INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

BELARUS UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 3, No. 12
March 2000

IN THIS ISSUE:

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS-

SIX YEARS IN JAIL -- PRICE OF OPPOSING LUKASHENKO
On March 17, after more than two years in pre-trial detention, Andrei Klimov, a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet and businessman, started the first official day of his six-year sentence. After a controversial eight-month trial, the Leninski District court found him guilty of large-scale embezzlement and forgery. Judge Vera Tupik ruled that Mr. Klimov's property be confiscated and barred him from assuming certain public offices for three years after the completion of his sentence. Leonid Volkovich and Ivan Lukyanchuk, employees of Mr. Klimov's company, were convicted of the same offenses. Mr. Volkovich was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, forfeiture of property and three-year abstention from office. Mr. Lukyanchuk received a three-year suspended sentence. The prosecution demanded a nine-year sentence for Klimov, a five-year prison term for Volkovich and a three-year suspended sentence and corrective labor for Lukyanchuk. The court found that Mr. Klimov's company, which constructed an apartment building for the Minsk government, had embezzled 116.4 billion pre-denominated Belarusian rubles (about $155,000) by overstating the estimated cost of bricks needed for the project, and forging invoices. The court said that the company had noticed a mistake in the calculation of the cost of bricks, but failed to report it to the customer. The accused said that they had wanted to reach a final settlement with the Minsk government on the completion of the house. The sum that the court said Mr. Klimov's company had embezzled is half the sum mentioned by the prosecution in the charge sheet. The court found Klimov and Volkovich not guilty of constructing a house without a license and of obtaining bank loans fraudulently. The six other defendants involved in the case were cleared of most of the charges.

The criminal prosecution of Andrei Klimov was widely regarded as politically motivated. Amnesty International, representatives of which were present at the court, considers Andrei Klimov a prisoner of conscience. "The fate of Andrei Klimov echoes the fate of other politicians who have dared to challenge the authority of President Lukashenko," the human rights organization said. "Andrei Klimov is one of several opposition figures who have been punished for their political beliefs in recent times." He was among the members of the 13th Supreme Soviet who did not recognize the results of the November 1996 referendum and still consider the 13th Supreme Soviet the only legitimate parliament in Belarus. He repeatedly used strong-worded statements to criticize President Lukashenko. In 1996, he put his signature on an impeachment motion against Lukashenko. After the president disbanded the 13th Supreme Soviet at the end of that year, Mr. Klimov continued his political activities throughout 1997. Shortly before his arrest, he drew up a report recording violations of laws and the Constitution by the Belarusian president.

Gary Pogonyailo, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, announced that businessman Andrei Klimov will appeal his 6-year prison sentence. Mr. Pogonyailo, who assisted Mr. Klimov's defense lawyers during the trial, believes that the sentence is unjust. "It was not pronounced on behalf of the Republic of Belarus, on behalf of the people but on behalf of Mr. Lukashenko," the lawyer said. Mr. Klimov's mother, who was on the defense team, said that she had been certain from the very beginning that the trial would not be free and fair. "The Lukashenko regime needs the sentence to justify political repression," Mrs. Klimov said. "That was surely an economic case. Klimov managed to build the best house in Belarus under very complicated economic conditions, and he was put behind bars for that. Is that not an absurdity?" said former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir, who attended the trial. (ILHR, AI, March 17)

