International League held a round table breakfast with the lawyers at Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, on September 23 attended by members of the Belarusian diaspora, representatives from the Belarusian Mission and other Missions to the UN, as well as several academics and attorneys. On September 24, the Belarusian lawyers spoke at an RFE/RL Breakfast Briefing, saying that resistance to the dictatorship in Belarus is growing. There is concern that President Lukashenko may call yet another public referendum in the spring of 1999, possibly in connection with local elections in May and June, and thus extend his term and bypass presidential elections after July 1999, when his term under the 1994 Constitutions expires. Prof. Pastukhov was also featured in the program "Inside Media" at Freedom Forum’s Newseum with a live audience which was broadcast on the Internet on September 26. While in Washington, the lawyers also took their case to the U.S. Department of State where they spoke out continuing human rights violations and the harassment of the 13th Supreme Soviet members (the elected parliament disbanded by President Lukashenko). In conclusion of their visit, on September 28, Prof. Pastukhov and Ms. Stremkovskaya attended a conference on the constitutions of East annd Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union at Washington College of Law of American University. A number of prominent justices and scholars spoke about both positive and negative trends in the region. Prof. Pastukhov spoke on the role and legal status of the Constitutional Court in Lukashenko's Belarus, which, he concluded, had devolved to essentially a "decoration". (ILHR, September 28)
ANDREI KLIMOV HELD IN "ACCEPTABLE CONDITIONS" On September 24, Oleg Gulak, the Executive Director of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, and Garry Pogonyaylo, a prominent human rights lawyer, finally obtained permission to visit Andrei Klimov, the imprisoned deputy of the 13th Parliament and staunch critic of Lukashenko. The main goal of the visit was to examine the conditions in which Klimov has been kept since last February. At present, Andrei Klimov is incarcerated in a 10-square meter cell together with two other inmates. After their visit, Gulak and Pogonyaylo described the conditions as acceptable in view of the terrible overcrowding in the other cells of the prison. The BHC has several times petitioned the authorities to allow Andrei Klimov a medical examination and to release him conditionally under the Committee's guarantee, due to deteriorating health (Belarusian Helsinki Committee, September 24)
OSCE GROUP HOLDS SEMINAR IN SUPPORT OF DEMOCRACY On September 8, the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus held a seminar on Economic and Social Support of Democracy at the International Educational Center in Minsk. During the seminar, Gennady Karpenko, chairman of the National Executive Committee (the Belarusian opposition's shadow cabinet), Stanislav Bogdankevich, chairman of the United Civic Party, Semen Sharetsky, chairman of the 13th Supreme Soviet , and Stanislav Shushkevich, member of the 13th Supreme Soviet, spoke about the current political and economic situation in Belarus. (Minsk News, September 15-21)
LUKASHENKO CLAIMS UNANIMITY IN VIEWS WITH PRIMAKOV Lukashenko told journalists in Nesvizh that he and Yevgeny Primakov, Russian Prime Minister, share similar views on many issues in the past and are likely to continue to share them, Interfax reported on September 19. He added that Primakov was a faithful supporter of the plan for Russian-Belarusian unification when it was ready for implementation two years ago. According to the Belarusian President, Primakov "was nearly removed from the government" for his pro-unification stance. He warned that those opposed to the union are taking all possible steps to limit Primakov's influence. (RFE/RL, September 21)
PRIMAKOV TO VISIT BELARUS Yevgeny Primakov, Russian Prime Minister, was due to visit Belarus in late September. An agreement to this effect was reached during Primakov's telephone conversation on September 22 with Alexander Lukashenko, a government spokesman told TASS. During the conversation, Primakov and Lukashenko also discussed current Russian-Belarusian cooperation and prospects for its further development, the spokesman said. (ITAR/TASS News Agency, September 22)
PATRIARCH ALEXEY II VISITS BELARUS From September 24 to 27, Alexey II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, visited Belarus at Lukashenko’s invitation. During their meeting, the Belarusian president stressed that Christian values should become "the state ideology of Belarus." "We are an Orthodox country and we will always be devoted to Orthodoxy," he added. Patriarch Alexey II first visited Belarus in 1991, when he traveled to the dioceses affected by the Chernobyl disaster. He visited the country again three years ago to attend the 50th anniversary of the victory over the Nazi aggressors in World War II. This time the main event of the pastoral visit was the Exaltation of the Lord’s Cross, which was held with the patriarch’s participation at the Spaso-Yefrosinievsky Monastery in Polotsk from September 26 to 27. The Head of the Russian Orthodox Church also visited the Minsk and Vitebsk dioceses, as well as many Orthodox parishes, both old and new. (ITAR/TASS News Agency, September 24)
