INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

BELARUS UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 3, No. 15
April 2000

IN THIS ISSUE:

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS--

TRIALS OF DAY OF FREEDOM DETAINEES CONTINUE IN MINSK
On March 31, court proceedings against Day of Freedom marchers continued in the Sovietsky District Court of Minsk. Two persons, including Oleg Gruzdilovitch, a correspondent of Radio Liberty, were acquitted. The journalist was charged with violating regulations for assemblies and gatherings. At the trial Gruzdilovitch said that he arrived to the Yakub Kolas square as a correspondent of the RFE/RL to cover an opposition rally marking the founding of the Belarusian National Republic in 1918. He presented to the judge his assignment for the day, confirming this fact. Gruzdilovich's wife testified at the trial, stating that barely a minute after they got out of the car on March 25, a law-enforcer accosted at them and gripped the journalist's arm. Without any explanations, he dragged Oleg to a bus. Gruzdilovitch was telling the policemen that he was a journalist and asked them for their IDs. In response, he was punched in the face and then handcuffed. After nine hours of detention, a protocol was filed, which he refused to sign. Two police officers who had allegedly arrested Gruzdilovitch spoke at the trial. According to their version of the incident: Gruzdilovitch had been standing on the square for a couple of minutes, not reacting to the megaphone calls to leave, which resulted in his being detained. The law-enforcers were unable to recall, however, what Gruzdilovitch was wearing and who was with him. Judge Kazadoev dismissed the case.

The same day, one detainee was fined 44,000 BRB (about $50), and three others, including Alexander Zosimov, received warnings. Two police officers testified that they had arrested Zosimov after repeated warnings for his provocative behavior. Zosimov insisted that he had been arrested by different officers. Police film footage from the demonstration proved him correct. Zosimov's lawyer Vera Stremkovskaya intends to file perjury charges against the two officers.

On April 3, Yevgeny Kardash was acquitted, Vladimir Burdyka, Aleksey Shahovsky, Sergei Shechko, and Igor Kartel, all of whom were detained by the police on March 25 at the Yakub Kolas square, were reprimanded.

On April 4, the Sovetsky District court found Anatoly Lebedko, deputy speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet, not guilty of organizing an illegal rally on the Day of Freedom in Minsk. Lebedko, who had been detained even before the March 25 demonstration started, was cleared of all wrongdoing. He had spent two days in detention on March 25-27 and had declared a hunger-strike during that time. TV hosts and correspondents from Moscow, US ambassador to Belarus Daniel Speckhard and representatives of other foreign missions were present in the court room. Police witnesses, who were supposed to give testimony against Lebedko, claimed that they weren't familiar with the case.

The same day, Victor Ivashkevich, Vice-President of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, Vladimir Ilyukevich, Yevgeny Lemesh, and Vladimir Verovkin were acquitted. Dmitry Gunich, and Anatoly Rabkavets were fined 44 thousand BRB (about $50). Aleksey Kuharenok was reprimanded.

On April 4, Valery Shchukin, a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet, was released after serving his ten days term for alleged refusal to obey police commands, only to stand another trial, now for participation in an unsanctioned rally. The deputy was arrested on March 25 after he arrived in Vitebsk as a correspondent of the Narodnaya Volya independent newspaper to cover the opposition protest. Before his trial, Shchukin had spent two days in the pre-trial detention center of the Vitebsk regional police department. The opposition leader believes that had the OSCE representative not been in the courtroom, he would have got an additional prison term.

On April 5, Mikola Yavmenko, who was kept in Okrestina detention center for two days pending trial, was acquitted. The case of Alexander Chakholsky, who was heavily beaten by the interior ministry officers and placed in a detention center for two days, was postponed. Policemen Sergei Romanovsky and Yuri Volodko testified that they arrested Chakholsky for shouting out anti-presidential slogans. The lawyer warned them that the bruises and injuries, which Chakholsky sustained, were fully documented and have been forwarded to the prosecutor's office. After that Volodko confessed that he had seen Chakholsky for the first time at the police station, when they filed the protocol against him.

