Vol. 2, No. 22

May 1999

IN THIS ISSUE:

--TRAGEDY IN MINSK--

STAMPEDE AT ROCK CONCERT KILLS 54

On May 30, 54 people were killed in the center of Minsk, among them many female teen-agers. Local reporters say at least 155 were injured in a stampede at the entrance to the Nemiga metro station. The accident occurred at about 8 p.m. as a street festival was ending, co-sponsored by the interstate Mir TV and Radio Company (directed by Ivan Pashkevich, deputy head of the presidential administration), Klass-Club Jazz Kraft Co. and the the Alivaryja Brewery Co. (which distributed free beer during the festivities) Reportedly 10,000 Minsk residents, mostly young people, had gathered near the Palace of Sport for the festival. When an unexpected thunder storm broke out, with heavy rain and hail, people rushed to find shelter in the underground passageway leading to the subway station. The crowd collided into people moving in the opposite direction from the metro’s exit. Many people slipped on the wet concrete and were trampled by the crowds rushing for cover. Over two thousand people poured into the 100-meter wide underground passageway within minutes, desperately trying to get into the metro station.

Police officers apparently attempted to control the crowd but were overwhelmed. Some people managed to crack the glass doors and get inside the metro station. Two police officers were killed; one injured severely, and others sustained minotr injuries. The 54 people were trampled to death in the panic that ensued; dozens were treated at local hospitals. (Charter 97; Belapan, May 30-31)

LUKASHENKO DECLARES TWO-DAY MOURNING…

President Lukashenko declared a two-day mourning period during a meeting with the emergency services in Minsk. He also discussed compensation payments to the victims’ families and the establishment of a committee to investigate the incident. (Charter 97, May 31)

…WHILE COVERING UP OFFICIAL NEGLIGENCE

"This disaster concerns not only those whose relatives were killed, this disaster concerns me and the entire country's government," said President Aleksander Lukashenko at a government conference called on May 31 and attended by the chiefs responsible for investigating the May 30 beer festival stampede. The president called on the Belarusian people and the victims' relatives "not to blame and judge" and on government officials "not to try to put the blame on anybody
now, not to try to whitewash one agency or another". "What happened should not bring discord into society," said the Belarusian leader. "And it would be absolutely inadmissible and inhumane to take political advantage of others' troubles," he stressed.

President Lukashenko denied claims that the tragedy was the fault of the police for failing to provide security at the concert. "They did everything they could -- a policeman and a few boys who tried to stop the flow of the crowd were killed,'' he said, requesting that the tragedy not be made into a political issue. He also played down reports that many of the teenagers were drunk, declaring that "there was not a single drunk person among the dead," in spite of witnesses’ reports.

Later, the president expressed concern about such large public gatherings, noting that "Democracy does not mean you go out for a walk and get suffocated," and urging that procedures for control of rallies and assemblies be reviewed. (AP, BBC, Reuters, Belapan, Belorusskiy Rynok, 31 May)

OFFICIAL VERSION OF TRAGEDY REFUTED BY YOUNG FRONT

Opposition groups were quick to criticize the authorities. "How could city authorities, which use battalions of police to disperse democratic rallies, allow this stampede at Nemiga metro station?" the Belarus Youth Front said in a press statement. Authorities limited media access to hospitals and the morgue. (Reuters, May 31)

BLAME LUKASHENKO, OPPOSITION SAYS

Prominent opposition leaders signed a statement, which declared that "the Lukashenko regime is responsible for the May 30 tragedy." The statement accuses Lukashenko of using police and security forces for the purpose of defending himself from the people’s discontent, rather than to defend the people from dangerous situations. The authors argue that Lukashenko was attempting to win the sympathies of the impoverished Belarusian people by primitive means, such as free distribution of beer and alcohol, including to those who were under-aged. "No attempts to whitewash [the accident] are able to wash away the blood of the innocent victims of May 30." The statement was signed by Semyon Sharetsky, Liavon Barschevski, Stanislav Shushkevich, Vincuk Viachorka, Gennady Bykov, Sergei Papkov, and others. Sharetsky declared that the opposition intends to set up an independent commission to investigate the tragedy. (RFE/RL, June 1)

- HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS –

NATO ADOPTS DECLARATION ON BELARUS
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization Assembly session in Warsaw on May 31 adopted a declaration on Belarus calling the former Soviet republic to return to the democratic path
of development, stop human rights violations and release all political prisoners. Noting that President Lukashenko's term in office under the 1994 constitution expires on July 20, 1999, opposition parliamentarians present at the Assembly said that the NATO statement indicates that President Lukashenko will no longer be perceived as a democratically elected head of state. The declaration also called on Lukashenko and his government to restore democracy, the observance of human rights, and freedom of the mass media. It noted that the Supreme Soviet elected on the basis of the 1994 constitution is the only legal body of legislative power in Belarus. (RFE/RL; Belapan, June 1)

OSCE URGES AUTHORITIES TO INITIATE DIALOGUE WITH OPPOSITION

On May 21, the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus released the OSCE Chairman’s-in-Office statement on the situation in the country. "Knut Vollebaek, the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE and Foreign Minister of Norway, expresses his support for the democratic movement in Belarus which, under extremely difficult circumstances, has shown courage and commitment to its cause of democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Through its recent campaign for presidential elections the democratic movement has drawn attention to the constitutional conflict in Belarus," reads the statement. Vollebaek called on the President of Belarus to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the opposition "with the goal of building democratic institutions and holding free, fair, and internationally monitored parliamentary elections in Belarus in 2000." He reiterated his earlier appeal to Lukashenko to immediately release Mikhail Chigir, who has been kept in detention since the end of March. "The Belarusian law does not justify the pre-trial detention of Mr. Chigir," reads the statement. The Chairman-in-Office also called on the Belarusian authorities to investigate the disappearance of Tamara Vinikova, former President of the National Bank, and of Yury Zakharenko, former Minister of Interior Affairs". (Belapan, May 24)

The OSCE has offered to host talks between the Belarusian authorities and the opposition in Bucharest from June 11 to June 13. The talks would focus on three topics: the separation of powers, the freedom of the media, and the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Belarus. The OSCE also proposed a list of participants, which consists of representatives of the government, political opposition, and Belarusian NGOs. (RFE/RL, May 28)

U.S. CALLS FOR DIALOGUE

The Belarusian leadership should initiate a dialogue with the opposition before July 20, when, in accordance with the 1994 Constitution, Lukashenko's term expires, Daniel Speckhard, U.S. Ambassador to Belarus, told journalists on May 26. The authorities should meet the opposition halfway, which "the international community would consider as an effort toward overcoming the constitutional crisis," Speckhard added. (Interfax, May 26)

13^TH SUPREME SOVIET HOLDS ENLARGED SESSION

On May 24, the Presidium of the 13^th Supreme Soviet held an enlarged session in Minsk to discuss the results of the opposition presidential election and steps to be taken after July 20, when Lukashenko's term in office expires. Vladimir Nistuk and Anatoly Lebedko, 13^th Supreme Soviet deputies, praised the election in general, criticizing its procedural irregularities. In their opinion, the election proved that the Belarusian people do not want Lukashenko to remain in office for two more years. Victor Gonchar, head of the opposition Central Electoral Commission (CEC), believes that a new presidential election after July 20 would be the most realistic way to deal with the current political impasse. (Belapan, May 25)

…THINKING OF GOVERNMENT IN EXILE

Other deputies agreed to work out a detailed plan on transferring executive power to Semyon Sharetsky, chairman of the 13^th Supreme Soviet, after July 20. Under the plan, on July 21, Sharetsky will be declared the acting President of Belarus. A special session of the 13^th Supreme Soviet will be held some place abroad to decide who will replace Sharetsky in case of his arrest and in what country the opposition government is going to reside. (Interfax, May 25)