U.S. CALLS ON BELARUS NOT TO INTERFERE WITH OPPOSITION RALLIES
On March 13, the United States urged Belarus not to repress a series of peaceful demonstrations planned for this and next months, or risk damaging relations with European and North American democracies. "The United States strongly urges the Belarusian authorities to live up to their international commitments to respect the freedom of expression and assembly by not harassing or repressing these rallies," the State Department said. The first of the rallies was Freedom March-2 on March 15, to be followed by rallies to mark the anniversary of the Belarusian national republic on March 25, the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine on April 26 and the traditional European Labor Day on May 1, a statement said. "The response of the Belarusian authorities to these demonstrations will be an essential indication of their intentions toward meaningful dialogue with the opposition as well as toward elections," it added. "A repetition of the regime's brutal and unnecessary crackdown on the October 17 Freedom March will only deepen the current political crisis in Belarus and have serious negative consequences for relations with the Euro-Atlantic community of democracies," it said. The United States has repeatedly criticized the government of Alexander Lukashenko for its authoritarian practices and treatment of political opponents. "These demonstrations are intended by the organizers to be peaceful gatherings to signal the public's support for human rights and democracy and their opposition to Belarus' anti-democratic, self-isolating regime," White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said in a separate statement. (Reuters, March 14)

LUKASHENKO VOWS CRACKDOWN IF PROTEST UNLAWFUL
On March 14, Alexander Lukashenko warned his opponents that they faced punishment if they broke the law during the first of a series of new protests calling for dialogue and safeguards for free elections. Lukashenko spoke after the United States urged him to respect a series of demonstrations planned for the next two months or risk further damage to relations with the West. "One step wrong and the fur is going to fly," Lukashenko told the lower house of parliament. "Let them know that we have enough force to pacify anybody." "The Minsk City Council should not have permitted the opposition to stage the protest," Lukashenko added. In his opinion, the organizers timed the march for 6 p.m. to provoke bloodshed in the darkness and to shift the blame on him. The Belarusian leader once again accused the United States of funding the Belarusian opposition. According to him, the opposition received $108 million from various sources in 1999. "The opposition is also funded by the criminal world and intends to use the dirty money to try to get into Parliament," Lukashenko warned. He told parliament that Belarus need not bow to Western pressure. "It would be absurd to sit around the negotiating table with the opposition. As long as I am the president, elections will be held by the majority system - the way the people want it and not how some stranger feels like doing it," Lukashenko said. "We don't have to tremble before anyone. If the West doesn't recognize our elections, what are they going to do - banish us to the moon? We need to think less about what the West will say tomorrow." (Interfax, March 14- Reuters, March 15- Belapan, March 16)

FREEDOM MARCH 2: THOUSANDS PROTEST AGAINST LUKASHENKO REGIME
About 25,000 people protesting the authoritarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko demonstrated in Minsk late on March 15 marking the Day of Constitution and demanding he hold negotiations with the opposition before elections in October. Some of the marchers carried huge caricature masks of Lukashenko, Josef Stalin, and Adolph Hitler. Others bore the red-and-white opposition flags banned by Lukashenko. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of Lukashenko, whom the opposition considers an ex- president, denounced his pro-Russian policies and protested numerous human rights violations, politically motivated prosecution, and falling living standards. No serious incidents occurred during the demonstration. Tight security measures had been taken by the authorities. Special police forces with helmets and shields were deployed in Minsk. A convoy of at least fifteen vans with police was seen heading for the city center shortly before the demonstration. Abiding by their commitment under an agreement with the city government on the demonstration's route, the organizers led the crowd to a park on Minsk's outskirts, where a rally was held. A similar protest in October 1999, ended in a bloody clash between police and stone-throwing demonstrators.

"We came here to protest against the government we live with. We are sick and tired of empty promises of a man who was elected president by mistake. Belarus needs changes and it will have a happy future," said Yuri Khadyka, one of the leaders of the Belarusian Popular Front "Adradzhenne." Nikolai Statkevich, leader of the Social Democratic Party, said: "The present power hates its people, but we'll make it respect us." Former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir stressed that the country's main problem is the lack of people's control over the government. "At a time when the world is striving for progress, Belarus is moving in the opposite direction," he added. Many speakers emphasized the need for a real political dialogue in Belarus. The rally ended with a short concert given by popular Belarusian rock bands. Before the march started, there was an incident involving an NTV correspondent in Minsk, Alexander Kolpakov. An unknown person ran up to him and hit him in the face. The assailant was detained by demonstrators and handed over to the police. (Belapan, Agence France Presse, March 16)