Altogether, about seventy people stood trial in connection with the Day of Freedom events in Minsk. Most of them were charged with violating the regulations for assemblies and public gatherings. So far, the authorities have not set the date for the trial over Yuri Belenki, vice chair of BPF Christian Democratic Party. On March 25, he was severely beaten by the interior ministry officers and is now undergoing medical treatment. Belenki filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office. (Vyasna-Charter 97, April 1- 5)

OPPOSITION ACTIVIST SENTENCED TO JAIL, GOES ON HUNGER STRIKE
On April 6, Sergei Malchik, chair of the Grodno branch of the Belarusian Popular Front, was sentenced to 10 days of jail for organizing an unsanctioned protest on March 25. He declared a hunger-strike in protest of the verdict. (Charter 97, April 7)

EU CONDEMNS USE OF FORCE AGAINST RALLY IN BELARUS
On April 3, the European Union deplored what it calls "the unprovoked and disproportionate use of force by the Belarusian authorities" to suppress a march organized by the opposition in Minsk on March 25. The actions of the security forces resulted in the arrests of bystanders, march participants and journalists, as well as foreign observers including a diplomat, an MP and foreign press representatives. The European Union has called for their immediate release, and for an investigation into allegations of wrongful arrest made before the march, and of reported beatings of some detainees. Along with a reminder of the importance of human rights and the establishment of real political dialogue, the EU also called for a lifting of the ban on all demonstrations. (Belapan, April 3)

500 DEMONSTRATE IN MINSK AGAINST UNION WITH RUSSIA
About 500 people gathered in Minsk on April 2, the Day of Union for the Belarusian and Russian peoples, to protest against Belarus' union treaty with Russia, which they said threatened the country's independence. The demonstrators gathered peacefully in front of a monument dedicated to early 20th century national poet Yanka Kupala, who was purportedly killed by KGB agents in Moscow in 1942. "Yanka Kupala died at the hands of the Soviet regime. Let this place that is dedicated to him serve as a symbol to all those who were killed for Belarus' independence," Nikolai Statkevich, leader of the Social Democratic party said. Several demonstrators held portraits of victims of Stalinism in the 1920s and 30s. The treaty, signed on January 26 after it was ratified by both countries' parliaments, takes another step toward creating a formal Russia-Belarus Union. While the agreement's precise meaning is vague, it creates a Higher Council comprising the presidents, prime ministers and speakers of the two countries. The treaty also makes provisions for a powerful military force on Belarus' western border where Russian troops are stationed, Alexander Lukashenko said in December. (Reuters, April 3)

RUSSIAN EMBASSY PICKETED IN WARSAW
On April 4, a picket, staged by the Belarusian Malady Front and the Polish Republican League, was held outside the Russian Embassy in Warsaw. The picket was staged to mark the fourth anniversary of the signing of the agreement for the unification of Russia and Belarus, which the participants criticized. (BBC, April 6)

LUKASHENKO'S PROMISES MISGUIDE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
On April 6, speaking at the 56th session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Andrei Sannikov, Charter 97 international coordinator and former Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister,
said that two years have passed since the Commission heard the report of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression criticizing the situation in Belarus. The situation has considerably worsened since that time, which is confirmed in numerous reports and statements on Belarus by the OSCE, Council of Europe, European Union, international parliamentary bodies, individual states and international human rights organizations, Sannikov said. "Last year, the government of Belarus undertook a series of obligations to ensure absence of censorship, providing equal access to state-controlled media and ensure the freedom of assembly and the right to peaceful demonstrations. It is obvious today those promises were yet another attempt to misguide the international community while continuing the practice of violating human rights. Deprived of all means to openly present their views to the general public through electronic mass media, the democratic forces of Belarus resort to peaceful demonstrations, picket lines, and rallies. The authorities take every measure to ban these activities, including unprovoked use of force," Sannikov pointed. He reiterated the appeal to appoint a Special Rapporteur on Belarus and follow up on the report of the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Expression and the Statement of the Chair of the Sub-Commission of last August. (Charter 97, April 7)

OPPOSITION PREPARING NEW PROTEST
The opposition intends to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The first session of the national committee for the preparation of the Charnobylsky Shlyakh 2000 was held on April 5, a Belarusian Popular Front representative told Interfax. The organizing committee has brought in more than 150 prominent political and public figures. It has also been decided that the action will be of a nation-wide character, with processions and rallies to be held in regions. The application to hold a mass action on April 26 was submitted to the Minsk City Council on April 7. The opposition warned the authorities that the traditional Charnobylsky Shlyakh will be held regardless of whether the City Council authorize it. (Interfax, April 5)

