IN THIS ISSUE:

VINIKOVA ESCAPES

Tamara Vinikova, the former head of the Belarusian National Bank who was accused of large-scale embezzlement, disappeared from her apartment in the early hours of April 8, a source at the Belarusian General Prosecutor's office revealed. Vinikova was detained on January 14, 1997 and spent about 10 months in pre-trial detention. On November 7, 1997, she was released for health reasons and placed under house arrest at her apartment, where several guards were constantly present. A trial was never held. On several occasions Ludmila Ulyashina, Vinikova's lawyer, condemned the Belarusian authorities for confining her client to her home, in spite of a serious illness which called for Vinikova's medical treatment abroad. Immediately after Vinikova’s disappearance, Ulyashina was arrested and taken to the prosecutor's office, her husband said. Police also searched Ulyashina’s apartment. (Agence France Presse, April 8)

... POLICE SEARCH ANNOUNCED

Belarusian law-enforcement officials have announced a national and international search for Tamara Vinikova. A statement issued by the General Prosecutor's office says that the police are about to complete a preliminary investigation into criminal corruption charges brought against Vinikova, who had been chairman of the Belarusbank before her appointment to the National Bank. The statement says that Vinikova instructed the Belarusbank to loan $1.6 million to a foreign company for an unprofitable venture. In September 1995, Vinikova allegedly helped to arrange a 2.5 billion BRB (about $250,000) loan to another firm, which was never repaid. The statement says that there is evidence proving Vinikova's participation in embezzlement while the head of the Belarusbank. "Fearing her inevitable punishment, Tamara Vinikova has defied her November 7, 1997 pledge not to flee, and disappeared from her home," says the statement. The General Procurator's office has issued a warrant for her arrest. (Itar-Tass, April 8)

POLICE SEARCHES CHIGIR'S DACHA AND APARTMENT

On April 1, officers of the Investigation Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs searched the country house of Mikhail Chigir, said Chigir's wife, Julia. Chigir was arrested on April 30 on embezzlement charges. The opposition claims that his arrest was politically motivated. According to Mrs. Chigir, the police, who presented a search warrant, seized a computer and a safe. They also took Chigir's son, Alexander, in for questionning. On the same day, police searched Chigir's apartment in Minsk. (Belapan, April 2)

CHIGIR'S DETENTION EXTENDED TO AT LEAST THREE MORE MONTHS

On April 8, a Minsk district court rejected a petition, filed by Chigir, that he be released. Instead, the General Prosecutor's office has extended Chigir's term of detention to three months. The judge has allowed Julia Chigir to act as her husband's defense attorney in the court proceedings. However, on April 3 she was denied the right to see him. (Interfax, April 9)

…WHILE HIS WIFE DENIES HE WAS INVOLVED IN ANY EMBEZZLEMENT

On April 8, Chigir’s wife sent a letter to Oleg Bozhelko, the General Prosecutor, refuting the accusation that her husband participated in the embezzlement of US$1 million while at Belagroprombank. The letter says that in 1994 her husband signed a contract for the construction of a high rise office building with the Canadian Lawrence Avenue Group Ltd. The bank transferred US$1 million to the company in March 1994. President Lukashenko appointed Chigir prime minister in July 1994. Following Chigir's departure from Belagroprombank, the bank's profits began to decrease and it made a decision to stop the construction, as well as cooperation with the Canadian company, which failed to pay back the US$1 million. Isaac Myself, the company's chief executive, sent a written statement that the money had already been spent on equipment and construction. "Normally, the money would be considered lost because of mismanagement by Mikhail Chigir's successors, but Lukashenko says that the million has been stolen," says the letter. Mrs. Chigir also says that Arkady Borodich, Lukashenko's ally during his 1994 election campaign and the head of the Karuna Canada joint venture which is partly owned by Lawrence Avenue Group Ltd., strongly advised her husband to sign the contract with the Canadian company. Mrs. Chigir claims that Lukashenko knew Mr. Myself, and that Karuna Canada housed his election headquarters. She asks the General Procurator to call President Lukashenko as a witness in this case. (Belapan, April 8)

RUSSIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS DEMAND IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF CHIGIR