SHADOW CABINET WORKS ON NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT

On May 25, the National Executive Committee (NEC), the opposition shadow cabinet, set up a special commission to work out a concept for national development. The commission will be headed by Mechislav Grib, the acting NEC chairman. Mikhail Pastukhov, a former justice of the Belarusian Constitutional Court, presented a draft concept of media legislation reform. (Belapan, May 26)

STAROVOITOV SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS IN PRISON…LAWYER HARASSED

On May 29, a Kirovsk court sentenced Vasily Starovoitov, former head of the Rassvet collective farm, to two years imprisonment on charges that included embezzlement and bribery. He was arrested in November 1997 and had been in a pre-trial detention center since then. According to his lawyer, Vera Stremkovskaya, Starovoitov’s health has deteriorated significantly while in detention. Stremkovskaya herself has been repeatedly harassed by the authorities for having taken on Starovoitov’s defense. (ILHR, June 1)

HUNDREDS DEMONSTRATE IN MINSK FOR RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS

On May 24, Mikhail Chigir's 51^st birthday, several hundred people demonstrated in Minsk, demanding the immediate release of the ex-prime minister. Chigir’s wife Julia also took part in the demonstration. According to her, the authorities have extended her husband's pretrial detention for another two months. The demonstrators adopted a resolution demanding the release of all political prisoners and information on the current whereabouts of Yury Zakharenko, who disappeared in Minsk on May 7. (Charter 97, Belapan, May 24)

PAZNYAK OUTPOLLED CHIGIR IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

In accordance with the data released by local electoral commissions, about 60 percent of the votes in the presidential election were cast for Zyanon Paznyak and about 40 percent for Mikhail Chigir. Paznyak gained more votes in the Minsk, Grodno, and Gomel regions, while Chigir was ahead of his rival in the Mogilev region. In the other parts of Belarus, neither of the two candidates received a majority of votes. (Belapan, May 25)

LOCAL HELSINKI COMMITTEE SLAMS GONCHAR FOR "REPRESSION"

"Victor Gonchar is fully responsible for repressive measures taken by the police against 2,300 organizers of the presidential election," said Yevgeny Murashko, chairman of the Gomel branch of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in a public statement. Murashko, who also headed the local electoral commission in Gomel, accused Gonchar of submitting lists of local election commission members to the authorities, even though it had been clear that the lists would be forwarded to the law-enforcement agencies. Murashko blamed Gonchar for having provoked the February 12 search in the BHC office in Gomel, during which police seized 14,000 copies of opposition literature. (Belapan, May 26)

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER RECEIVES SECOND WARNING

On May 26, the State Press Committee issued a second warning to the independent newspaper Naviny, for publishing an article by Alexander Dubravin. The article was written in response to an open letter authored by a group of police officers, in which they criticized Yury Zakharenko. The State Press Committee alleged that Dubravin's article "provoked social discord and defamed police officers." According to the Belarusian media law, a newspaper may be closed if it receives two warnings within a year. Naviny received the first warning for publishing documents related to the opposition presidential election. The newspaper plans to appeal this latest warning in court. If the appeal is rejected, the staff intends to begin publishing a new newspaper called Nasha Svoboda (Our Freedom), which has already been registered with the State Press Committee. Nikolai Khalezin, Naviny’s deputy editor, believes that the authorities plan to close all independent publications in the country before July 20. The League sent protest letters to the authorities about the latest move against Navyny; the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and other press freedom groups also condemned the action. (Belapan; ILHR, May 26)

PRINTING PLANT REFUSES TO PRINT INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER

A printing plant in Zhlobin, Gomel region, has refused to print the independent newspaper Gomelskaya Dumka. This has been the fourth time that the newspaper has been refused in its eight-month existence. Vitally Shtulman, director of the Zhlobin plant, made it clear that the decision was made under pressure from the Gomel Regional Press Department. Grigory Stepanenko, head of that department, declined to provide any comments. (Belapan, May 25)