OSCE POSTPONES VISIT TO BELARUS AFTER CRACKDOWN ON OPPOSITION
The OSCE has postponed a planned visit to Belarus until April following the March 25 crackdown by the Belarusian authorities against the opposition. The OSCE recently protested against the unjustified and excessive use of force and mass arrests by police during an opposition demonstration in Minsk on the Day of Freedom. A delegation from the OSCE, comprising delegates from Austria, Norway and Finland, was scheduled to begin a two-day visit to Belarus on April 2 but will now begin the trip on April 27, said Interfax, quoting diplomatic sources in Minsk. The new date for the OSCE trip coincides with the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, which annually prompts opposition demonstrations against Lukashenko. (Interfax, April 3)

LUKASHENKO'S BILL ON REGULATIONS OF PUBLIC EVENTS SENT FOR REVIEW
On April 4, the House of Representatives of the Belarusian National Assembly [lower house of parliament] reviewed a bill of amendments to a number of acts regulating the organization and holding of street rallies, demonstrations and other mass outdoor events involving large numbers of people. The amendments are based on the Presidential Decree "On Some Measures to Prevent Accidents During Public Events," issued on September 9, 1999, in response to the deaths of 53 people in a stampede in Minsk on May 30, 1999. The Decree bans the organization of mass events closer than 200 meters to underground passageways and subway stations, as well as at those places that the local authorities regard as unsuitable for mass events. A sanction of the chairmen of the regional and Minsk City Council or their deputies is required to organize an event involving more than 1,500 people. The decree bans the sale of alcoholic beverages and beer within 500 meters from the venue of a mass event. The decree does not apply to mass events organized by the government on state holidays. Members of the National Assembly lower chamber agreed that the bill did not make it sufficiently clear what kinds of gatherings should be subject to the new restrictions. As a result, the bill has been sent for review to the lower house's Committee for Human Rights and National Relations. (Belapan, April 4)

FOREIGN MINISTER PROMISES DEMOCRATIC PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
On April 3, during a visit to Lithuania, Ural Latypov, Belarusian Foreign Minister, promised that parliamentary elections scheduled for October would be free and fair, after a European parliamentary delegation criticized the preparations for the poll. "The elections are to be held according to democratic standards and not only on the election day, but during the entire process of preparation for the elections," Latypov told journalists in Vilnius. He said the government was in a dialogue with the opposition on creating equal conditions for all parties to guarantee "an atmosphere in which citizens are free to express their will." Last month a parliamentary delegation consisting of members from the OSCE, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe strongly criticized the government of Lukashenko for its handling of the opposition.
The group warned in a statement that the next Belarusian parliament would not be recognized internationally unless the electoral campaign was fair. Latypov expressed Minsk's dissatisfaction with the presence in Vilnius of Semyon Sharetsky, the speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet. (Agence France Presse, April 3)

MIKHAIL CHIGIR: I DO NOT WANT TO BE SCAPEGOAT
On March 31, Mikhail Chigir, former Prime Minister, who is on trial for negligence and abuse of power, told a press conference in Minsk that the charges are groundless and politically motivated and that he should be acquitted. Chigir is charged with financing the construction of a bank office and issuing three dubious loans while heading a bank prior to becoming prime minister. He is also accused of giving a private company [headed by a son of Stanislav Bogdankevich, another prominent opposition leader] an extension in paying customs duties while he was prime minister from 1994 to 1996. Chigir said that the prosecution has failed to produce a single document signed by him to confirm the transfer of $1m for the construction of Belagroindustrialbank's office. He did not deny that his bank did pay $1m to a Canadian company in advance for building the office, but explained that the contract was cancelled by the new head of bank after he became prime minister. The former Prime Minister added that one of the three dubious loans blamed on him has already been paid off, and another loan has been partially repaid. Georgy Shpindler, chief executive of the company that received the third loan, is serving a prison sentence. Chigir confirmed in court that the loan had been given against a well-prepared business plan and insurance policies. Shpindler testified in court that his company had been run by former KGB and police officers from Grodno who were responsible for the deal's failure but were not brought to justice. (Belapan, March 31)

