Vol. 2, No. 20

May 1999

IN THIS ISSUE:

DISAPPEARANCE BELIEVED POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

On May 10, the Belarus Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces (CCDF), a coalition of opposition groups, issued a statement on the mysterious disappearance of Gen. Yuri Zakharenko, former Interior Minister and a leading opponent of President Lukashenko. "There is every reason to believe that it was a politically motivated kidnapping. It fits perfectly well into the KGB’s plan to suppress the Belarusian opposition, whose existence has been vehemently denied by the authorities. Recent events prove not only that such a plan exists, but also that the government is eager to execute it," the Council noted.

The Coordinating Council also mentioned several other disturbing incidents: the February beating of Andrei Sannikov, Charter 97 international coordinator and former Deputy Foreign Minister; the March arrests of Viktor Gonchar, Chairman of the opposition Central Electoral Commission (CEC), and Mikhail Chigir, former Prime Minister and a candidate in the opposition presidential elections; the sudden death in April of Gennady Karpenko, a member of the CCDF and Vice-chairman of the Supreme Soviet; the mysterious disappearance in April of Tamara Vinikova, former Chairperson of the National Bank of Belarus; the death of the trade union leader Arnold Pechersky in an automobile accident; the recent beating of Slavamir Adamovich, a journalist and secretary of the local opposition electoral commission in Minsk.

"The disappearance of Yuri Zakharenko provides more proof of the premeditated actions on the part of the secret services against political opponents. We urge the authorities to start an immediate investigation of Zakharenko's disappearance. We urge international organizations, parliaments, and democratic governments to force the Belarusian authorities to cease the terror and harassment of the opposition. We call upon the citizens of Belarus to unite in order to protect their rights to life and freedom," the statement said.

The Coordinating Council also established a public committee to investigate Zakharenko’s disappearance. Oleg Volchek, Chairman of the Legal Commission of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, was appointed head of the committee. (Charter 97, May 11)

LEAGUE PROTESTS DISAPPEARANCE

On May 12, Catherine Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the International League for Human Rights, sent a letter to President Lukashenko expressing deep concern about the human rights situation in Belarus and protesting recent government retaliation against the opposition. The League urged that the authorities cease their repression of the opposition and launch an investigation into the disappearance of the Yuri Zakharenko. (ILHR, May 12)

POLITICAL "PURGES" IN BELARUS?

On May 12, opposition leaders held a news conference concerning the disappearance of Yuri Zakharenko. Vladimir Borodach, a member of Mikhail Chigir's electoral campaign, noted that if the ex-minister was abducted, the kidnappers could have several motives. First, the kidnapping could be designed to intimidate those involved in the presidential elections and to arouse fear and apprehension in society. Second, Zakharenko’s disappearance served to prevent the establishment of the Belarusian Union of Officers, a group which Zakharenko had long intended to form, and which was believed to be potentially influential. Finally, the immediate goal of the abduction would be to force Zakharenko to give up his political activities. Borodach, an Afghan war veteran, thinks that Zakharenko was kidnapped by "a member of the Security Council assisted by three or four agents hired for money."

Anatoly Lebedko, Deputy Chairman of the United Civic Party (UCP), believes that the Belarusian authorities have launched a campaign to neutralize opposition leaders as preparation for the next official presidential elections. He agreed with Borodach that a group close to the government is conducting political purges in Belarus. (Belapan, May 13)

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE WARNS OPPOSITION FOR THE THIRD TIME

On May 11, the Belarusian Ministry of Justice issued its third statement emphasizing the illegal nature of the opposition presidential election. "The attempts of a group of 13^th Supreme Soviet deputies to organize presidential elections in Belarus and set up a central electoral commission, as well as all the decisions made by the commission, are illegal," reads the statement. The ministry pointed out that the early voting procedure adopted by the opposition CEC, which allows the electoral commission members to visit voters at home with ballot boxes from May 6-16, "is a flagrant violation of the legislation of Belarus currently in force." The Ministry of Justice warned 13 opposition political parties and public organizations to stop participating in the opposition presidential election. The ministry stressed that these parties may be denied re-registration because of such participation. (Belapan, May 11)