KGB INTERROGATES OPPOSITION LEADER

Sergei Martselev, leader of Maladaya Hramada, the opposition youth organization, was questioned by the KGB in connection with the 1997 bombing of the Sovetsky District Court in Minsk. The KGB allegedly received information that someone videotaped the preparation of the explosion as well as the explosion itself. According to Martselev, Major Kharlei, deputy chief of the KGB Department for Minsk and the Minsk region, asked him whether he knew the whereabouts of a video of the bombing. The KGB officer warned Martselev about the possibility of bringing criminal charges against him for concealing such information. (Belapan, May 26)

THREE MOGILEV RESIDENTS ARE TRIED FOR CONSPIRACY

On May 28, the Belarusian Supreme Court continued hearing the case of Roman Radikovsky, Viktor Yanchevsky, and Anatoly Gavrilov, residents of Mogilev who are charged with murdering Yevgeny Mikolutsky, Lukashenko’s protégé and ex-chairman of the State Control Committee of the Mogilev region. The three also are accused of conspiring to assassinate President Lukashenko. The court sessions are closed to the general public - neither journalists nor relatives of the accused have been allowed into the courtroom; the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group has also been denied access. All the defendants pleaded not guilty, saying they had made their previous testimonies under physical coercion. During the trial, several witnesses refused to corroborate their previous testimony, stating they had been forced to testify against the defendants by the investigators’ threats. (Radio 101.2; ILHR, May 28)

BELARUSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY DENIED REGISTRATION

The Belarusian Ministry of Justice has denied registration to the Belarusian Communist Party, one of the country's two communist parties that emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet-era Communist Party of Belarus. The Ministry explained that in order to re-register the party should exclude from its by-laws any claims to being a successor to the CPB. (RFE/RL, May 27)

BELARUSIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE NEXT?

Tatyana Protko, chairperson of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), said that the authorities conditioned the BHC’s re-registration on the organization’s recognition of the results of the controversial November 1996 referendum. Protko added that this condition is unacceptable. BHC leaders have recently learned that in order to re-register the Committee must submit all the re-registration documents before June 1. However, the presidential decree, which required all political parties, trade unions, and NGOs to re-register before July 1, did not set any deadline for submitting registration documents. Protko stressed that the BHC will continue its activities even if denied registration. (Belapan, May 26)

RUSSIAN NATIONAL UNITY APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION IN BELARUS

The Russian National Unity (RNU), a Slavic pro-fascist organization, has applied to the Belarusian Ministry of Justice for registration. "Their application is being reviewed," confirmed Mikhail Sukhinin, head of the department dealing with the registration of public organizations at the Ministry of Justice. "At the same time, the Ministry has received materials about negative activities of local RNU branches. For example, one RNU leader in Kobrin, Brest region, is accused of defaming local Jews and Gypsies," he added. Local RNU branches operate in all six Belarusian regions. (Radio 101.2, May 26)

BELARUSIAN POLES - BACK TO FORESTS?

The Grodno government has not allowed the Association of Belarusian Poles (ABP) to hold its conferences in the city. "The authorities will not stop us. We will bring 150 chairs from Baranovichi and hold a conference somewhere in a forest, the way the Bolsheviks celebrated the May holidays at the beginning of the century," said Tadeusz Gavin, ABP chairman. According to him, when the ABP was established in the late 1980s, the Belarusian Poles held their first meeting in the forest. (Belapan, May 26)

JAILED 13^TH SUPREME SOVIET DEPUTY GRANTED FAMILY VISIT

On May 26, Andrei Klimov, a deputy of the13th Supreme Soviet and businessman, who was arrested on February 11, 1997 and has been held in a pretrial detention center since, was allowed to meet with his family. After the meeting, his wife announced that her husband’s health has deteriorated considerably. Klimov was charged with large-scale embezzlement, unlicensed business activities, and falsification on his business loan applications. Eight other persons were charged with him. Klimov considers his arrest illegal and refuses to cooperate with the investigators and study the case file, as required before the case goes on trial. Many believe that Klimov's criminal prosecution is politically motivated. As a deputy of the 13^th Supreme Soviet, he was an outspoken opponent of Lukashenko and signed an impeachment motion against the president in November 1996. (Belapan, May 27)