AUTHORITIES LAUNCH ALTERNATIVE EVENTS TO KEEP YOUTH AWAY
The Minsk Regional Council directed the district administrations to organize various events for students at high schools from 5 to 8 p.m. on March 15 and involve as many teenagers as possible to prevent them from attending Freedom March 2. Students of Minsk's Lyceum No. 9 complained to the Viasna96 Human Rights Center, that before the protest the school administration demanded mandatory attendance of the school event. Students of the Belarusian Management Academy also complained that the administration threatened to take disciplinary measures if they were seen among the demonstrators. Administrations at some Minsk schools sponsored discotheques on March 15. Andrei Bondarovich and Sergei Khodarkevich of the Belarusian Humanities Lyceum were detained by police in an underground metro station for wearing Freedom March-2 badges. (Viasna96, March 16; Belapan, March 16)

POLICE CHECKS DOCUMENTS OF PASSENGERS ON TRAINS BOUND FOR MINSK
On March 15, police patrols checked documents of passengers on trains running from Gomel to Minsk. The police, focusing particularly on the youth, wrote down names and passport numbers. The officers, who refused to identify themselves, told people that they were conducting a routine check. In reply to a Belapan correspondent's question about the reasons for the passport checks, Igor Nabatov, deputy chief of the Gomel transport police, said that he had received an order to sweep trains bound for Minsk. Asked about the possible link between the security measures and the opposition protests, Nabatov replied that it was just a "coincidence" that passport checks and the protest took place on the same day. (Belapan, March 15)

MINSK DEPUTY MAYOR BANS OPPOSITION PROTESTS
On March 16, in an interview to the Belarusian state TV, Victor Chikin, deputy mayor of the Belarusian capital, said that the authorities had banned future opposition protests in the Belarusian capital after Freedom March 2 the previous day, which, they said, threatened public safety. Opposition parties, however, rejected the ban and the explanation for it, stressing that they would go ahead with another rally on March 25 regardless of the authorities' position. Chikin alleged that the protesters breached a number of agreements. "We had agreed that two lanes would be left free for public transport to operate. Yet Skaryna Avenue was fully shut off, which caused serious complaints by city residents. Also, the beating of a team from NTV was provoked. In addition, we have some information that the organizers were also ready for other provocative actions and I should point out that only owing to the endurance and discipline of our city police did we manage to avoid serious clashes," Chikin added. But Yury Khadyka, one of the opposition leaders, said that he believed the city government was bowing to pressure by Lukashenko, adding that he had spoken to police after March 15's peaceful rally and that they had been satisfied with the situation. "The only person who's obviously nervous is Lukashenko," he said. (Belapan, March 16)

SIX JOURNALISTS DETAINED BY POLICE AFTER FREEDOM MARCH IN MINSK
On March 15, six staff members of the Navinki independent satirical newspaper were detained in Minsk shortly after taking part in the opposition's Freedom March-2. According to Yury Stefanishin, one of the detainees, they were stopped while leaving a restaurant by plainclothes agents, who pushed the journalists into cars with private license plates and took them to the nearest police station. The police kept them in custody for about three hours giving no reasons for their arrest and released them after midnight. The journalists were told that they had been detained in connection with a nearby burglary. (Belapan, March 16)

PROTESTERS GET SUPPORT IN REGIONS AND EUROPEAN CAPITALS
On March 15, opposition activists in all regions of Belarus staged unauthorized demonstrations to display support for the Freedom March-2 in Minsk. In addition, Sweden's Social Democratic Party held rallies in Stockholm and Kiruna. Pickets of solidarity with the Minsk march took place in front of the Belarusian embassies in Brussels, Warsaw, Prague, and Kiev. On March 18, the Belarusian diaspora staged a picket across the UN Headquarters in New York City. The pickets were held under the banners "Luka - get off the throne!"; "Stop political murders in Belarus"; "Free elections!", "No to Russian occupation of Belarus"; "Release political prisoners", "Luka - thief and murderer." (Charter 97, March 16; ILHR, March 18)