GONCHAR: HARASSMENT AND DETENTION PART OF OUR DAILY LIVES

On May 8, in an interview with RFE/RL's correspondent in Minsk, Victor Gonchar said that he is satisfied with the course of nationwide presidential polling now taking place in defiance of Lukashenko. Gonchar said that he was not surprised by the current government crackdown on the opposition in the wake of the its unsanctioned election campaign. "Harassment and detention have for a long time been part of our daily lives," he said. Gonchar stressed that despite the difficulties in running what he called a true campaign, the opposition will try to carry out its three main goals: to restore the 1994 Constitution, to reveal the growing resistance of the Belarusian population to Lukashenko's regime, and to raise the issue that the president’s legitimacy comes to an end on July 20." (RFE/RL, May 10)

OPPOSITION ELECTION PROGRESS: OVER 3 MILLION SAID TO VOTE

According to data released by the opposition CEC, 4,000,804 people or 53 percent of registered voters had cast their votes as of May 16, the end of the voting period. Adrian Severin, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s committee on Belarus, travelled to Minsk to monitor the opposition elections and meet with opposition leaders. (Charter 97, May 15, May 19)

BPF LEADER WITHDRAWS HIS CANDIDACY FROM PRESIDENTIAL RACE

On May 13, in an unprecedented move that may invalidate the results of the opposition presidential elections, Zyanon Paznyak, Chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), withdrew his candidacy, claiming that a number of alleged irregularities occurred in the voting process. In a fax sent from Poland, Paznyak again criticized the early voting procedure adopted by the opposition CEC, by which members of local electoral commissions visited people's homes with ballot boxes asking them to cast their votes. The BPF leader believes that voting should take place at stationary polling stations on May 16, the election date set by the 13^th Supreme Soviet. However, he did not provide the opposition CEC, which did try to comply with this requirement, with any practical proposals on how this could be accomplished given the present political situation. Paznyak challenged the preliminary results of the vote released by the opposition CEC, calling them "fraudulent and cynical cheating." Paznyak called on voters not to participate in the voting and urged BPF members to leave local electoral commissions. Paznyak says that he agreed to run in the election in an effort to neutralize what he called the "Moscow project," referring to his earlier statements that Mikhail Chigir’s position was "dangerously pro-Russian." (Belapan, May 14)

PLAYING INTO LUKASHENKO’S HANDS

In response to Paznyak's criticism of the opposition presidential election, Vladimir Borodach, a supporter of Mikhail Chigir, said that "Paznyak is working against the interests of the Belarusian people and his country…Whether he is doing it selfishly or with good intentions, his latest steps and statements are contributing to the strengthening of Lukashenko’s regime," Borodach added. (Belapan, May 14)

CRITICIZED BY KHADYKA…

Yuri Khadyka, Vice-chairman of BPF, criticized Paznyak’s decision in an interview with Radio Liberty, noting that Paznyak violated the BPF charter by withdrawing from the race without being authorized by BPF’s governing body. Paznyak's allegations of voting fraud have cast a shadow on BPF, since its members form the majority of local opposition electoral committees, Khadyka said. He called upon voters and BPF activists to continue the election campaign until the end. "Otherwise, all the sacrifice of thousands of BPF members, who have been arrested and fined, expelled from their jobs, will have been for nothing. Also, the dignity of the whole Belarusian opposition will be reduced to nothing because the disruption of the campaign, not withdrawal from the race, is the most dangerous thing in this situation." (Radio Liberty, 14 May)

…AND BOGDANKEVICH

Stanislav Bogdankevich, Chairman of the United Civic Party, also criticized Paznyak's withdrawal from the race. "I cannot fully understand Zyanon Paznyak’s decision. It is as if he does not know that there is a dictatorship in Belarus, and one cannot carry out presidential elections that would fully correspond the letter of the Constitution." Asked about the motives for Paznyak’s decision, Bogdankevich said: "Zyanon Paznyak needs to think about the country, about the state, but he only thinks about himself, and I don't like that at all." (Radio Liberty, May 14)

GONCHAR DENIES PAZNYAK’S ALLEGATIONS…

On May 13, Victor Gonchar denied allegations that the commission had been rigging the vote. Gonchar pointed out that the opposition CEC had been receiving information about the results of the vote from local electoral commissions. He stressed that 90 percent of election commission members were BPF activists (thereby invalidating Paznyak’s claim of BNF fraud—Eds). "It turns out that the BPF leader suspect his own members of lying." (Belapan, May 14)

