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Belarus Updates, 2000
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BELARUS UPDATE

To our readers: we apologize for the delay in distribution of the Belarus Update due to staff vacations. We will bring you up to late with all the past bulletins this week.

Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 3, No. 33 August 2000

IN THIS ISSUE:

- US State Department Criticizes Belarus Human Rights Record
- Nomination of Candidates to Parliament Starts in Belarus
- Opposition Prepares for Nationwide Referendum
- Human Rights Defenders Protest Against Disappearances
- Local Opposition Activists Sentenced
- Authorities Freeze Trade Unions Bank Account
- Orthodox Priest Sentenced to Five Days in Jail
- Leader of Russian Nationalists in Belarus Murdered

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS- US OFFICIAL: BELARUS IS AREA OF INTENSE CONCERN
On August 8, in his remarks dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, Dr. Harold Koh, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, mentioned Serbia, Belarus, Russia, and a number of other former Soviet republics, as the most serious human rights abusers in Europe. "Hundreds of millions of people are better off because of the Helsinki Act," Koh said, "many millions of others are still waiting for freedom and the question is how do we make sure they don't lose hope." Koh stressed that a quarter-century after the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, the human rights situation in Belarus remains an "area of intense concern" for the United States and other democracies. "The country in sinking lower and lower into authoritarianism, self-isolationism," noted the US official. Adopted in the Finnish capital on August 1, 1975, by the leaders of European nations as well as the United States and Canada, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe committed its signatories to respect human rights and universal freedoms. It is also credited with laying the groundwork for the democratic revolutions that swept Central and Eastern Europe at the end of the 1980s and led to the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991. (USIA, August 8)

RECOMMENDATION TO IGNORE ELECTION IN BELARUS BIASED, SAYS MINSK
A delegation from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) recommended not to send observers to the forthcoming parliamentary election in Belarus. The government of Belarus termed the decision "unfair and biased," Alexander Shpilevski, deputy chairman of the House of Representatives' Committee on International Affairs and Relations with CIS Countries, told Interfax on August 7. "Emotions, rather than cold facts on what has been done by the government to hold free and fair vote, have influenced the delegation's decision," he said. "Opposition parties should run in the election, win seats in the parliament and start working constructively with the administration," Shpilevski said. "The opposition's decision to boycott the election suggests that they fear defeat," he added. Sergei Posokhov, who is responsible for public liaison and work with parties, trade unions, and all public associations in the Lukashenko administration, expressed an opinion that "the delegation's decision not to send observers to Belarus had been predetermined." "PACE delegation turned a deaf ear to the arguments posed by officials and representatives of [pro-Lukashenko] political parties and public organizations and heard only the opposition," he said. Posokhov added that the authorities "did their best to guarantee the equal access of all candidates to the media." "Practical steps taken in the country toward public concord and the improvement of election legislation should not have remained unnoticed," he concluded. According to Pavel Latushko, press secretary of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, the PACE delegation "preferred not to notice" the fact that the Electoral Code is "much more democratic" than the law under which the country elected the 13th Supreme Soviet. He accused the Council of Europe of pursuing a policy of "double standards."

The delegation visited Belarus on July 31- August 4 to evaluate the current situation in the light of preparations for parliamentary elections scheduled for 15 October (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 32). Members of the delegation concluded that since their previous visit in March, very little progress had been made in meeting the four requirements set by the international community: bringing about a sufficient degree of transparency to the election process, providing fair access of political parties to the state-controlled media, realizing actual separation of powers, and observing a "peace period" in the run-up to the elections, meaning the lifting of restrictions against opposition figures and putting an end to harassment and persecution for political reasons. The parliamentarians were evidently disappointed by the apparent failure of the Lukashenko administration to create conditions for free and fair elections in Belarus. (Interfax, August 7)

SHARETSKY: REGIME MUST ADHERE TO OSCE CONDITIONS FOR FAIR ELECTION
On August 9, Semyon Sharetsky, opposition-appointed Acting President of Belarus and chair of the 13th Supreme Soviet, told Interfax that if the parliamentary election are held in the absence of international observers, the 13th Supreme Soviet will continue its activities as the only legitimate Belarusian parliament. He added that if the regime does not adhere to the four requirements set forth by the OSCE, a newly elected parliament will be a mere " handpicked consultative body reporting to the dictator." (Interfax, August 9)