A group of Russian State Duma deputies issued a statement calling for the immediate release of Mikhail Chigir and other political prisoners in Belarus. The statement further states that "restrictions on freedom of assembly, media censorship, and the disbanding of the legally elected parliament are all evidence of the totalitarian regime in Belarus." The Russian parliamentarians believe that Chigir's arrest marks the beginning of a new surge of repression. The statement was signed by deputies Yankovsky, Nesterov, Yushenkov, Vorobyev, Rybakov, and others. (Belapan, April 2)

BPF CALLS FOR RELEASE OF CHIGIR

The Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) issued a statement condemning the authorities for the arrest of Mikhail Chigir. The BPF defines Chigir's arrest as a "political act aimed at intimidating the Belarusian society…We categorically urge the government to respect human rights and restore the rule of law in our country," reads the statement. (Belapan, April 7)

GOMEL OPPOSITION ACTIVIST FINED FOR ANTI-ELECTION LEAFLETS

The Gomel police searched the apartment owned by the grandmother of Alexander Korneyenko, the deputy head of the Civic Forum, a nationwide youth organization. During the search, police confiscated leaflets calling for a boycott of the local elections held on April 4. As Korneyenko told Belapan, two police officers entered the apartment, with neither a warrant nor the owner's permission, on the pretext of a passport check. They confiscated more than 900 leaflets. Korneyenko was taken to the police station and accused of publicly calling for a boycott of elections which violates Article 167, Part 3 of the Administrative Offenses Code. On April 3, judge Nikolai Krupadyora fined him 10 monthly wages. Korneyenko had pleaded not guilty to the charges. (Belapan, April 2-3)

FINED IN MOGILEV

Police in Mogilev detained several members of the Belarusian Popular Front, the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (BSDP), and the Belarusian Free Trade Union on the pretext of cracking down on drug trafficking. On March 31, after being detained for allegedly participating in drug trafficking, Ales Serdyukov, the head of the Mogilev branch of the BSDP, was fined 500,000BR (about $1.50) for carrying printed materials on the presidential elections. (Belapan, April 1)

BELARUS HOLDS LOCAL ELECTIONS, OPPOSITION BOYCOTTS

Elections to local councils at all levels were held in Belarus on April 4. About 26,000 candidates ran for 24,564 seats in various councils. The opposition parties refused to take part in the elections. On April 5 Lydia Yermoshina, chairman of the official Central Electoral Commission, told reporters that no serious infractions were recorded during the elections. According to Yermoshina, over 66 per cent of Belarus's total electorate of seven million voted in the elections to local councils. The elections were deemed valid in 33 of 52 districts, where there was a turnout of over half of all registered voters. Most of the voting activity was registered in the Grodno region, where 75 per cent showed up at polling stations. In Minsk, the turnout was much lower, at 48 per cent. The second round will be held on April 18 in those districts in which no candidate won over 50 per cent of votes. (Itar-Tass, April 5-6)

OSCE ISSUES PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL ELECTIONS

"General conditions changed the nature of the elections from a democratically organized competitive event among democratic and other parties for the control of parliamentary bodies to an event characterized by the interest of the state to organize political support for its institutions and leaders," Hans-Georg Wieck, head of the OSCE AMG in Belarus, said at a news conference held on April 5 in Minsk. "The new local election law, which entered into force in December last year, could not provide a basis for a free and fair elections. That is why the OSCE decided not to organize an election observation program for the local elections in Belarus on April 4 and April 18, 1999," he added. Wieck also noted an insufficient number of candidates in the elections: 26,000 candidates were registered for about 24,500 seats. Moreover, in rural areas there was generally one candidate for each seat while in towns, there were about three. "This unsatisfactory situation was caused by the non-democratic structure of the election law, the ensuing boycott of the elections by democratic parties and by the fact that many candidates were not allowed to participate because of irregularities in the registration process," Wieck stated. The AMG concluded that there was only a "moderate interest on the part of the population to participate in these elections for reasons including lack of confidence in the institutions, little authority vested in local soviets and the boycott of elections for political reasons." (Belapan, April 5)

INDEPENDENT REPORTER DETAINED BY KGB

On April 7, Oleg Gruzdilovich, correspondent of the independent newspaper Naviny and Radio Liberty, was stopped by KGB officers near his house and taken to the KGB headquarters for questioning. The interrogation was likely prompted by Gruzdilovich's article titled "A Secret Plan Against the Opposition," published in the March 19 issue of Naviny. Similar accounts of the government's plan to crack down on the opposition were published by many Belarusian newspapers. After the 4-hour interrogation, the investigator drew up a report stating the journalist's reasons for refusing to give evidence. Gruzdilovich declined to sign the report. He also did not sign a statement promising not to disclose the content of the interrogation. (Belapan, April 7-8)