…AND DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE PAZNYAK'S WITHDRAWAL

Gonchar used the literal interpretation of the election law to reject Paznyak's withdrawal from the presidential race. The law requires that a candidate personally submit an original written statement (rather than a fax) regarding their withdrawal, which is then subject to consideration and recognition by the whole body in session. Due to this technicality, Paznyak remains a registered candidate, said Aleksander Koktysh, Spokesman of the opposition CEC (Radio Liberty, May 14)

TWO ELECTION COMMISSION MEMBERS ARRESTED IN GRODNO REGION

On May 9, police arrested two members of the local opposition electoral commission in the village of Dvorets in the Dyatlovo district (Grodno region), while they were visiting people's homes as part of the balloting in the opposition presidential election. Andrei Aleinikov and Victor Levkevich were taken to a police station. Police confiscated their personal belongings along with their electoral commission membership cards, 91 blank ballots, and a ballot box with ballots filled out by voters. Both men were released after two hours of detention. (Belapan, May 10)

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACTIVIST SENTENCED IN GOMEL REGION

On May 9, Yevgeny Murashko, the head of the local opposition electoral commission in the Gomel region and the head of the Gomel branch of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, was arrested. The police seized election-related documents signed by Victor Gonchar and Boris Gyunter, Secretary of the opposition CEC. On May 10, the court of the Kalinkovichi district (Gomel region), sentenced Murashko to 10 days of administrative detention for "resisting arrest." Galina Artyomenko, Murashko’s wife, believes that the charge was "fabricated" to prevent the presidential elections from taking place in the Gomel region and to discredit her husband. (Belapan, May 11)

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ACTIVISTS WARNED BY POLICE IN BORISOV

On May 11, Alexander Abramovich, deputy chairman of the local opposition electoral commission in Borisov, Gennady Gavrusev and Dmitry Abramovich, two members of Chigir’s election campaign, were warned by police that their participation in the opposition presidential election campaign may entail criminal charges being launched against them. According to the Alexander Koktysh, the policemen also hinted that if the election activists persist in their activities, they could suffer the same fate as Yuri Zakharenko. On May 13, police searched the office of the local opposition election commission in Borisov. Election posters, ballot boxes, and caricatures of Lukashenko were confiscated. (Belapan, May 12-13)

MORE REPRESSIONS AGAINST ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACTIVISTS

On May 7, Minsk traffic police detained Victor Elfimov, the Vice-chairman of the Gomel opposition electoral commission and confiscated 25,000 blank ballots.

On May 8, several members of the local electoral commissions were detained in Mogilev. Four hundred subscription lists and a ballot box were confiscated. Igor Stukalov, one of the election campaign activists, was charged with resistance of police officers and sentenced to three days in jail.

From May 10-13, Mogilev police confiscated about 20,000 blank ballots and 7 ballot boxes from over 30 local electoral commission members. Police patrols in the streets and residential areas in the city were reinforced. According to the local electoral commission, police officers have been given "an unofficial order to search all large-sized packages at train stations."

On May 8, the apartment of Larisa Dyakova, secretary of the local electoral commission in Glousk, was searched. During the search the police confiscated the European Parliament’s resolution on the situation in Belarus, subscription lists, and other documents.

On May 9, police detained and searched Vasily Shalukhin and Victor Zhelaybov, members of the Vitebsk regional electoral commission.

On May 9 Vladimir Skrobotoun, chairman of the local electoral commission in Glubokoe (Vitebsk region), was detained and taken to the local police station. Skrobotoun was warned about the possible criminal liability for his involvement in the opposition presidential campaign. (Charter 97, May 12, Belapan, May 13)

SUPREME COURT REJECTS APPEAL OF INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

On May 13, the Belarusian Supreme Economic Court rejected the appeal filed by the independent newspapers Narodnaya Volya, Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta, Imya, Zgoda, Pahonya, and Naviny. The newspapers sought to overturn the official warning they had received from the State Committee for the Press for alleged violation of Article 5 of the Law on Press. These appeal cases stem from a February 15 press conference at which Mikhail Podgainy, Chairman of the State Press Committee, announced that the Committee had issued official warnings to the above-mentioned independent newspapers for publishing the opposition CEC's announcement that, in accordance with the 1994 Constitution, presidential elections will be held on May 16. The appeals were originally filed separately, although the court made a decision on May 10 to review them as one case. On May 12, the newspapers submitted a petition to postpone the hearing since their legal representatives were out of town or engaged in other trials. The petition was rejected.