GROUP URGES GOVERNMENT TO STOP ACTIVITIES OF DISBANDED PARLIAMENT
The Movement of Working People of Belarus for Democracy, Social Progress, and Justice, a Minsk-based communist public organization, has urged the Belarusian government to put an end to the activities of the 13th Supreme Soviet and close the media outlets which publish materials about the disbanded parliament, reported Belapan. "The activities of 13th Supreme Soviet are illegal and represent a considerable danger to the society," wrote the organization's leaders in a statement. "Using moral, political, and financial support from abroad, the 13th Supreme Soviet deputies pursue anti-Belarusian policy, openly declare their intention to seize power by force, and to overthrow the republic's democratic system," the Movement's leaders said in the statement. (Belapan, August 9)

LITHUANIA UNDECIDED ABOUT SENDING OBSERVERS TO BELARUS
Petras Zapolskas, Director of the Department of Information and Culture at the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that a decision whether to send Lithuanian observers to the Belarus to monitor the October 15 election will be taken after an August 30 joint meeting of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the European Union, reported Baltic News Service. (BNS, August 8)

NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES TO PARLIAMENT STARTS IN BELARUS
The nomination of candidates to the House of Representatives, lower chamber of the National Assembly, officially started in Belarus on August 6. It is carried out in accordance with the plan of pre-electoral activities approved by the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda. The electoral code stipulates that candidates may be nominated by political parties or "workers' groups" of no less than 1,000 citizens. The nomination will continue until September 4. By September 14, local electoral commissions will have to finish checking all the documents that have been submitted by the candidates for registration. (BAJ, August 8)

13TH SUPREME SOVIET DEPUTY REFUSED REGISTRATION
Nasha Svaboda, an independent newspaper, reported on August 11 that Valery Shchukin, a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet, was refused registration by the Polotsk, Vitebsk Region, local electoral commission No. 28 on the pretext that the 13th Supreme Soviet, which the opposition leader indicated as his place of work, does not exist. On June 19, Shchukin and Nikolai Statkevich, chair of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, were found guilty of allegedly "organizing and actively participating in mass actions which violated public order," during the October 17, 1999, Freedom March in Minsk (See Belarus Update Vol. 2, No. 42). The Minsk City Court sentenced Statkevich to a two-year suspended term and Shchukin to one year under Art. 168, para 3, of the Belarusian Criminal Code. Both opposition leaders may not leave the country for the period of their sentences and are barred from participating in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. (Nasha Svaboda, August 11)

OPPOSITION PREPARES FOR NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM
Belapan reported on August 8 that the united Belarusian opposition had announced it would collect 450,000 signatures needed under the law to initiate a nationwide referendum as a counterbalance to the ongoing election campaign in Belarus. This decision was adopted by the Coordinating Council of the Belarusian Democratic Forces, which issued a statement on August 7. The authors of the statement reminded Lukashenko about his failed promises to amend the Electoral Code, grant real authority to the parliament, give the opposition access to mass media, and respect the freedom of assembly and speech. The four above-mentioned conditions will provide the basis for the referendum's questions. In July, seven anti-Lukashenko parties, including the United Civic Party, BPF Adradzhenne, Belarusian Social Democratic Party, Belarusian Women's Party, Belarusian Labor Party, Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, and the Association of NGOs voted to boycott the election because the regime had failed to create conditions for the free and fair vote. The Council is also planning to organize a network of monitors to record violations during the election campaign. On August 8, in an interview to RFE/RL, Anatoly Lebedko, chair of the United Civic Party, said that the referendum initiative is a political action aimed at explaining to the electorate that the October 15 ballot in Belarus will not be free and democratic. The opposition leader believes the regime will bar the referendum even if the opposition collects the required number of signatures; therefore, the opposition is not going to register groups for collecting signatures with the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda. (Belapan- RFE/RL, August 8)

