INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
BELARUS UPDATE
Vol. 2, No. 33
August 1999
IN THIS ISSUE:
-- HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS --
BELARUSIAN LAWYER RECEIVES ABA AWARD
Vera Stremkovskaya, a prominent Belarusian civil rights lawyer, received the Annual Human Rights Award of the American Bar Association on August 10 in Atlanta at the ABA's annual convention. The ABA Litigation Section , which includes more than 60,000 trial lawyers and judges, confers the honor each year on a foreign colleague who has suffered reprisals for civil rights work. In a letter announcing the award, the ABA recognized Stremkovskaya’s "extraordinary contributions to the causes of human rights, the rule of law, and promotion of access to justice." She has been on the front lines of protecting rights in Belarus, as one of the very few lawyers willing to represent political dissidents, student demonstrators, and other clients persecuted by the Lukashenko. "This award recognizes the extreme risk lawyers like Stremkovskaya face when standing up for fundamental rights," stated Robert O. Weiner, Director of Protection Program of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, a New York-based NGO. Stremkovskaya has been subject to harassment, reprimands, and a criminal investigation in retaliation for her outspoken support for human rights. "Belarusian officials should be put on notice by this award that the world is watching their behavior. Lawyers like her have the support of their American colleagues, who are willing and able to help them. Further attacks on lawyers in Belarus are unacceptable," added Weiner. http://www.lchr.org/media/stremABA0899.htm
OPPOSITION PREPARES FOR DIALOGUE WITH AUTHORITIES
On August 9, deputies of the 13th Supreme Soviet and representatives of the opposition met in Minsk to prepare for the dialogue with the authorities under the aegis of the OSCE. Victor Gonchar, Deputy Chairman of the 13th Supreme Soviet, chaired the meeting because Chairman Semyon Sharetski is staying in Lithuania, fearing possible persecution. The deputies have adopted a memorandum authorizing the 13th Supreme Soviet to conduct negotiations with the government. As of August 10, the memorandum was signed by Sergei Kalyakin, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Belarusian Communist Party; Stanislav Bogdankevich, Chairman of the United Civil Party; Lyavon Barshchewski, acting Chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front; Nikolai Statkevich, Chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party; Stanislav Shushkevich, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party; Valentina Polevikova, Chairwoman of Nadzeya, the Belarusian Women's Party; Leonid Lemeshonok, Chairman of the Belarusian Labor Party. After signing the memorandum, the party leaders set off for the office of the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group for talks. On August 12, representatives of major opposition parties and the 13th Supreme Soviet held the next round of consultations on a possible dialogue with the government. (Belapan, August 10, Charter 97, August 13)
AND LUKASHENKO?
Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree establishing "a coordinating group for promoting a nationwide dialogue in the society," Mikhail Myasnikovich, head of the Lukashenko administration, told in a recent interview to the Sovetskaya Belarusiya newspaper. The group is headed by Lukashenko’s aide Mikhail Sazonov and consists of Valery Novelski, deputy secretary of the Security Council, Yuri Kulakovski and Nikolai Cherginez, deputies of the lower and upper chambers of the Lukashenko’s parliament, Gennady Vorontsov and Igor Andreev, from the Ministry of Justice. "The president is confident," Myasnikovich said, "that the establishing of such group will become an important step toward dialogue, helping Belarusian parties and public movements find a joint platform for harmonization of political life and securing conditions for truly democratic elections in the next two years." Myasnikovich believes that "the opposition should join the group to resolve the most acute problems in the society." "We regret that there are people among Belarusian opposition politicians that are pushing us backward, trying to worsen the situation and imposing confrontational stereotypes. A normal person can hardly understand what they want. We must think ahead about the future. In the current political context, it means to care about the parliamentary election in the year 2000," Myasnikovich added. (Sovetskaya Belarusiya, August 11)
BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER MEETS OSCE AMBASSADOR IN VILNIUS
On August 11 at the Belarusian Culture Society in Vilnius, Amb. Hans George-Wieck, Head of the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group, held a meeting with Semyon Sharetski, chairman of the 13th Supreme Soviet. During the meeting, Sharetski clarified that he had not been planning to ask for political asylum in Lithuania, but was staying there because the Lithuanian authorities had provided conditions for his work. Before the meeting, Sharetski mentioned in an interview to a Lithuanian news agency that he was planning to sign a decree whereby he would assume the full powers of the head of the Belarusian state on August 21. Sharetski is giving Lukashenko one month after the expiration of his legitimacy as president to relinquish his presidential powers. Amb. Wieck also met with Vygaudas Usackas, Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister. They discussed OSCE activities aimed at resolving the clash between political forces in Belarus. Wieck and Usackas stated that the memorandum signed [earlier in Minsk] by seven Belarusian opposition parties about negotiations with Lukashenko's administration is "a positive step towards a dialogue among all political forces in preparation for democratic elections to the Belarusian parliament." (Baltic News Service, August 11- Charter 97, August 12. Visit Charter's web site at www.charter97.org for more up-to-the-minute news on the opposition's position on dialogue with the authorities.)