HELSINKI COMMISSION CITES FAILURE OF BELARUS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
"Lukashenko's regime continues to clench the reigns of power, stifling fundamental freedoms and violating the human rights of Belarusian citizens," said Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NY), chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe at a hearing held by the Commission, "Belarus: Stalled at a Crossroads." "It has refused to engage in meaningful dialogue with the opposition. He has paid lip service to dialogue, or has used the tactics of delay and obfuscation, reminiscent of the communist past. Unless Lukashenko begins an honest dialogue with the opposition, ends police repression, allows freedom of the media, and reforms the electoral process, Belarus will never rise to meet the basic human rights standards stated in the Helsinki Documents and cease being a pariah in the European community," Smith added. Also testifying at the hearing were Harold Hongju Koh, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Ross Wilson, Principal Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large and Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States, Semyon Sharetsky, chairman of the 13th Supreme Soviet of Belarus illegally disbanded by Lukashenko in 1996; Stanislav Shushkevich, independent Belarus' first head of state and a member of the Supreme Soviet; Anatoly Lebedko, chair of the Commission for International Affairs of the 13th Supreme Soviet and deputy chair of the United Civic Party; and Adrian Severin, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Working Group on Belarus and a Romanian parliamentarian. For the full text of the Helsinki Commission press release, see the USIA website at http://www.usia.gov/products/washfile/rights.shtml (USIA, March 10)

SITUATION IN BELARUS MARKEDLY DETERIORATED
"The situation in Belarus has markedly deteriorated since the spring of 1999," said Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Harold Hongju Koh at a March 9 hearing of the Helsinki Commission. "Belarus is being left behind at a time when the rest of Europe is seeking to build a common foundation of democratic governance, respect for human rights, and the rule of law," Koh said. He cited the shortcomings of the regime of Alexander Lukashenko in four critical areas of democracy: respect for the will of the people, civil society, the rule of law, and an informed citizenry. In Fiscal Year 1999, Koh said, the United States provided $12.4 million in Freedom Support Act assistance to Belarus, including democracy building programs and programs "designed to promote civic empowerment through the private sector, as well as U.S.-Belarusian hospital partnerships and humanitarian assistance for the victims of the Chernobyl accident." "I have been deeply moved by the courage of the Belarusian civil society members whom I have met, and I am deeply committed to giving them sustained and meaningful support," he concluded. The CSCE is an independent agency of the U.S. government mandated to monitor compliance by participating States with the Helsinki Final Act. It is composed of nine members each from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce. Koh is the State Department's commissioner. For the full text of testimony of Harold Hongju Koh, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, see http://www.usia.gov/products/washfile/rights.shtml (USIA, March 10)

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ON U.S. POLICY TOWARD BELARUS
The U.S. approach to the government of Belarus "continues to be one of selective engagement," Ross L. Wilson, Principal Deputy Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for the Newly Independent States, told a March 9 hearing of the Helsinki Commission. "We engage with it on democracy and human rights and selectively at an appropriate level on other issues when our interests dictate," Wilson said. "We provide no direct aid to the government. Where we have tools to make Belarus pay a price for its behavior ... we use them." A looming concern, Wilson said, is the prospect that the regime of Alexander Lukashenko "could mortgage his country's independence to Russia." "This Administration's policy on integration among the former Soviet states is that it must be voluntary, mutually beneficial and erect no new external barriers," he continued. "The breakdown of democracy has made a voluntary decision by the Belarusian people impossible; the Lukashenko regime long ago lost its democratic legitimacy and, in our view, lacks the authority to commit Belarus to something that could diminish the country's sovereignty and independence." He added that as long as Belarus remains under authoritarian rule of dubious legitimacy, the country will have difficulty modernizing its political and economic institutions, U.S. ability to help will be limited, and trans-Atlantic security on NATO's eastern flank will suffer. Wilson said that during his upcoming visit to Belarus he plans to focus on four areas: (1) reiterate the U.S. call to allow peaceful demonstrations by the opposition; (2) urge the government to seek genuine dialogue with the opposition and to hold legitimate, free elections; (3) meet with the mission of the OSCE and leaders of Belarus' democracy movement; and (4) restate the readiness of the United States for closer, more cooperative relations with a Belarus that elects its leader and legislators, that shows respect for the fundamental human rights of its people, and that pursues responsible, cooperative policies toward its neighbors and the world. For the full text of a statement of Principal Deputy Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States Ross L. Wilson, see the USIA website at http://www.usia.gov/products/washfile/rights.shtml (USIA, March 10)