ANOTHER DEPUTY MISTREATED IN PRISON

Zoya Koudinov, the wife of Vladimir Koudinov, a deputy of the 13^th Supreme Soviet, complained that the administration of the prison, where Koudinov is serving a 7-year term, has been mistreating her husband. Koudinov was one of the 13^th Supreme Soviet members who signed an impeachment motion against Lukashenko in 1996. Shortly thereafter, he was charged with bribing a police officer and sentenced. Mrs. Koudinov complained that the prison guards have prohibited other inmates from having contacts with him. The prison administration recently closed down a reformatory school for convicts, which was set up on Koudinov’s initiative and where he lectured inmates on economics and law. According to Mrs. Koudinov, during her last meeting with her husband on May 20, prison officials said that the more opposition newspapers wrote about her husband, the worse his conditions in prison would get. She claimed that representatives of the government had approached her to persuade her husband to write a letter to President Lukashenko to admit his mistakes and ask for the release before the end of his term, but he rejected this proposal. (Belapan, May 28)

"THIRTEEN DAYS OF EGREGIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS"

Such was the heading of the letter received by Charter 97 on May 25 from Valery Levonevsky, chair of the Grodno Trade Union of Entrepreneurs. He spent 13 days in custody for having organized an unauthorized meeting of street vendors. The following are excerpts from his letter: "The police searched me and took away my personal belongings. Then, I was placed in a dark, humid, and cold room with homeless people and convicts. I had to sleep on a tiny section of a bare, cold floor. I was entitled to only one meal per day (two spoonfuls of cereals plus a bit of soup). The toilet facilities could be used once a day at 6 a.m. and there was no water for washing. Infected and ill people are held together with those who are healthy. Every day, from the evening until the early morning one could hear heartbreaking cries from the police department building. Torture is widely practiced to obtain one’s admittance of guilt. These are just a few pleasures of the Lukashenko prisons". (Charter 97, May 26)

ADMONITION TO ALL DICTATORS

Semyon Sharetsky, chairman of the 13^th Supreme Soviet, made the following comments on the reports that the International Tribunal in The Hague will indict Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes. "I think that this will not only be a just punishment for Milosevic for the genocide he has been carrying out, but also a warning to all dictators, who, to please their ambitions and achieve their evil goals, defy international principles, flagrantly violate human rights and freedoms, and use violence to suppress dissent," said Sharetsky. He reiterated that Lukashenko has repeatedly called Slobodan Milosevic his best friend. "Now all the world will see who is a friend of Lukashenko," he added. (Belapan, May 27)

--BELARUSIAN ECONOMY—

ECONOMIC CRISIS? BLAME THE CIA!

On May 20, at a joint session of the two houses of the Belarusian National Assembly, Leonid Kozik, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister, said that the economic crisis that has befallen Belarus in March and August 1998, was not caused naturally, but "was provoked by the actions of some groups and individuals." In his opinion, "the systematic, subversive work is carried out in accordance with plans devised abroad…I think that these actions will continue, so we have to be ready to defend our economic security at any moment," Kozik concluded. (BBC, May 24)

IMF REJECTS BELARUS’ REQUEST FOR CCFF

The International Monetary Fund will not provide a Compensatory and Contingency Financing Facility (CCFF) for Belarus, John Odling-Smee, director of the European Second Department, told reporters in Minsk on May 26. He cited Belarus' failure to fulfill its pledges regarding systemic reform of the economy and monetary policies as the main reason for refusing a $100 million loan. (Interfax, May 26)

…UPSETTING LUKASHENKO

"The IMF's policy with regard to Belarus is unfair and politically motivated. I cannot name a single objective reason to justify such a low level of cooperation," said Lukashenko on May 25 after meeting John Odling-Smee. (AP, May 26)