SOCIAL DEMOCRAT LEADER RELEASED AFTER 10-DAY SENTENCE
On August 6, Nikolai Statkevich, Chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, was released from the prison where he served 10 days' administrative detention. He was sentenced for organizing an unauthorized demonstration to mark the anniversary of the Declaration of Sovereignty adopted by the Supreme Soviet of Belarus in 1990. On August 4, he signed a written pledge not to leave the country. Speaking about the possible dialogue between the opposition and the authorities, Statkevich said the opposition had no other option but to agree to hold the talks because of increasing dissatisfaction among the Belarusian population "deceived by Lukashenko’s regime." He does not rule out that the criminal investigation launched against him might impede his personal participation in the talks. On August 10, Statkevich announced that he had decided to renege on the pledge not to leave Belarus, adding that the Prosecutor's General's Office is free to decide whether to arrest him again or not. (Belapan, August 7- 10)
AUTHORITIES PULL GONCHAR'S TRAVEL PERMISSION
Victor Gonchar has been notified that his travel document has been annulled by the Passport and Visa Service of the Minsk City Council. Earlier, police officers repeatedly visited Gonchar's apartment and demanded that he surrender his travel documents. Gonchar believes that this cancellation is connected with the criminal case brought against him. Gonchar headed the opposition central electoral commission that organized an unofficial presidential election in May. The authorities said that the commission was illegal and instituted criminal proceedings against its Chairman. (Charter 97, August 12)
Belarusian authorities issue passports for foreign travel with a stamp inside them which notes that the document is "valid for travel abroad." This extra level of permission constitutes a violation of freedom of movement under international standards. In a case like Gonchar, as with persecuted journalist Pavel Sheremet, authorities can stamp over, or annul the stamp permitting travel abroad with a statement that travel is prohibited. Thus, while technically retaining a passport, the bearer does not have a valid travel document that can be used to exit the country and travel abroad. (ILHR, August 12).
LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES FAIL TO SEARCH FOR ZAKHARENKO
The Belarusian law enforcement agencies have been making almost no efforts to find Yuri Zakharenko, former Minister of Internal Affairs, who disappeared on May 7, Zakharenko's wife and daughter said at a news conference in Minsk on August 10.
According to Olga Zakharenko, the ex-minister's wife, the Prosecutor General's Office considers it is premature to bring a criminal case against Zakharenko’s abductors on the pretext that "there is insufficient evidence to prove that a crime was committed." Mrs. Zakharenko confirmed that her husband was frequently followed by the secret police, that their apartment was kept under surveillance, and therefore someone must know what happened to him. That is why she does not believe in official suggestions that her husband could have become a victim of an ordinary crime. "My husband's disappearance is nothing but a political act aimed at intimidating opponents of the regime," said Olga Zakharenko. Elena, Zakharenko's daughter, told journalists that her father had received repeated warnings from his friends at the Ministry that a special unit of the Security Council had allegedly prepared an operation against him.