ANTONOVICH SUGGESTS RETURN OF POLISH AMBASSADOR TO DROZDY Ivan Antonovich, Belarusian Foreign Minister, told Polish Radio on September 18 that Marian Malyszkiewicz, Polish Ambassador in Belarus, would be able to return to his residence once the maintenance work at the Drozdy compound is completed. The entire compound is now divided into two sections: Drozdy I, which includes the residences of President Lukashenko and the ambassadors of France, Germany, and the U.S., and Drozdy II, in which the Polish ambassador's residence is located. (RFE/RL, September 21)
POLISH DEPUTIES MAKE UNANNOUNCED VISIT Foreign Minister Ivan Antonovich said he was shocked that an official delegation of the Polish parliament visited Minsk on September 18 without notifying the Belarusian government in advance, Polish Radio reported. "We are offended by the fact that a high-level delegation from Poland visited our country behind the back of the Belarusian government," he commented. The radio station reported that the Polish delegation met representatives of the Polish minority and local authorities, but avoided meeting with the National Minorities Commission of the present Belarusian Parliament, which is not recognized by the West. (RFE/RL, September 21)
LATVIAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION IN BELARUS "Belarus and Latvia are destined to develop good neighbor relations," said Alexander Lukashenko welcoming a Latvian delegation led by Alfred Cepanis, speaker of the Latvian parliament, at his residence on September 24. For his part, Cepanis said during the meeting that Latvia is interested in economic cooperation with Belarus and wishes to see its relations with Belarus developing on a mutually beneficial basis. He also stressed the necessity to settle some border issues and sign an agreement on the readmission of illegal immigrants. Commenting on the recent demonstrations of former Nazi accomplices in Latvia, Lukashenko said that the people of Belarus, who had lost every fourth fellow citizen during World War II, painfully reacted "to such tendencies and to the formation of new military blocs." "We see what is going on in Lithuania and Poland, where radar stations are being built. Attempts are being made to provoke us. We will have to keep a strong army to ensure security of our people," the Belarusian president declared, addressing his Latvian guests. (Baltic News Service- BELAPAN, September 24)
NO READMISSION TREATY WITH LITHUANIA It is useless to sign a readmission treaty with Lithuania before signing one with Russia, Ivan Antonovich, Belarusian Foreign Minister, said at a news conference in Minsk on September 18. "We are carrying on negotiations with Russia, which has to solve the readmission problem throughout its entire territory," Antonovich said. The minister reminded his audience that both Lithuania and Belarus are abiding by the signed agreement concerning border demarcation. Antonovich pointed out that the Lithuanian border's better equipment was attributable to financial support from the European Union. "We suggested that Lithuania and Belarus could share the money, but received no answer," he said. At the same time, the Belarusian Foreign Minister said that Lithuania's government is "the most tactful and understanding of all neighboring countries." (Baltic News Service, September 18)
UKRAINE AND BELARUS LEADERS WILL MEET IN OCTOBER The prime ministers of Ukraine and Belarus are scheduled to meet in October, ITAR-TASS reported on September 21. An exact date for the meeting has not yet been set. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and Alexander Lukashenko had a telephone conversation on September 21, agreeing to go ahead with planning the upcoming talks, which will be held in Belarus. The leaders will discuss, among other issues, Russia’s worsening economic crisis, which has left both neighboring nations rocking in its wake. (Agence France Presse, September 22)
KALININGRAD STANDS BY IDEA OF "CORRIDOR" TO BELARUS Viktor Romanovski, the Kaliningrad Region International Affairs Department chief, told the Zycie Polish newspaper that the region needs a "transit corridor Kaliningrad-Grodno, which has to proceed through a small piece of Polish territory -- some 100-120 kilometers." An announcement about a project to create a transport "corridor" from Belarus to ports in Kaliningrad through Polish territory was first made in 1996, when Boris Yeltsin and Alexander Lukashenko met for talks at the Kremlin. That announcement, however, encountered the immediate opposition of Poland. The Polish Foreign Affairs Minister noted at that time that such a proposal was unacceptable to his country and stated that it would be simpler if Kaliningrad were linked with Belarus through Lithuania. The project also surprised the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since, according to its officials, Russia and Belarus have no grounds to be dissatisfied by the conditions of the transit through Lithuania, which conform to intergovernmental agreements and international standards. (Baltic News Service, September 24)
LUKASHENKO PRESENTS CARS TO TOP HARVESTERS Alexander Lukashenko awarded new Lada cars to the country’s 12 most successful combine harvester operators and also granted new company cars to six collective farm managers and six regional leaders in the town of Nesvizh, AP reported. About 10,000 people gathered on September 19 to celebrate the end of the harvest. "You saved the country. You secured its safety for the next two to three years," AP quoted Lukashenko as saying to the prize winners. Lukashenko added that in view of the economic difficulties suffered by other countries, Belarus appeared to have chosen "the most optimal course of social and economic policies." Lukashenko repeated his pledge to help crisis-stricken Russia. (RFE/RL, September 21)
