BELARUS UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole
Vol. 2 No. 18
April 1999
IN THIS ISSUE:
-- HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS --
HELSINKI COMMISSION HOLDS HEARING ON BELARUS
On April 27, the U.S. Congressional Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, or the Helsinki Commission) held a hearing on Belarus titled "Belarus - Back in the USSR?"
"The actions of the government send fear through every level of Belarusian society," said Commission Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith in a CSCE press release April 28. "The political and economic situation in Belarus remains dire under President Lukashenko's authoritarian rule." Smith singled out Lukashenko's crackdown on NGOs and Presidential Decree No. 2, which introduces extensive restrictions on non-governmental activity and mandates re-registration of political parties, NGOs, and trade unions.
Smith, as well as Commissioner Sam Brownback, a senator from Kansas, specifically queried Arkady Cherepansky, Belarusian Charge d’Affaires, as to whether there would be a massive crackdown against opposition political parties if they carry out elections on May 16. "I can assure you, as a representative of the executive branch of the Belarusian Government, that no massive crackdown will occur even though those elections will be in violation of existing law," said Cherepansky. "The only punishment meted out will be according to the current laws of the government. We are actually working with international experts on a new criminal code."
Ranking Member Rep. Steny H. Hoyer then pointed out that "if your existing laws are in conflict with your international obligations, it does not rationalize them nor justify the denial of human rights to your people."
These exchanges followed comments by Ross Wilson, Principal Deputy to the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the Newly Independent States, regarding U.S. policy on Belarus and the current state of its government. Asked whether the United States was assisting Belarusian victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Wilson replied that the United States was assisting people and hospitals. As for the status of the 13th Supreme Soviet, Wilson pointed out that it was generally the only parliament acknowledged by the international community, and that it is "a burr in the hide of Lukashenko." Regarding the absence of an American ambassador in Minsk, Wilson explained that the United States has "asked for written assurances from the Belarusian Government that it will not violate the Vienna Convention, and as soon as these assurances are received, we will send Ambassador Speckhard back to Minsk."
Amb. Hans-Georg Wieck, Head of the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group (AMG) in Belarus, noted that there were a number of difficulties in working with a government which does not follow the rule of law. "I will work to have free and fair parliamentary elections in 2000, but opposition parties must have access to the media. While it may not be reasonable to expect a complete set of legal changes, we can expect the regime's immediate compliance with international obligations," said Wieck.
The AMG's work was immediately criticized by a panel consisting of Amb. Andrei Sannikov, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus and International Coordinator of Charter 97; Catherine Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the International League for Human Rights, and Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch/Europe and Central Asia Division. Sannikov felt that the AMG funds spent on election training and monitoring "were a waste of the resources of the participating States. It is wasted in a country that doesn't have the rule of law." Sannikov and Fitzpatrick urged the U.S. to return Amb. Speckhard to Minsk parallel to continuing negotiations about compensation for the Drozdy affair.
LEAGUE DIRECTOR TESTIFIES IN CONGRESS ON BELARUS
Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, executive director of the League, testified at the CSCE hearing on Belarus April 27, calling for the return of the U.S. ambassador along with an aggressive plan of outreach to opposition and civic groups and programs to improve foreign radio broadcasting to Belarus as well as funding of activities to strengthen civil society, including academic exchanges and a major media development fund. Fitzpatrick urged the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group to make public its interventions with the Belarusian government and to note publicly when it was denied access to prisons. She further noted that by deciding to send observers, the AMG had confused the public and inadvertently helped legitimize the regime’s highly flawed local elections. Fitzpatrick called for future OSCE election observation to be linked explicitly to the re-registration of NGOs, trade unions, and parties under international standards for freedom of association. Copies of the full text are available from the League. (ILHR, April 27)
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
On April 27, the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe also held a hearing on the situation in Belarus. The decision to convene the panel was based on a report submitted by Robert Antretter, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, after his visit to Minsk in late 1998. Representatives of the 13th Supreme Soviet, which the Council of Europe still recognizes as the only legitimate legislature in Belarus, and delegates from the Belarusian National Assembly, who seek recognition, expressed their views on the situation in the country, and answered the questions of the Committee’s members. Victor Ruffi, Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee, made the decision to send a representative to Belarus "to conduct a more thorough study on the ground." (Belapan, April 26)
GEREMEK, KULAKOVSKI TRADE PUNCHES
On April 28, the OSCE held a seminar in Warsaw on human rights and the role of local OSCE field missions. In his welcoming speech, Polish Foreign Minister Bronislav Geremek said: "I am deeply concerned by the fact that even in Central and Eastern Europe there are countries where political opponents are still put in prison, where freedom of speech is abused and where standards of democratic elections are not respected. The situation in Belarus evokes reasonable concern. It has a negative impact on stability in the region and in Europe as a whole. In particular we point out such facts as the arrest of former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir. Individuals who are being persecuted should feel that the OSCE is on their side."