Oleg Volchek, Chairman of the Public Committee on Disappearance of Zakharenko, said that the authorities have been obstructing the Committee’s investigation in every possible way. Police barred the Committee from multiplying and distributing Zakharenko's pictures and took no interest in evidence discovered by the Committee, including material of the interviews with the witnesses of Zakharenko’s abduction. Volchek said that it is still possible that Zakharenko is kept in a secret place, probably at a former military or KGB facility, because nothing had been heard from him in three months. Vladimir Arestov, member of the Committee and former officer of the Criminal Investigations Department, said that it is impossible to ask the Interpol for assistance because the Prosecutor General's Office refused to bring a criminal case. The Committee’s members consider appealing for help to European police trade unions. (Belapan, August 11)
CHIGIR WRITES OPEN LETTER TO LUKASHENKO
Ex-Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir, who has already spent over four months in pretrial detention, has written an open letter to Alexander Lukashenko, denying all the accusations brought against him. "If the authorities have really completed the investigation, then why have I not been informed of the charges, about which you have told the Belarusian people and the whole world? I have no idea what I am accused of. I demand a clear explanation why I was put into prison," reads the letter. In late July, Chigir declined to write a penitent letter to Lukashenko. He only regrets that he "trusted Lukashenko in July 1994 and agreed to lead the cabinet." "I regret that I gave in at first to your words -- you seemed so sincere -- about your desire to make the people of Belarus happy. You violated the law egregiously, and I still believed that you were clean. You trampled on symbols that are dear to conscientious Belarusians and on the language that my parents spoke. You allowed the beating of parliamentarians despite their immunity. But I kept silent!
"I was loyal to the promise I gave you to keep away from politics. Members of my family were subject to clandestine surveillance, but I refused to believe that you were involved. [Referring to the infamous scandal which involved the former Speaker of the Belarusian Parliament Stanislav Shushkevich, Chigir writes] Prior to becoming president you accused the acting head of state of failure to pay a ridiculous price, equal to the price of a box of nails, for his apartment repairs. You had just taken his post when you started to live at the nation's expense. You used public money to build a house for your mother and repair your wife's house. I knew how much it cost but I kept silent. I got nauseated when I saw the price of repairs at your residence and the price of your motorcade, your plane, your helicopter, and your ship. In order not to coordinate all these expenses with me you set up a fund of your own, which equals the national budget," reads the letter. Chigir stresses that he will not beg Lukashenko's pardon, even if he has to spend years in prison. (Belapan, August 10)
KLIMOV’S TRIAL RESUMED
Court hearings in the case of Andrei Klimov, 13th Supreme Soviet deputy, resumed on August 6. The defendant’s request for additional time for studying his case, containing 17 thousand pages, was denied. On August 9, Judge Vera Tupik read the prosecution's conclusion that contains more then 300 pages. Andrei Klimov is charged with large-scale embezzlement. The investigation claims that Andrei Klimov and his eight colleagues had stolen more than 3.8 billion BRB. It declared that they purposely inflated the value of buildings they constructed. After the reading, the court will proceed to cross-examine more than 70 witnesses. Independent observers believe Klimov’s fate is already preordained and the trial is a farce. (Charter 97, August 10)
OPPOSITION MEMBERS FINED IN MINSK
On August 6, Sergei Shmelev and Vadim Kostukevich, opposition activists, were fined 20 million BR (about $75) each for participation in an unauthorized demonstration staged on July 27 in Minsk. Evgeny Kulik, another opposition activist, who stood trial together with Shmelev and Kostukevich, was acquitted. (Charter 97, August 10)
MALADY FRONT PROTESTS DETENTION OF OPPOSITION MEMBERS
Malady Front has issued a statement protesting against the detention of Yevgeny Osinski and other young opponents of Lukashenko’s regime. Osinski was detained in connection with the July 27 unauthorized march in Minsk. So far he has been kept in a detention center, facing a charge of "malicious hooliganism" for defending himself from the assault of police officers. "Probably, the current regime cannot exist without young political victims being kept behind bars. We demand the immediate release of Yevgeny Osinski, Andrei Klimov, Vladimir Koudinov, and other political prisoners, and call for an end to the prosecution of Vladimir Antonov, Vadim Kartsev, and Yevgeny Skochko," reads the statement. (Belapan, August 12)