AMBASSADOR CRITICAL OF U.S. CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON BELARUS
Valery Tsepkalo, Belarusian Ambassador in the United States, spoke critically of the hearings held at the CSCE commission in the U.S. Congress. The hearing was biased and one-sided, Tsepkalo told Interfax on March 14. The Belarusian opposition representatives who "vested great hopes in this hearing, failed to reach their objectives," he said. (Interfax, March 14)

US WARNS BELARUS OF LIKELY TRADE SANCTIONS
The United States has nothing against a "broad dialogue" initiated by the Belarusian authorities, but it believes that OSCE-mediated opposition-government talks is the only way out of the current constitutional crisis in Belarus, Ross Wilson told a news conference at the end of his two-day visit to Belarus on March 14. During his visit, Wilson met with the leaders of NGOs, political parties, and government officials. The US official said that during his talks with Mikhail Myasnikovich, chief of the Presidential Administration, it had become clear that there was a radical difference in their views on the situation in Belarus. Wilson urged the Belarusian government to create a favorable climate for a dialogue by dropping charges against political prisoners, bringing electoral legislation into line with OSCE recommendations, and allowing opposition demonstrations. He once again confirmed that integration between Belarus and Russia could not be regarded by the United States as voluntary because Belarus lacks democratic institutions. Wilson warned that the US government is likely to strip Belarus of the benefits conferred by the Generalized System of Preferences, if the country's policies do not change within the next few weeks. The move would result in the deterioration of conditions for Belarus's exports to the United States. Wilson pointed out that the US government started considering this move in response to violations of workers' rights in Belarus. "More broadly though, GSP benefits were intended to support political and economic reform in this country, which has not been taking place," Wilson said. He did not rule out new sanctions against Belarus if the country's authorities continue to head in "the negative direction." At the same time he stressed that the United States would not like relations with Belarus to deteriorate further. "One of the reasons I came here was to persuade the authorities as to why it is in their interest and why it is in Belarus' interest to resume political and economic reform," Wilson added. (Belapan, March 14)

OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL DISCUSS SITUATION IN BELARUS
On March 9, the permanent Council of the OSCE held a plenary meeting to discuss the situation in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation and the situation in Belarus. (OSCE, March 9)

CZECH SENATE HOLDS HEARING ON BELARUS
On March 16, the Czech Senate held an open hearing on the situation in Belarus. Mikhail Zhantovsky, chair of the Committee for International Relations, Defense and Security, shared with fellow parliamentarians his concerns about substantial deterioration of Belarus' human rights record. The official position of the Czech Foreign Ministry was articulated by deputy Martin Povejshl, who said that the Czech Republic would like to see Belarus part of the European community. Adam Gavin, leader of the People in Need Foundation said that the Russia-Belarus Union may impose a major threat to the world community if nuclear weapons are re-deployed in Belarus. As a result of the hearing, the senate will pass an official resolution by the end of March. Senators decided to pay a visit to Minsk in order to observe the mass actions of opposition on the spot. (Charter 97, March 17)