Yury Kulakovsky, a member of the Belarusian official delegation and Chair of the Human Rights Commission of the National Assembly’s House of Representatives, replied to the Polish Foreign Minister’s speech. He said: "I think that Mr. Geremek should first look into the reason for Chigir’s arrest. It is not for just anything that former prime ministers are placed under investigation. For example, Ukrainian former Prime Minister Lazarenko is wanted all over Europe. There have been also allegations against the Japanese Prime Minister. As far as Chigir is concerned, he got involved in politics when he found out about the investigation. I believe that in the given situation we are dealing with a policy of double standards." (Charter 97, April 29)
CHARNOBYLSKY SHLYAKH – EIGHT ACTIVISTS DETAINED
On April 25, Charnobylsky Shlyakh (Chernobyl Path), the traditional mass procession, took place in Minsk. It was dedicated to the 13th anniversary of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. About seven thousand people attended the rally and the meeting, which were organized by the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) and other democratic parties and movements. The participants carried posters with dozens of slogans, such as "Say no to the policy of nuclear slaughter of the Belarusian people!" and "Free Mikhail Chigir!" The rally was led by Semyon Sharetsky, Speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet, and well-known opposition politicians Stanislav Bogdankevich, Lyavon Barshcheusky, and Yury Khadyka. Several members of the Anti-Fascist Youth Action from Moscow also took part in the rally. The meeting was shortened because of the lack of sound amplifying equipment. The police had refused to give back the amplifiers and loudspeakers they confiscated after an opposition demonstration held earlier this spring. According to BPF, police detained eight BPF activists before the rally. They were brought to a police station and kept there for more than 3 hours. (Belapan, April 26)
DEMONSTRATORS CLASH WITH POLICE IN GRODNO
On the evening of April 25, a severe clash between the participants in an unauthorized rally devoted to the 13th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster and the police occurred in Grodno, the Spring 96 Human Rights Center reported. Using truncheons and tear gas, municipal police, reinforced by riot police, attempted to disperse about 40 demonstrators who were marching in silence and carrying torches as a symbol of sorrow for the victims of Chernobyl. The demonstrators linked arms to prevent the police from seizing them one by one. Several policemen were armed with automatic rifles. Nine opposition activists were detained. Some of the detainees were injured and one girl suffered a concussion. (Spring 96, April 26)
NINE SENTENCED
On April 26, two of the demonstrators were sentenced to four days in jail, three to three days, and four to two days. They were all found guilty of participating in an unauthorized rally. One of the demonstrators is now in the hospital with a broken shoulder blade. (Charter 97, April 28)
OPPOSITION POET BEATEN UP BY UNIDENTIFIED MEN
On April 22, Slavamir Adamovich, a well-known Belarusian poet and a journalist of the newspaper Nasha Niva, was brutally attacked in Minsk. In an interview with Charter 97, Adamovich said that three young men met him inside the entrance to the building where the office of Nasha Niva is located. Without any apparent reason, they knocked him down and start kicking him. "I am sure that this assault was inspired by the KGB and can only be explained by my activities as the secretary of the local Minsk opposition electoral commission," Adamovich said. He did not file a complaint with the police because he believes that it would be useless under the current circumstances. (Charter 97, April 24)
CHIGIR’S HEADQUARTERS BURGLARIZED
On the night of April 25-26, unidentified intruders broke into the election campaign headquarters of Mikhail Chigir, who is still in jail under spurious embezzlement charges. They stole the computer, which stored the campaign database, as well as a fax machine and a television. It should be noted that the headquarters, which are located near a police precinct, were under the KGB's around-the-clock surveillance. Chigir’s wife Julia believes that the robbery was organized by the KGB. (Belapan, April 26)
LUKASHENKO WANTS "CREDITS REPAID, NOT BANKERS JAILED"