UNITED CIVIC PARTY ACTIVIST MISTREATED BY POLICE
Vladimir Radivonchik, the leader of the Brest branch of the United Civic Party and the founder of the local organization of Grazhdansky Forum (the UCP's youth branch), stated that he was mistreated by police. On August 5, Radivonchik was arrested on a street by a person who identified himself as Nikolai Zamkovich, deputy chief of the Pruzhany District Department of Internal Affairs, but refused to give any reasons for his arrest. The opposition activist was taken to an unmarked building, where uniformed police interrogated him for two hours about his political activities as the UCP coordinator for the Brest region. Radivonchik believes that he was arrested illegally and suffered serious moral and physical damage. He has filed complaints with the Pruzhany City Prosecutor's Office, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the OSCE AMG, and the US Embassy. (Belapan, August 11)
FIFTY-FOUR NGOs DENIED RE-REGISTRATION
The Ministry of Justice has denied re-registration to 54 Belarusian NGOs, Gennady Vorontsov, Belarusian Minister of Justice told a news conference in Minsk on August 11. Most of the organizations were denied re-registration because of their commercial activities, Vorontsov said. The new Civil Code, which came into force on July 1, bans NGOs from being involved in commerce. The organizations were advised to alter their charters or re-register as economic entities. Some NGOs were advised to register as religious organizations with the State Committee for Religion and National Affairs. Others were denied re-registration after they refused to alter their charters as proposed by the Ministry of Justice. Six out of 27 Belarusian political parties have been re-registered. The Ministry of Justice have re-registered the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus, the Republican Party of Labor and Justice, the United Civic Party, the Belarusian Party of Communists, the Nadzeya Belarusian Women's Party, and the Green Peace. Nine parties have not applied for re-registration. Most of those parties failed to apply for re- registration because they have not enough members, Vorontsov said. Under the decree, a party must have at least 3,000 members. The final results of the campaign will not be released until all the organizations that fail to re-register are deprived of their status. Lukashenko's decree provides that the process be completed by October 1. (Belapan, August 11)
TWENTY-NINE EXECUTED SO FAR THIS YEAR
Since the beginning of 1999, twenty nine death row inmates have been executed in Belarus, Valentin Sukalo, Chairman of the Belarusian Supreme Court, told a news conference in Minsk on August 5. He said that "judicial authorities began to actively apply new standards, which may be regarded as an alternative to a death penalty." In particular, in the first six months of 1999, 118 people were sentenced for the most grave crimes to terms of 15 to 25 years imprisonment, and five people for life. In the first half of 1999, courts in Belarus examined 23,617 criminal and 70,327 civil cases. A total of 28,466 people were convicted, half of them of grave crimes, including 522 of premeditated murder. In the same period civil proceedings were instituted against 132,572 people. (Itar-Tass, August 5)
ARRESTED PROFESSOR DENIED ACCESS TO HIS LAWYER
Lawyer Alexander Baranov said that the authorities prevent him from meeting his client, Yury Bandazevsky, Professor and ex-Rector of the Gomel State Medical University accused of bribery. On August 9, the lawyer filed an inquiry with the Procurator General's Office and the Gomel Regional Prosecutor's Office about his client's whereabouts. Baranov believes that the investigators act in violation of regulations requiring to inform the lawyer about all authority’s actions involving his client. Some experts link the arrest of Yury Bandazevsky to a report presented by him after examining the efficiency of the Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Endocrinology. "The allocation of sizable funds for Chernobyl-related research programs did not lead to results significant for the national economy or ensuring the proper protection of the population's health," concluded Bandazevsky in his report. (Belapan, August 10-11)
CHAIRMAN OF BELARUSIAN LANGUAGE SOCIETY TO STAND TRIAL