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES NEW US AMBASSADOR TO BELARUS
On April 6, President Clinton announced that he intends to nominate Michael G. Kozak as the U.S. Ambassador to Belarus. Michael G. Kozak, of Arlington, Va., is a senior member of the Executive Service. He has served as the principal deputy legal adviser of the Department of State, the principal deputy assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, and the chief of mission at the United States Interests Section, Havana, Cuba. Kozak received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his law degree from the Berkeley School of Law. (U.S. Newswire, April 6)

VILLAGE RAIDER SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS OF HARD-LABOR COLONY
Anatoly Silivonchik, a 43-year old Russian businessman, has been sentenced to 3 years to a hard-labor colony by a Svetlogorsk court on charges of aggravated hooliganism, using violence to deprive people of their freedom, and resisting arrest. Nine months ago, the residents of the Belarusian village of Nikolayevka underwent a bizarre two-hour ordeal when they were dragged at gunpoint from their homes, forced to follow orders from a gang of camouflage-clad teenagers from Siberia, intimidated and even beaten (see Belarus Update Vol. 2, No. 28). Since he was arrested last summer, Silivonchik has stated repeatedly that his actions should not be considered a serious crime. But Valery Glushko, the OMON officer who personally arrested Selivonchik, testified that the participating teenagers explained that the main reason for "touring" the village was "to get some old debts back." Silivonchik was brought to the court room on the first day of the trial, which started on February 21, but then was barred from attending for insulting and threatening the prosecutor and witnesses. A wealthy businessman, he has filed several dozen complaints, but never bothered to hire a lawyer and has been represented by a court-appointed defender. None of other adult leaders of the Siberia-based Berkut Adventure and Survival club were arrested. (Charter 97, April 3)

BELARUSIAN OTHORDOX CHURCH SUPPORTS LUKASHENKO REGIME
What is the "heart of Europe"? In recent years that phrase has dubiously been applied to places like Kosovo and Bosnia; strategically a more plausible case could be made for Belarus, which stands directly on the main line of transport between Berlin and Moscow. Unfortunately this former Soviet republic, with its rich potential to serve as a bridge between east and west, has become a black hole for human rights under its authoritarian head of state Alexander Lukashenko. In the submissive fashion of warped, Soviet style Orthodoxy, Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk has given Lukashenko uncritical support instead of using his international status as a hierarchy of the Patriarchate of Moscow to provide an independent voice for justice and freedom. Keston News Service correspondents Geraldine Fagan and Alexander Shchipkov recently visited Belarus to study church-state relations there at close hand. They found that religious life is largely regulated by Soviet-style, unpublished decrees with barely a minimal pretext of the rule of law. The authorities actually go out of their way to associate themselves with the Soviet legacy: they recently reminded one Protestant pastor that the alleged offence with which they are now charging him is the same one for which the pastor's father was imprisoned during the Khrushchev crackdown on religious believers. Recently they summarily expelled 16 Protestant missionaries from the USA; they have also created artificial bureaucratic obstacles for Roman Catholic priests from Poland. (Keston News Service, March)

--BROTHER SLAVS--

LUKASHENKO ACCUSES KREMLIN OF JUGGLING FACTS
Upon returning from his five-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, Alexander Lukashenko gave the new Russian authorities their first slap in the face, wrote the Novye Izvestia Russian newspaper. He did it in connection with the police crackdown on the opposition in Minsk on March 25, in the course of which about 500 people were detained, including several dozen journalists, most of whom were released a couple of hours later. Vladimir Putin's staff hastened to make it known that the release of Russian journalists was due to his telephone intercession on their behalf. Lukashenko qualified this report as an instance of juggling the facts. He claimed that his telephone conversation with Putin on that day took place hours before the events in question and therefore could not have been in regard to the detentions. Thus, he actually accused the new Kremlin leader's team of lying.

Lukashenko bears a grudge of his own in respect of Putin, claims the paper. It is no longer a secret that he has his sights set on the Kremlin. His entourage had been planned on him getting there as a result of the 2000 presidential elections. Until quite recently Lukashenko linked his hopes with the victory of Yevgeny Primakov. Shortly before the December elections to the State Duma he was quite skeptical about Putin's chances to become President. The unexpected resignation of Boris Yeltsin dealt him a lasting blow, from which he was unable to recover for quite some time. In confusion, he once even admitted in public that Yeltsin had made a mess of his own political plans. Today, however, his staff is working on new plans, adjusting them to the new situation. It will be some time, however, before they reach the implementation stage. So far Lukashenko limits himself to petty sniping, which he hopes Putin will prefer not to notice, says the paper in conclusion. (Novye Izvestia, April 3)