BELARUS UPGRADES ARMS TECHNOLOGY According to Russian television NTV, Alexander Lukashenko admitted on September 23 that Belarus is working on scientific research to upgrade domestic missile technology. Speaking openly to a crowd of reporters at a Belarusian military base, Lukashenko confirmed that military experts were actively developing new technology for the country's arms complex. "We are going to modernize all the systems that we currently have to a contemporary level," he said. Once the possessor of some 81 SS-25 Soviet strategic nuclear missiles, Belarus handed over all of its nuclear weapons to Russia in accordance with a 1991 agreement to disarm the republic. Lukashenko, in the past a frequent and vociferous proponent of disarmament in the region, stated that he was forced to comply with the agreement. "The pressure from Russia and from the West was unbelievable. Russian could only become compliant with their agreement only after withdrawing all nuclear weapons from Belarus," he stated. Lukashenko also announced that Belarus has no intention of dismantling its nuclear missile launch pads, even though there are currently no perspectives for a return of nuclear missiles to the country. (Agence France Presse, September 24)
NEW CRIMINAL CODE UNDER CONSIDERATION Belarusian legislators are considering a draft of the new Criminal Code, which might be adopted during the current session. For the first time they undertook an attempt to narrow the application of the death penalty for most heinous crimes, namely for rape. Researchers and lawyers agree that only by providing a guarantee of life for the rapist is it possible to deter him from murdering his victim. One more amendment to the draft code concerns the introduction of criminal liability for those AIDS diseased and HIV infected who evade specialized treatment. The procedure of arrest will also change. If adopted, arrest will be an alternative to imprisonment; its maximum term will not exceed six month and the conditions of arrest will, claim the legislators, be more mild and "civilized." (Belaruskaya gazeta, September 22)
LUKASHENKO SLAMS CABINET FOR INEFFICIENCY At a cabinet meeting on September 22, Alexander Lukashenko harshly criticized the government for inefficiency with "visible economic problems in the republic," Interfax reported. In particular, he criticized Ivan Antonovich, Foreign Minister, and Mikhail Marinich, Foreign Trade Minister, for the lack of cooperation between their Ministries. Lukashenko said that Belarus is now experiencing its second crisis this year. The first crisis, he said, was in March, when a Belarusian ruble devaluation was "initiated in Moscow." He called upon his ministers to end the "endless and empty discussions and procrastination." "Those who do not want to work should resign without waiting for the president's actions," he added. (RFE/RL, September 23)
BELARUSIAN EMERGENCIES MINISTRY REORGANIZED Although fewer technological emergencies and natural calamities were registered in Belarus this year, the republic’s leadership deemed it necessary to reinforce the Belarusian Ministry of Emergencies. The experts believe that the Ministry should have broader responsibilities. In addition to coordination, the creation of militarized rescue services at the Ministry will enable it to take part in the elimination of consequences of emergencies and to react more promptly. Under the presidential decree, the Ministry will control all fire stations, which earlier belonged to the Interior Ministry. The Ministry of Emergencies will also have a separate committee to deal with the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. (Sovetskaya Belarusiya, September 23)
CORRUPT NATIONS SURVEY Businessmen, international experts and the public believe that Belarus does not have a high level of corruption in comparison to other countries, as indicated by the results of several opinion polls summarized by the International Anti-Corruption Organization, Transparency International. The opinion polls were conducted in 85 countries. Among them, Belarus ranks 47th. Danes, Finns and Swedes are most optimistic about corruption in their countries, while Russia ranks 76th. The United States ended up in the 17th place tied with Austria. Honduras, Paraguay, and Cameroon ranked the last. The index is aimed at attracting public and government attention to the problem of corruption in the surveyed countries. (Associated Press, September 22)
U.S. OFFICIALS SEE CHERNOBYL SHUT DOWN BY YEAR 2000 The closure of the Chernobyl nuclear power station will be completed as planned by the year 2000, said Terry Lash, head of the International Nuclear Safety Department at the U.S. Department of Energy on September 21. Experts estimate the cost of the task, to be funded in part by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, at about $760 million, with about $390 million raised so far. Lash said the U.S. has to date sponsored about $12 million to complete work on the shelter. (Reuters, September 22)
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