On August 24, the Sovetsky District Court of Minsk will open hearings in the case of Oleg Trusov, Chairman of the Belarusian Language Society, charged with participation in the July 27 unauthorized demonstration to mark the Independence Day. On August 10, Trusov was summoned to the police station "for a conversation", where he was charged with "disturbing the peace." Trusov refused to sign a warrant and was immediately taken to the Sovetsky District Court. After Trusov requested a lawyer, Justice Sheiko had to postpone hearings until August 24. (Radio 101.2, August 11)
BELARUS DECLARED ENEMY OF THE INTERNET
Twenty governments are enemies of the Internet community because they control access and censure websites, the journalists rights group Reporters Sans Frontiers (Reporters Without Borders) announced on August 9. The worst offenders had "censured sites and attacked internet users," said a report from the group. They include China, North Korea, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tunisia, Vietnam, and Myanmar. The former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Belarus were also named. They are among 45 countries who totally or partially control access to the Internet. "Under the pretext of protecting the public from "subversive ideas" or "guaranteeing the safety of the country's unity" some of these regimes have completely banned access to the Internet," reads the report. (Agence France Presse, August 9)
--AT HOME IN BELARUS—
METRO STAMPEDE TRIAL POSTPONED, VICTIMS’ RELATIVES OUTRAGED
On August 5, the Moskovsky District Court in Minsk opened hearings in a lawsuit initiated by three parents whose children were among the victims of the May 30 stampede in the passageway at the Nyamiha metro station. The plaintiffs are suing the Minsk City Council, the City Directorate of Internal Affairs, and the festival organizers, asking for 4 billion BRB (about $15,390) in damages. The Minsk government and police requested suspension of the hearing until the completion of the official investigation. In response, the plaintiffs demanded that the request be overruled because more than two months have passed since the tragedy but nothing has become known about the official investigation results. Even though they should have been reported on June 10 according to Lukashenko's previous orders. However, Judge Olga Gusakova denied the plaintiffs' request and suspended the trial until the end of the official investigation. The victims' parents present in the court were outraged by the court's decision and decided to set up a public organization that would defend their rights. (Belapan, August 5)
--BROTHER SLAVS--
LUKASHENKO: RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT CHANGE WON'T AFFECT UNION
On August 12, Lukashenko expressed confidence that the recent shuffles in the Russian government will make no impact on the future of the union. "The union is a sacred objective of the future; it's impossible to slow it down," Lukashenko said while visiting Gomel. He added that the attempts to draw out the integration process might instead make "the unification process more radical." (Interfax, August 12)
REFERENDUM INITIATIVE GROUP DENIED REGISTRATION
On August 5, the Moscow City Electoral Commission refused to register the initiative group for holding a referendum on the reunification of Russia and Belarus led by Nikolai Gonchar, deputy of the State Duma. A representative of the Commission told RIA-Novosti that the decision was based on the vagueness of the term "reunification." If "reunification" is understood to mean the creation of a single state, this may lead to the change of the constitutional order in Russia, which in turn violates Articles 134, 135, and 136 of the Russian Constitution. Gonchar did not agree with the decision and intends to appeal it to the Constitutional Court. (RIA, August 5)
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Belarus Update is a regular news bulletin of the Belarus Human Rights Support Project of the International League for Human Rights. The League, now in its 58th year, is a New York-based human rights NGO in consultative status with the United Nations and ILO.
The Belarus project is a part of Human Rights Defenders' Project, originally launched in 1982 to defend individuals and groups who suffer reprisals for promoting human rights in their societies. Among those the League defended were Andrei Sakharov, Kim Dae Jung and Jaime Castillo Velasco.
The Belarus project was established to support Belarusian citizens in making their cases before the U.S. government and public and international fora and intergovernmental organizations regarding President Alexander Lukashenko's wholesale assault on human rights and the rule of law in Belarus.
For more information e-mail belarus@ilhr.org or call (212) 684-1221 or fax (212) 684-1696 or visit our web site at www.ilhr.org.