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS PROTEST AGAINST DISAPPEARANCES IN BELARUS
On August 3, a picket organized by the Human Rights Center headed by Vera Stremkovskaya, a prominent Belarusian civil rights lawyer, was held in Minsk, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. About twenty activists of the Center, Viasna Human Rights Center, Charter 97, and the Public Legal Aid Association (also know as the Assistance Association) protested against the Lukashenko's regime suppression of those who dare to question its legitimacy and to criticize its disrespect of human rights and demanded a full-fledged investigation into Pinochet-style disappearances of opposition leaders Victor Gonchar, Yury Zakharenko, and businessman Anatoly Krasovsky. Victor Gonchar, vice-speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet, and Anatoly Krasovsky, head of the Krasika Publishing House, have been missing since September 16 (see Belarus Update No. 38-39). Zinaida Gonchar said that the day after her husband's disappearance she and her friends went to the sauna where Gonchar and Krasovsky were last seen by an attendant. Around the corner, relatives and friends of disappeared found some glass that appeared to be from the headlight of Krasovsky's Jeep, blood stains on the ground, and other signs of a struggle, including matted grass. They also found distinct marks left by car tires and red paint on the bushes near the road. In their opinion, Krasovsky's vehicle may have been intercepted by an unidentified red car. Gen. Zakharenko, former Minister of Interior Affairs, who was last seen on May 7, 1999, (See Belarus Update Vol. 2, No. 19), had a falling-out with Lukashenko and was fired as Minister of Internal Affairs in 1996. He then became a prominent member of the opposition. Shortly before he vanished, Zakharenko had been playing an active part in organizing an unofficial presidential election staged by the opposition. Opposition activists later quoted eyewitnesses as saying that several men forced Zakharenko into a car which then drove away. During the action the participants gave out the leaflets with information on disappearances in Belarus and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (Viasna Human Rights Center, August 7)

LOCAL OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS SENTENCED
On August 3, a local branch of the Belarusian Social Democrat Party (BSDP) held an unauthorized picket in the city of Borisov, Minsk Region, demanding resignation of the city mayor and his deputies. The opposition activists unfolded banners: "We are not animals, we need hot water" and "Discharge the mayor of Borisov!" Alexander Abramovich, Larisa Grebnieva, Sergei Sokolov, Alesia Jusiuk, and Igor Lednik, who was present at the action as an observer from one of the local human rights organization, were arrested and brought to court. Abramovich, chairman of the BSDP Borisov branch, was sentenced to 15 days' administrative detention for allegedly organizing and actively participating in a "mass action violating the public order." Lednik received a five day term. Jusiuk was fined 150 minimal wages (about $375). Grebnieva and Sokolov were warned. Protesting their sentencing, Abramovich and Lednik started a hunger-strike. (Viasna Human Rights Center, August 7)

LOCAL OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS WIN IN COURT
On August 8, the Baranavichy City Court considered the complaint filed by the local branch of the BPF Adradzhenne against the Baranavichy City Council, which refused to permit a demonstration marking the 10th anniversary of the Declaration of Sovereignty adopted by the Supreme Soviet of Belarus in 1990, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. The local authorities motivated their refusal by saying that it has already granted the permission to stage similar demonstration to the Conservative Christian Party of the Belarusian Popular Front and suggested that the applicants should take part in the already permitted picket (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 32). The judge found the decision of the Baranavichy City Council unlawful and fined it 13,000 Belarusian rubles (about $14). (Viasna Human Rights Center, August 10)

OPPOSITION ACTIVIST WARNED FOR "HOLDING UNSANCTIONED PICKET"
On August 7, Vladimir Romanovsky, an activist of the United Civic Party, received a warning under Art. 167 of the Belarusian Administrative Code for staging an allegedly unsanctioned picket in front of the Minsk City Council, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. On August 1, along with two other UCP members, Romanovsky brought a petition to Minsk mayor Mikhail Pavlov, but was told by security policeman that the mayor could not meet with them. On his way home, Romanovsky was arrested and taken to the detention center, were he spent over 10 hours. (Viasna Human Rights Center, August 8)