PROTEST AGAINST POSSIBLE RETURN OF NUCLEAR ARMS TO BELARUS

About 500 people took part in an unsanctioned march in Minsk on April 2 to protest against a possible re-deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus. Some Belarusian and Russian politicians have recently urged re-deployment in response to the NATO's air strikes against Yugoslavia. The protesters marched from Yakub Kolas Square along the sidewalks of Frantsysk Skaryna Avenue to Paris Commune Square, shouting slogans and waving the prohibited white- red-white flags. The march ended with a rally in front of the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The speakers, including several members of the 13^th Supreme Soviet, warned about the grave consequences of the possible re-deployment of nuclear weapons to the country. On the same day, the Minsk government organized a rally on Yakub Kolas Square in Minsk to celebrate the Day of Unity [between Belarus and Russia]. About 400 people turned up for the gathering, which ended before the anti-nuclear demonstrators started to gather on the square. (Belapan, April 3)

OVER 20 PROTESTERS DETAINED BY POLICE

Over 20 protesters at the anti-nuclear protest were detained by police. Anatoly Lebedko, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet and one of the organizers of the demonstration, and Alexander Tomkovich, an employee of the newspaper Svobodnye Novosti and deputy chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, were taken to the Sovietsky District police department. Tomkovich was released that day, while Lebedko was driven to a detention center where he remained until April 5. Apart from Lebedko, several other people were arrested. Galina Kunina, who was severally beaten by police at the time of the arrest, and 19-year-old Svetlana Kharkina were sent to jail to await a trial. Nine minors were detained and then handed over to their parents. According to Lyubov Lunyova, a human rights activist, some of those teenagers had joined the marchers accidentally and done so out of curiosity. Lunyova told Belapan that she intended to look into accounts that police officers had made the teenagers write in their explanatory notes that the organizers of the march had forced them to participate. According to her, some of the teenagers were in detention for much longer than the authorized three hours [time limit set by the law]. (Belapan, April 3)

…AND LATER STAND TRIAL

On April 5 the arrested protesters were tried in the Sovetsky and Tsentralny District Courts, where judges Ludmila Savostian and Anatoly Borisenok presided. They were charged with organizing and participating in an unsanctioned march. Anatoly Lebedko was fined 75 million BR (about US$215). A. Snopkovsky, an opposition activist, was sentenced to five days of administrative detention. The court also fined V. Slyshkin, S. Lukoiko, R. Korostik and A. Artemenko 10 million BR (about US$30) each. V. Radkevich, L. Sadovsky and S. Kharkina received warnings. None of them were allowed legal representation. (Charter 97, April 6)

TRADE UNIONS WILL HOLD A DEMONSTRATION

On April 6, Mikhail Marinich, leader of the Free Trade Union of Steel Workers, announced that trade unions of the Belarusian Confederation of Democratic Trade Unions will hold a mass protest rally against the economic policy of the Belarusian authorities on April 15. Marinich said that the main reason for "the acute economic crisis in the republic is the close link between the Belarusian and Russian economies." He stressed that the free trade unions are not against the development of trade cooperation between Belarus and Russia but would like to explore other countries for foreign economic activity. "The authorities are unable to deal with the current economic difficulties, which is why the trade unions are forced to come up with political demands," Marinich added. Irina Zhykhar, deputy chair of the Belarusian free trade union remarked that "the living standards of workers won't change until a new administration arrives, that is why free trade unions want to see radical changes in the administration." (Interfax, April 6)

TRADE UNION ACTIVIST GOES ON HUNGER STRIKE

On April 2, Sergey Vakulenko, leader of a local organization of the Free Trade Union of Steel Workers at the Koleratron factory in Brest, went on a dry hunger strike to protest against the harassment of union members by the factory administration. The number of members of the Free Trade Union at Koleratron has decreased from 250 to 4 in the last few years. Vakulenko blames Victor Podolski, the new director, for threatening to fire union members, refusing to pay them bonuses, and cutting their work quota. Union activists’ appeals to the local prosecutor's office were of no avail. The director has recently barred the union members from attending a conference, at which workers discussed a collective bargaining agreement. "I believe that a dry hunger strike is the only way to make the Koleratron administration respect the law," Vakulenko stated. (Belapan, April 3)