OPPOSITION: GENUINE DIALOGUE CANNOT BE REPLACED BY CHATTER
Genuine dialogue cannot be replaced by a chat, reads a letter addressed to Vladimir Rusakevich, deputy chief of the Presidential Administration, by the Consultative Council of Belarusian Opposition Political Parties. The Consultative Council stressed the need for a broad civic dialogue and for a free exchange of ideas through the electronic media and the press, through rallies and assemblies. The Consultative Council authorized its media experts to continue consultations with government experts on the opposition's access to the state media, on creating an atmosphere of trust in society, on regulations for this fall's parliamentary election and on the functions of the future parliament. (Belapan, March 15)

AUTHORITIES: SEVENTY NGOs READY FOR DIALOGUE WITH GOVERNMENT
Alexander Lukashenko has appointed Sergei Posokhov presidential aide for maintaining ties with the public and organizing work with parties, trade unions, and all public associations, Belarusian Television reported on March 10. Until now, Posokhov was Belarus' representative to the CIS Council. He said the main task in his new capacity will be to help organize a "public and political dialogue" in the country. The final list of organizations involved in the government's dialogue with the country's political and social forces will be ready by March 15, and the first round-table meeting will take place in late March, Posokhov told the Narodnaya Gazeta government newspaper. The purpose of the first meeting will be to adopt an agenda and rules of procedure for the meetings to follow. According to the presidential aide, seventy political parties, trade unions and other NGOs have agreed to take part in the dialogue proposed by the government. The number includes ten out of seventeen registered political parties. The Belarusian Popular Front, the United Civic Party, the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, the Belarusian Party of Labor, the Nadzeya Belarusian Women's Party, and the Liberal Democratic Party refused to participate in the talks. All seven are members of the Consultative Council of Belarusian Opposition Political Parties. (Belapan, March 14-16)

COMMUNISTS PARTY TO TAKE PART IN TALKS WITH AUTHORITIES
The Belarusian Communists Party has decided to take part in the government-initiated dialogue. In a letter addressed to Vladimir Rusakevich, first deputy chairman of the Presidential Administration, who is responsible for preparations for the dialogue, the BPC says it would like the dialogue to concentrate on a decline in living standards as a result of the government's faulty policies and on creating conditions for democratic parliamentary elections. (Belapan, March 15)

COURT EXAMINES WITNESSES IN CHIGIR CASE
On March 16, the Minsk City Court continued examining witnesses in the case of former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir. The prosecution claims that Chigir had no valid reasons to defer the collection of custom duties from Piask, a private company, for vehicles that it had imported. [It should be noted that the authorities had a significant ulterior motive to pick Piask from hundreds of Belarusian importers which routinely petition and receive custom duty deferrals. The company was founded and is still run by a son of Stanislav Bogdankevich, chairman of the United Civic Party and prominent opposition leader. By attacking Bogdankevich's relatives, the authorities are using their favorite methods of silencing political opponents. - Ed.] Valentina Kravchenko and Alexander Kozlyakov, employees of the Ministry of Finance, testified that they had considered Piask's application and recommended granting the company a 3-month delay in paying the customs duties. They said that it had been a normal practice that decisions to postpone payments or grant exemptions were made by the Council of Ministers. During the examination of witnesses it became clear that some of them were suspects in the Chigir case, but knew nothing about it. Under the Belarusian Criminal Code, investigators must inform suspects about charges launched against them. (Belapan, March 16)

DIRECTOR OF TV PROGRAM FIRED AFTER GIVING AIR TO OPPOSITION
Yaroslavl Beklemishchev, director and host of the Krok-2 talk show at the Belarusian state TV, was fired after inviting opponents of Lukashenko to his studio. He was accused of "flagrant violation of the rules of presentation of the program on the air." Among the guests of the March 9 Krok-2 show, which focused on the problems of filmmaking in Belarus was Yury Khashchevatsky, the author of the "An Ordinary President," a documentary about Alexander Lukashenko, which won the Nestor Almendros Award at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York in 1998. Show participants criticized the authorities for their negative attitude to arts in general and the decaying Belarusian cinema. Beklemishchev did not rule out that Khashchevatsky's remark, "I flatly refuse to take money from this government" prompted the administration of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company to fire him. The journalist said that the administration failed to quote the article of the Labor Code, under which he was fired. He filed a complaint with the Belarusian Association of Journalists. (Belapan, March 16)