On April 23, at a meeting with Sergei Stepashin, the Russian Minister of Internal Affairs, Pres. Lukashenko said that he "recently put a little bit of pressure on former and present bankers - those who took credits and never repaid them… There is no repression or anything of the kind going on. We have simply pressured them. We want the money they stole from the state…" Pres. Lukashenko stated. (BBC, April 24)
OPPOSITION CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION ADOPS ELECTION PROCEDURE
The opposition Central Electoral Commission (CEC) issued a resolution "On Voting Procedures During the Elections of the President of Belarus". Since the authorities have refused to provide polling stations for the elections, the opposition CEC ordered local electoral commission representatives to visit voters’ homes with ballot boxes. Voting will take place from May 6-16. In adopting such a resolution, the opposition CEC said it took into account Article 32 of the Law "On Elections of the President of Belarus", which allows ballots to be cast at voters' homes if voters cannot visit polling stations because of "health reasons or other valid causes." (Radio 101.2, April 29)
OPPOSITION ACTIVIST SENTENCED FOR UNSANCTIONED PROTEST IN GRODNO
On April 27, the Leninsky district court in Grodno sentenced Valery Levonevsky, the head of the Grodno Center for the Protection of Consumers' Rights, to a 13-day administrative detention for staging an unsanctioned demonstration near the building of the Grodno City Council on April 23. Levonevsky pleaded not guilty, saying that he had an appointment with Valentina Lavtsel, Deputy Chairwoman of the Grodno City Council, that day. However, the meeting was postponed, and the people who had come to attend were waiting outside. Policemen approached them, demanded that they stop the unauthorized meeting and then drew up a charge sheet. Levonevsky believes that the alleged organization of an unsanctioned demonstration was used as a pretext to jail him before a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarus Union scheduled to take place in Grodno in early May. (Belapan, April 27)
ACTIVIST DISMISSED FROM HIS JOB IN SLUTSK
On April 22, Nikolai Smirnov, head of the local opposition electoral commission and a trade union activist who worked as a driver at a collective farm near the Minsk region town of Slutsk, was dismissed from his job. Smirnov claims that the farm management repeatedly threatened him and then cut his pay and transferred him to an unskilled job. To express his protest against those measures, Smirnov did not show up for work once and was immediately fired for an unexcused absence. The opposition activist says that now he does not know how to support himself and his two children. In his opinion, there is little hope that he will be able to find another job nearby. Smirnov believes that his dismissal was illegal. He has filed complaints with the Slutsk district court and the district prosecutor. (Belapan, April 27)
FOUR DEMONSTRATORS ARRESTED IN VITEBSK REGION
On April 26, an unauthorized picket with environmental slogans was organized in the Vitebsk region town of Novopolotsk by a local branch of the Spring 96 Human Rights Center. The picketers gave away leaflets and newspapers containing information on the environmental situation in the surrounding area. Within a half-hour after it began, the picket was broken up by police. Four demonstrators were arrested. The posters and the leaflets were confiscated. (Spring 96, April 27)
MAY DAY ARRESTS IN MINSK
Numerous participants in the May 1 demonstrations in Minsk were detained. On the evening of May 1, when the rally had already come to an end, 15 people, including members of the Belarusian Social-Democratic Party (Narodnaya Gramada) as well as the activists of the Belarusian Congress of the Democratic Trade Unions were arrested. Their trial was initially scheduled for May 3, but then postponed to May 5. (Charter 97, May 3)
OSCE REPRESENTATIVES DENIED PERMISSION TO ATTEND HIGH-PROFILE TRIAL
Representatives of the OSCE AMG in Belarus have not been allowed to attend the trial of suspects in the murder of Evgeny Mikalutski, Chairman of the Mogilev Regional Department of the State Control Committee, who were also accused of planning to assassinate President Lukashenko. Hanspeter Kleiner, Deputy Head of the OSCE AMG, issued a statement saying that information given by the Press Secretary of the Belarusian Supreme Court and some media outlets that members of the OSCE had the opportunity to attend the trial did not correspond to the facts. The OSCE AMG received a letter dated April 17 and signed by Judge Chubkavets, which said that the hearings are closed to the press and to all observers. According to Kleiner, on April 26, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry informed the OSCE AMG that the trial was closed because the case involved state secrets. The Ministry did not specify the nature of the secrets, says the OSCE. (Belapan, April 26)