On May 13, the panel of three Justices, including Chief Justice Boiko and Justices Karatkevich and Markovsky, upheld the warning issued by the State Press Committee. The ruling was made despite the fact that representatives of the plaintiffs were not present in the courtroom and thus did not have the opportunity to present their defense. The newspapers can now appeal this ruling to the Presidium of the Belarusian Supreme Economic Court. (Charter 97, May 14)

LEAGUE CONDEMNS HARASSMENT OF INDEPENDENT PRESS

On May 14, the League sent a letter to President Lukashenko, condemning "government attempts to threaten and censor independent newspapers in retaliation for fulfilling their professional duties of providing information to the public. We strongly urge you to order the revocation of the State Press Committee's warnings and ensure the right of journalists to freely gather and disseminate information without fear of reprisal."(ILHR, May 14)

53 PUBLIC ASSOCIATIONS OUT OF 2,500 RE-REGISTERED

According to Mikhail Sukhinin, head of the department dealing with registration of public organizations at the Ministry of Justice, only 53 of the 2,500 public associations which have applied for re-registration, have in fact been re-registered. (Radio 101.2, May 13)

ACTIVISTS PICKET BELARUSIAN EMBASSIES IN BONN AND BRUSSELS

On May 11, the staff of the Brussels office of Charter 97 picked the Belarusian Embassy in Bonn and Brussels. The picketers demanded that the Belarusian authorities cease its campaign of repression in Belarus and open up a polling station at the Belarusian Embassy in Germany. During the picket, bulletins with information on the presidential elections in Belarus were passed out. On May 14, employees of Charter 97’s Brussels office and members of the Institute for International Assistance and Solidarity staged a picket in front of the Belarusian Embassy in Brussels. Over 30 Belarusians from various towns in Belgium, including Antwerp, Gent, Namur, and Louven, participated. As in Bonn, the activists urged the embassy personnel to open a polling station on May 16. They also demanded the release of political prisoners and an end to the terror in Belarus. (Charter 97, May 12-14)

13TH PARLIAMENT DEPUTIES INVITED TO JOINT MEETING OF POLISH AND LITHUANIAN SEIMS

Semyon Sharetsky and Stanislav Shushkevich traveled to Krakow, Poland to attend a meeting of the Polish and Lithuanian parliaments. This parliamentary forum lasted two days. The participation of Belarusian politicians aims to contribute to a closer cooperation between the 13th Supreme Soviet of Belarus and the Polish and Lithuanian parliaments, according to Jan Krol, Deputy Speaker of the Polish parliament. (Radio 101,2, May 14).

LUKASHENKO CONDEMNS "HEGEMONIC PLANS" OF UNITED STATES

About 5,000 veterans gathered in Minsk on May 9 for a march and military parade to celebrate Victory Day. Lukashenko addressed the veterans, condemning the "hegemonic plans" of the United States, which is "trying to impose its rule on the world." He compared the United States becoming "the world’s gendarme" with Nazi Germany’s aggression against the Soviet Union in a bid to attain world supremacy. About 2,000 people also rallied at the Yama Memorial built in the former Minsk ghetto to commemorate Jewish victims of World War II in Belarus. (Interfax, May 9)

UNION COMES TO DEAD END?

Russia's political and economic crisis is making the prospect of any unification of Belarus and Russia increasingly unrealistic, a senior Belarus official said on Thursday. Mikhail Sazonov, an aide to President Lukashenko responsible for the implementation of union-related agreements, told Reuters in an interview: "We have come to a dead end." He added: "The creation of a single state with supranational organs requires changes in the constitution in both countries. However, at the last minute, Moscow made it very clear that it would not go as far as changing the constitution." Sazonov said the dismissal of Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, one of the most dedicated Russian supporters of the union, signaled that Russia would be absorbed in internal problems for some time to come. With the dismissal coming just as the Russian parliament renewed its attempts to impeach Yeltsin, Sazonov said he did not see the union idea being revived until after Russia's presidential election in 2000. (Reuters, May 14)