--AT HOME IN BELARUS-

ECONOMIC GROWTH TO SLOW DOWN
On March 14, Belarus's lower house of parliament confirmed Vladimir Yermoshin, former Minsk mayor, as new prime minister. Yermoshin, 58, succeeds Sergey Ling, dismissed in February by Lukashenko amid growing discontent in the country over steadily falling living standards. Both he and Lukashenko told deputies that the government did not plan to liberalize the economy and would preserve tight state regulation. "We have been going our own way for five years and we must not change the strategy," said Lukashenko, promising to freeze prices ahead of October's planned parliamentary elections. He said Yermoshin's key tasks would be to boost exports, rein in inflation and stabilize the shaky Belarusian ruble. Last year annual inflation quickened to 252 percent from 182 percent in 1998, agricultural output fell by 10 percent and overall economic growth of three percent was achieved mainly by printing money. Yermoshin said economic growth would slow this year as access to foreign investment was limited and domestic sources of financing had been exhausted. He said the government would change its previously liberal credit policy this year, allocating loans only to profitable companies and supporting exporters and the real economy. (Reuters, March 15)

FOREIGN MINISTER: RUSSIAN NUKES WILL NOT RETURN
On March 9, while in Berlin, Ural Latypov, the Belarusian Foreign Minister, has rejected allegations that Russian nuclear missiles might soon be redeployed in Belarus, reported the Berliner Zeitung German newspaper. "The Constitution of Belarus explicitly states that our state is free of nuclear weapons," the paper quoted Latypov as saying. On March 7, the Novye Izvestiya Russian newspaper reported that Belarus was preparing for the re-deployment of nuclear weapons (See Belarus Update Vol.3, No.11). Latypov defined Novye Izvestiya's speculations as "absolutely groundless." (Berliner Zeitung, March 10)

--BROTHER SLAVS-

UNION OPEN FOR EVERYONE
Gennady Seleznev, Speaker of the Russian Duma and Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarus Union believes that Yugoslavia is likely to join the Union. "We have announced more than once that our union is open for all those wishing to join it," the Russian Parlamentskaya Gazeta quoted him as saying. He expressed his satisfaction with the fact that Yugoslavia "is confidently advancing" toward uniting with Russia and Belarus. A special parliamentary commission has been founded for consideration of all aspects of this process, Seleznev said. "However, it seems to me that it is not quite correct to be hasty in registering the new member of the union. Soon there will be presidential election in Russia, and after that there will be parliamentary elections in Belarus and Yugoslavia. And after that we will return in a composed fashion to the issue of Yugoslavia's possibly joining the Russia-Belarus Union," Seleznev said. (Parlamentskaya Gazeta, March 17)

SLOVAKIA IMPOSES VISA REGIME ON UKRAINE, RUSSIA, BELARUS, AND CUBA
On March 16, the Slovakian government, decided that a visa regime would be imposed on Ukrainian nationals as of June 28, 2000, and on Russian and Belarusian nationals as of the beginning of the year 2001. Slovakia's visa-free relations with Cuba will be cancelled six months prior to Slovakia's integration into the EU. Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda said that the visa regimes should not be perceived as barriers hampering trade, tourism and culture but should help combat organized crime and curb illegal employment instead. (BBC, March 15)

--CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS--
March 22 - Democratic Trade Unions to stage nationwide protest
March 25 - Belarusian diaspora to picket the Belarusian Embassy in Washington D.C.
March 25 - Opposition to mark the founding in 1918 of the Belarusian People's Republic
April 26 - Opposition to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster

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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 New York-based human rights NGO in consultative status with the United Nations and ILO.

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 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

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