EU REPRESENTATIVES MEET OPPOSITION LEADERS AND OFFICIALS IN MINSK
On April 28, Semyon Sharetsky, the Speaker of 13th Supreme Soviet, had a meeting with representatives from Germany, Austria, and Finland who arrived in Minsk on April 27. The EU delegation also met Ural Latypov, the Belarusian Foreign Minister. Nikolai Borisevich, Belarusian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, said that the sides were attempting "to find ways to normalize a political dialogue between the European Union and Belarus." EU envoys also met Mikhail Myasnikovich, the Head of the Belarusian Presidential Administration. (Radio 101.2, April 28)
SHARETSKY PUBLISHES BOOK ON "LUKASHISM"
Semyon Sharetsky recently published a book "The Tragedy of Belarus, or What Lukashism is Really About". The book contains articles published by Sharetsky in the past two and a half years, his public speeches and statements of the 13th Supreme Soviet. "Lukashism is not only the behavior of the mentally unbalanced Belarusian President and his entourage, but also a public and political phenomenon which has started to acquire an international scale. Lukashism is a recurrence of dictatorship in modern European conditions. It is a mixture of fascism, Stalinism, and hard-core populism. If no urgent countermeasures are taken, then it will not only gain strength in Belarus but also spread to other regions like a cancer," said Sharetsky in the preface. (Belapan, April 28)
GRODNO TRADE UNION LEADER DEAD
Arnold Pechersky, a leader of the Grodno "Solidarity" trade union of businessmen, was buried in Minsk on April 27. He died in a car accident two days earlier. Valery Levonevsky, Pechersky’s friend and a "Solidarity" leader, told Charter 97 that he considered this death to be a murder. According to Mr. Levonevsky, Belarusian businessmen were preparing for a general strike. It was planned on May 1 and was supposed to cover all the regional and district centers in Belarus. Arnold Pechersky played a key role in organizing this action. He repeatedly reported on the pressure he was exposed to. Law-enforcement officials warned Mr. Pechersky more than once against continuing his activities. Pechersky was also involved in work on the campaign of Mikhail Chigir, jailed opposition presidential candidate. (Belapan; Belarusskaya Delovaya Gazeta, April 28)
WOMEN'S DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT HOLDS SIXTH CONFERENCE
At its 6th conference held in Minsk on April 25, the Women’s Christian Democratic Movement renamed itself the Women’s Independent Democratic Movement (WIDM). Ludmila Petina, who has led the organization since its establishment in 1992, and Ludmila Sheremet, the mother of the well-known journalist Pavel Sheremet, were elected co-chairwomen of the Movement. Participants at the conference discussed the recent enigmatic disappearance of Tamara Vinikova, former Chairwoman of the National Bank, who faced a trial on embezzlement charges. In a statement, they condemned the government and the law enforcement authorities, who "continuously infringed on Vinikova's civil rights and violated laws during the preliminary investigation". The Movement has also issued a statement placing the blame for the Yugoslav crisis on Slobodan Milosevic. The WIDM believes that Pan-Slavic propaganda launched in Belarus by the government-controlled media is aimed at "drawing away the people's attention from their own problems". (Belapan, April 27)
KGB HARASSES GERMAN JOURNALIST
KGB agents warned Holzger Kulik, a German journalist, about his personal responsibility for "false reporting on the situation in Belarus". On April 30, the agents of the "secret service" visited the journalist in his friends’ apartment. The journalist was preparing a report for ZDF, the largest TV Company. After showing their identity cards, the KGB agents reminded Holzger Kulik that he was staying in Belarus without a proper visa, which could entail a detention for up to 5 days and the confiscation of the videotapes he produced.