SESSION OF RUSSIA-BELARUS PA OPENS IN MOSCOW
On April 6, the fourteenth session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarus Union opened in Moscow. "We expect to meet growing resistance from the opponents of a single state of our two peoples," Gennady Seleznyov, Russian Duma Speaker and newly elected Chairman of the Assembly, told the delegates. He believes that "the main danger comes primarily from the United States and its NATO allies." "The North Atlantic Alliance," the Duma speaker said, "will go out of its way to prevent the appearance of a strong state on the post-Soviet space." The session is being attended by observers from the Yugoslavian parliament and the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine. (Itar-Tass, April 6)

SECRET SERVICES THAT HAVE BEEN LOST
Ten years have passed since the break-up of the USSR and the secret services of the CIS countries have made up their minds to unite, wrote the Segodnya Russian daily. However, according to experts, it is now almost impossible to restore the structure of cooperation between these countries. There are three models of "mutation" of post-Soviet secret service agencies. In some republics the former KGB turned into a sort of "Pretorian Guards," devoting themselves to the ruling clan and fighting dissent. Some republics have made the KGB a substitute for criminal structures, and others have been trying to restore the KGB on a smaller scale. All of them are using the experience of the KGB in some way. This tendency may be traced even in the Baltic states, where the abbreviation KGB is considered to be a taboo word, and intelligence and counterintelligence structures were created from scratch.

However, there are some countries of the former USSR that made an even more exotic attempt to create their own state security structures. This experiment was performed in all the Trans-Caucasus and Central Asian states. The KGB structure was kept, although, all Russian employees were dismissed, and ethnic personnel were employed. At the same time, funding was reduced to a minimum, and security services employees were semi-openly allowed to earn money on the side.

The secret service agencies of the European republics do not differ much from their Asian counterparts. For instance, Belarus is engaged in both political reconnaissance and a search for spies. The aspirations of the Belarusian secret services in this field are incited by Lukashenko, who is always talking about foreign intelligence services spreading their spies in Belarus. For instance, he announced in February that the Polish and Lithuanian secret services had installed electronic reconnaissance systems along their borders with Belarus. However, the efficiency of the Belarusian secret services has diminished significantly. For instance, the 5th Brigade of the Main Intelligence Department stationed in the settlement of Maryina Gorka near Minsk, which used to be one of the best such brigades in the Soviet Union, has become just a base of skillful employees for the State Security Committee, Defense Ministry, and Interior Ministry. (Segodnya, April 4)

CORRECTION
There was a mistake in the last Belarus Update, Vol. 3, No. 14. In an article entitled "US likely to introduce economic sanctions against Belarus," we wrote that Belarus is in danger of losing its Most Favored Nation status. In fact, the Belarusian authorities are likely to lose GSP, the Generalized System of Preferences, a different trade status which can be removed when a country is shown to have a systematic practice of suppressing trade union movements and workers' rights, as well as other human rights.

The U.S. Generalized System of Preferences was created to encourage the economic development of poor countries by lowering or waiving tariffs on certain exports from developing countries into the United States. The 1984 Generalized System of Preferences Renewal Act requires reporting on worker rights in GSP beneficiary countries, and if conditions are not acceptable, GSP must be withdrawn. The law states that internationally recognized worker rights include (A) the right of association; (B) the right to organize and bargain collectively; (C) a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; (D) a minimum age for the employment of children; and (E) acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (the position is currently held by Charlene Barshefsky) makes the final decision on whether or not a country should benefit from GSP, in consultation with other departments of the State Department, such as the Department of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and the regional and country desk officers.

GSP is not to be confused with Most Favored Nation status. MFN, despite its misleading title, is the norm for most countries of the world. In fact it does not convey any special "favor" like GSP, it just means that a country pays the same schedule of tariffs as most countries. The 1974 Trade Act mandates that all countries be given MFN, except for countries ineligible under the Trade Act under Title IV, which historically were the non-market economy countries. The Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the 1974 Trade Act requires that Title IV countries must have freedom of emigration practices, or obtain a presidential waiver. In the past, Belarus has been one of the countries subject to waivers to obtain MFN. [Ed.]

--CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS--
April 26 - Opposition to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster

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The 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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