ANOTHER INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION WARNED
The State Press Committee continues to put pressure on the independent press. Belarusian Association of Journalists reported on August 4 that Arkhiv [Archive], a cultural magazine, received a written warning for "unauthorized alteration of the periodical's title and the distribution abroad." The latest issue of the magazine came out under the title Arkhiv -Skaryna and lists addresses of distributors in Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine. Valery Bulgakov, Arkhiv's editor-in-chief, deems the warning groundless. "It is flattering that the authorities place us in the same category with opposition press, because that means they consider us dangerous. That is quite an achievement for a publication that mainly focuses on the issues of culture," he added. Under the current law, two warnings within a year give the authorities sufficient grounds to shut down a publication. (BAJ, August 4)

AUTHORITIES FREEZE BANK ACCOUNT OF TRADE UNIONS
Belapan reported on August 8 that the State Committee for Financial Investigations froze the bank account of the Belarusian Federation of Trade Unions, leaving about 120 employees without their July wages and vacation pay. Anatoly Sadovsky, head of the BFTU administration, told reporters in Minsk that on July 13 the Committee demanded BFTU's financial report and the following day froze the organization's bank account. On July 20, the BFTU submitted all the required financial documents, but the account remained blocked. According to Sadovsky, the Committee has not given any explanations. In late July, the Lukashenko administration had accused trade union leaders of "imposing on Belarus's public opinion and the world community a groundless theory about the infringement of trade union rights by the authorities." The administration said that labor leaders have "usurped" the right to speak in the name of Belarusian citizens and "distorted" the image of Belarus in foreign countries. [Quoting suppression of trade union rights, the U.S. recently suspended Belarus's benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences. (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 28-29) - Ed.] Speaking to a Belapan correspondent, Valentina Polevikova, secretary of the Federation's Executive Council, said that the authorities have launched a campaign to discredit trade unions and their leaders, which is explicitly inspired from the top. "It is not consistent with repeatedly voiced official statements about dialogue and cooperation with trade unions in solving the county's economic problems," she added. On August 8, employees of the BFTU's administrative department sent an open letter to the Lukashenko Administration, the Prosecutor's Office and the State Committee for Financial Investigations, requesting their assistance in unblocking the organization's bank account. (Belapan, August 9)

­RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN BELARUS- ORTHODOX PRIEST SENTENCED TO FIVE DAYS IN JAIL
On August 4, Yan Spasiuk, a priest of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (BAOC), from the village of Pogranichny, Berestavitsky District, Grodno Region, was charged with disobedience to the police and sentenced to five days in jail, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. On July 28, three policemen arrested the clergyman, took his passport, and wanted to take him to Berestavitsa (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 31). Handcuffed, the priest managed to escape and went for help to the Polish Consulate in Grodno. Consul-General Sylvester Szostek refused to assist the priest on the pretext that Spasyuk is not a Polish citizen. After that, Spasyuk turned for help to local journalists and local human rights activists, who did not allow the police to arrest Fr. Spasiuk. The local authorities refused to register his parish and the KGB proposed that he give up reviving of the BAOC in Belarus. On August 1, the priest filed a complaint with the Grodno Regional prosecutor's office about his unlawful arrest. Spasiuk's lawyer inquired the Grodno Internal Affairs Directorate about his client's passport. In response, Spasyuk was told to come and pick it up himself. When Fr. Spasiuk arrived at the Directorate to get the passport, he was forced into the police van along with his three children, and taken to the Berestavitsa District Court. After the short trial, Spasyuk was immediately taken to jail to serve his term. The children were picked up by their mother at the local hospital. (Viasna Human Rights Center, August 8)

--AT HOME IN BELARUS-- LEADER OF RUSSIAN NATIONALISTS IN BELARUS MURDERED
Gleb Samoilov, leader of the Russian National Unity, a Russian nationalistic movement not registered in Belarus, was assassinated in Minsk, reported Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, an independent newspaper. His body with three knife wounds in the chest was found on August 5 morning in the hallway of his apartment building. According to his father, Samoilov left his apartment in the morning after receiving a phone call. The Minsk Prosecutor Office has opened a criminal investigation of the murder. The Belarusian branch of the Russian National Unity party has grown more active in Belarus in recent years. The self-proclaimed fascist movement has found a warm reception in Belarus, where such extremist manifestations have been tolerated under Lukashenko, known for publicly expressing his admiration of Hitler. Samoilov boasted that the organization had excellent relations with the authorities, that its membership includes some high-ranking officials, and that the movement members are sometimes asked to patrol the streets in Minsk together with the police. Local observers suggest that Samoilov was murdered on the order of his high-ranking patrons who did not like Samoilov's frequent interviews to the press and did not want to have their names eventually revealed to public. Others speculate that the RNU leader had fallen victim to internal strife in the organization and was stabbed by his own fellow members or by members of the White Legion, another unregistered ultra-nationalist organization. Belapan reported the Zavodskoi District Court of Minsk sentenced several RNU members this year for the brutal beating of their own associate, who had wanted to leave the organization.