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION SESSION

On April 2 at the session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Stanislav Ogourtsov once again acknowledged that "there were some difficulties with human rights in Belarus." "The Government had made this area a top priority," he added, emphasizing that the Belarusian government continues to cooperate with non-governmental organizations and the UNDP office in Belarus and has recently developed "a special program titled ‘Strengthening capacities and infrastructure for the promotion and protection of human rights’, to facilitate a constructive, honest dialogue and cooperation on human rights issues." Referring to the remarks previously made by Andrei Sannikov, Charter 97's international coordinator, Ogourtsov accused him of hypocrisy and of defaming Belarus, stating that "the human rights violations which unfortunately occurred in Belarus were in no case representative of a state policy and therefore Sannikov’s accusations made on behalf of the International League for Human Rights were only intended to spread slander against the country..," (M2 PRESSWIRE, April 6)

POZNYAK WILL NOT RETURN TO BELARUS FOR PRESIDENTIAL RACE

At an April 1 news conference Lyavon Borshchevski, acting chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front, and Sergei Papkov, BPF deputy chairman, announced that Zyanon Paznyak, the BPF candidate in the opposition presidential election, will not return to Belarus for the election campaign. According to Borshchevski, the arrest of the other candidate, Mikhail Chigir, the suspicious death of Vyacheslav Chornovil, the leader of Rukh (the Ukrainian People's Movement), and the six-month detention of Vladimir Pleshschenko, chairman of the Vitebsk branch of the BPF, lead him to believe that it would be risky for Paznyak to return to Belarus now. (Belapan, April 2) (The League has not received any allegations from Ukrainian or international human rights organizations that Chornovil’s death was anything but an accident---Eds.).

LUKASHENKO SHUNS WEST, SLAMS OPPOSITION

While presenting his annual address to the National Assembly on April 7, Lukashenko denounced American and European democracies, which, according to him, had now shown their true colors in the conflict over Yugoslavia. "They do not like those who are not submissive," Lukashenko declared, adding that money channeled to the Belarusian opposition from the West was used not only to support dissident publications, but to buy weapons for local revanchists as well. "They have even thought of organizing meetings of Ukrainians in Brest and Poles in Grodno to demand autonomy from Belarus!" He went on, adding that the Yugoslav scenario would not be repeated, as the Belarusian army would respond to any relocation of the Polish or Lithuanian army in the vicinity of the border. Lukashenko said that the West "lacks an objective view of real life" in their assessments of the situation in Belarus. Lukashenko said that he was surprised by the position of the diplomats accredited in Belarus, who, in his opinion, present their countries with "information that does not in any way correspond to the facts." In his fiery speech, which lasted more than two hours and was broadcast by state radio and television, Lukashenko called the country's 10 million people to rally together, saying the country could survive without aid from international lenders. Lukashenko blamed spiraling inflation and a shortage of some food products and consumer goods on International Monetary Fund's recommendations. Alluding to growing Western criticism of his harsh treatment of the opposition, Lukashenko stressed that he was fighting corruption, not the opposition. "If they [opposition leaders] succeed in dragging the country into the quagmire of early presidential elections, we will even forget how to sow bread!" He exhorted that "we have law-enforcement bodies that will soon show them their place." (Interfax, Reuters, April 7-8)

PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS OPPOSITION PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

On April 6, the lower house of the Belarusian National Assembly condemned the forthcoming opposition presidential elections. The House's resolution says that only the House of Representatives has the right to call presidential elections, under Article 97, Paragraph 3 of the Belarusian Constitution. (Belapan, April 6)

YUGOSLAVIA JOINS RUSSIA-BELARUS UNION?

Boris Yeltsin backed Slobodan Milosevic's proposal to include Yugoslavia in the Russia-Belarus Union, Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov announced on April 9. He divulged this news to Duma members after his meeting with Yeltsin. Seleznyov said that he had "described in detail the expediency of this idea" to the President. According to Seleznyov, Yeltsin immediately made a phone call to Lukashenko, "who vigorously backed the idea of the tripartite Union". The Duma Speaker said that "corresponding ministries and departments were instructed to draw up a draft statement on the Russia-Belarus-Yugoslavia Union". According to Seleznyov, "such a Union is possible even though we have no common borders". (Itar-Tass, April 9)