It is worth mentioning that Kulik was in Belarus on a private visit. However, his visit to Belarus last autumn resulted in a half-hour report, broadcast by a couple of European channels with an overall audience of 100 million viewers. Kulik believes that this may have been the reason for the KGB's interest in him. (Charter 97, April 30)
--AT HOME IN BELARUS—
SPECKHARD RETURNS FOR A WEEK
Daniel Speckhard, U.S. Ambassador to Belarus, arrived in Minsk on May 3 after nearly a six-month absence. In June of last year, Amb. Speckhard left Belarus along with other diplomats, "withdrawn for consultations" in connection with the Belarusian authorities' violation of the Vienna Convention, which guarantees the inviolability of diplomatic residences. According to Amb. Speckhard, his one-week visit to Belarus is aimed at finding ways to resolve this conflict. Reportedly, the Belarusian authorities will offer the Americans a choice of five premises for the ambassador’s residence. "I am determined to demonstrate that the U.S. government will show concern for the Belarusian people," Amb. Spekhard said at the airport. He is planning to study the situation in Belarus and hold a number of meetings with opposition representatives. (Charter 97, May 3).
LUKASHENKO PLANS TO INCREASE DEFENSE POTENTIAL
On April 27, while speaking at an enlarged session of the Council of Ministers, Lukashenko called on the government to strengthen the country’s defense potential and to support enterprises in the defense industry. "We continue to view NATO’s enlargement as a direct threat to Belarus’s national security," Lukashenko said. He pointed out that Belarus will continue building up the power of the national armed forces and supplying them with arms and equipment, noting that "this will by no means affect wages, pensions and student stipends". (Belapan, April 28)
POLL SAYS LUKASHENKA HAS MORE OPPONENTS THAN SUPPORTERS
1 MILLION RUBLE BANK NOTES ISSUED
The National Bank of Belarus issued 1 million Belarusian ruble bank notes on April 30. Meanwhile, the black market exchange rate reached 405,000 Belarusian rubles per U.S. dollar. The minimum monthly wage established by the government is 1 million rubles, or U.S. $2.50. (April 30, Charter 97)
--BROTHER SLAVS—
BELARUS WOOS, RUSSIA UNSURE
On April 28, Alexander Lukashenko met Boris Yeltsin in Moscow in the hope of strengthening the union with Russia, but did not achieve any breakthroughs. The presidents signed several documents relating to the union, but Sergei Prikhodko, Yeltsin's aide on international policy, played down the chances of establishing a unified state in the near future. Russia, in the grip of a financial crisis, has reservations about merging its economy with that of impoverished Belarus, which has refused to implement market reforms. Russian officials said the two presidents did not discuss Yugoslavia's proposal to join their union. Both have said in the past that the issue has to be studied carefully and that Yugoslavia is unlikely to be able to join while it is involved in the military conflict with NATO. (Reuters, April 28)
LUKASHENKO REITERATES SUPPORT FOR YUGOSLAVIA'S MEMBERSHIP IN RUSSIA-BELARUS UNION
Yugoslavia may well become a member of the Russia-Belarus Union, Lukashenko declared at his press conference in Moscow on April 28. He expressed an understanding of the position of the Yugoslav leadership, which does not want either Russia or Belarus to get involved in the Balkan conflict. He accused the mass media of distorting the Yugoslav position. (RIA Novosti, April 28)
MAJORITY OF RUSSIANS OPPOSE UNION WITH BELARUS AND YUGOSLAVIA
A majority of Russians oppose a closer union among Belarus, Russia and Yugoslavia, mainly out of fear that their country could be drawn into the Kosovo conflict, a poll revealed Friday. Fifty-five percent of 1,500 respondents said they were opposed to such a union while 28 percent were in favor. (Agence France Presse, May 3)