On August 7, the police detained about 20 RNU members, who came to bury their leader, for wearing unregistered military uniform and swastika-like symbols. Some of the detainees were released shortly after their identity was established. RNU members from Russia arrived in Belarus to attend the funeral

In February 1999, activists from Charter 97, a civic movement working in partnership with the International League for Human Rights, were attacked by self-proclaimed fascists from the RNU (See Belarus Update Vol. 2, No. 7). Andrei Sannikov, Charter's international coordinator and a former deputy foreign minister of Belarus, was beaten unconscious and suffered broken ribs, a broken nose, bruises, and a concussion. Dmitry Bondarenko and Oleg Bebenin were also severely beaten. On August 7, the police detained about 20 RNU members, who came to bury their leader, for wearing unregistered military uniform and swastika-like symbols. Some of the detainees were released shortly after their identity was established. RNU members from Russia arrived in Belarus to attend the funeral. (Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, Belapan, August 8; ILHR)

ANOTHER CONTRACT MURDER?
On August 4, Vladimir Zapolsky, director of the Gomel glass plant, was shot three times in the head near his apartment building, reported Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta. The Gomel Office of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs and the Gomel Prosecutor General have launched the investigation of the murder. The investigation team works on the version that Zapolsky could have been fallen victim to criminals who were trying to impose secret control over the plant's sales. (Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, August 8)

SLAVIC COMMITTEE FOUNDED IN BELARUS
Sergei Kostyan, deputy chairman of the House of Representatives' Committee on International Affairs and Relations with CIS Countries, told Belapan on August 8 that the Slavic Committee was now established in Belarus. Kostyan, who was elected to chair the committee, said that the Committee will promote a political and economic union of Slavic nations and unite "those who want the unification of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia." The Committee is the successor of the All-Russian Slavic Committee that existed in the USSR from 1937 to 1953. As soon as the Committee is registered by the Belarusian Ministry of Justice, it will start preparations for the Eighth Pan-Slavic Congress, which is scheduled for April 2, 2001 in Minsk or Moscow. (Belapan, August 8)

-INTERNATIONAL NEWS- ITALIAN POLICE BREAK RING EXPLOITING DISABLED BELARUSIANS
Agence France Presse reported on August 8 that six Russians suspected of trafficking and exploitation of Belarusians have been arrested. The Russians reportedly forced some 200 deaf and dumb Belarusians to beg for money on the streets in northern Italy. Police charged six Russian citizens with the illegal detention of the Belarusians and with extorting money from them. They confiscated about $14,000 in cash. Police said the group brought the handicapped Belarusians into Italy then violently forced them to beg for money on the beaches and in restaurants. (Agence France Presse, August 8).

CORRECTION
There was an error in the Belarus Update, Vol. 3, No. 28-29. In an article entitled "Worse than Stalinism," we wrote that the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Viasna Human Rights Center, and the Public Legal Aid Association sent an open letter to the Mogilev Regional prosecutor and the chair of the Mogilev Regional court demanding an immediate and impartial examination of the case and medical assistance to Dmitry Obodovsky, son of Sergei Obodovsky, director of the Mogilev Human Rights Center and lawyer of the Mogilev Branch of the Free Trade Union. In fact, the letter has been written by the Human Rights Center headed by Vera Stremkovskaya, who also asked the leaders of the above-mentioned human rights organizations to join her in the appeal. (ILHR, August 11)
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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 59th 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) 661-0480 or fax (212) 684-1696 or visit our web site at www.ilhr.org

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