Belarus Project

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Belarus Updates, 2000
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BELARUS UPDATE Edited by Victor Cole Vol. 3, No. 34 August 2000 IN THIS ISSUE: - Opposition Calls for Boycott of Vote, Forms Coalition - Protests are Planned for Coming Fall - About 60 Opposition Activists To Run For Parliament as Independents - Lukashenko Tries Hard to Legitimize Parliamentary Election - Klimov Appeals His Sentence - Soviet Komsomol Will Register New Party - Nazi Germany--Belarus: Sports Are Important to Us -HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS- OPPOSITION CALLS FOR BOYCOTT OF VOTE, FORMS COALITION Interfax reported on August 15 that the united Belarusian opposition had confirmed its intention to boycott the parliamentary election scheduled for October 15. The main reason for the boycott is the authorities' failure to meet the four conditions adopted at the Congress of Democratic Forces and supported in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's resolution on Belarus: 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 United Civic Party, Belarusian Social Democratic Party, BPF Adradzhenne, Viasna Human Rights Center, Charter 97, Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, Belarusian Labor Party, and Nadzeya Belarusian Women's Party have formed a coalition called "Boycott-2000." "We campaign for a total boycott of this election, so that Alexander Lukashenko would have no chance to strengthen his position before the presidential election [next year] and to seize the political initiative," said Anatoly Lebedko, chair of the United Civic Party. "An active boycott of these pseudo-elections and the absence of international observers will make the election illegitimate," he added. "Public opinion polls show that 67 percent of Belarusians want to vote if the election is honest, but only 42 percent are willing to participate in elections that international organizations do not acknowledge as legitimate, so we hope the boycott will succeed," Victor Ivashkevich, vice-president of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, told reporters in Minsk. (Interfax, August 16) ...AND PLANS MORE PROTESTS Charter 97 reported that the opposition is going to launch the Hot Autumn 2000 protest campaign. The Freedom March-3 is scheduled for October 1 in Minsk. A range of rallies under the slogan "Yes to Election, No to Farce" will be held in all Belarusian regions on August 8 and October 14. On September 1, the opposition representatives will start collecting 450,000 signatures needed under the law to initiate a nationwide referendum as a counterbalance to the ongoing election campaign in Belarus. (Charter 97, August 16) ABOUT 60 OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS TO RUN FOR PARLIAMENT The election campaign is already well under way, and registration of candidates for the National Assembly's lower house ended on August 15. As of August 14, the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda, has received 460 applications for registration from the candidates' initiative committees, reported Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, an independent newspaper. Most of candidates are members of different political parties and organizations. In an interview with Belapan, Victor Ivashkevich said that about 60 opposition activists have decided to run for parliament this fall as independent candidates. Among them are Mikhail Chigir, former prime minister, who was barred from participating in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections earlier this year after receiving a three-year suspended jail sentence for "abuse of power" (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 21), and his wife Julia. [The Belarusian Supreme Court is scheduled to hear an appeal filed by Chigir's lawyers on August 18, reported Charter 97.-Ed]. "I has been targeted by the authorities solely because of my political beliefs and peaceful opposition activities. I am going to continue my struggle with the regime in any event, and have no intention of stopping halfway," he said in an interview to Belapan. He added that his decision to participate in the vote will not harm the Belarusian opposition, which has declared it is boycotting the elections, because he does not belong to any political party. Gari Pogonyailo, acting chair of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), a member of the International Helsinki Federation, also stated his desire to run as an independent candidate for the Belarusian parliament this fall, reported the Belarusian Association of Journalists. Nikolai Statkevich, chair of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (BSDP), has registered a citizens' group supporting his possible candidacy in the October 15 ballot, reported Belapan. Statkevich told the news agency that he will make a final decision whether to participate in the vote in September. On June 19, Statkevich and Valery Shchukin, a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet, 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 barred from participating in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. In early August, the BSDP adopted a resolution allowing all its members, who was nominated by workers' collectives or other groups, to run for parliament individually (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 32). Both Chigir and Statkevich commented that they consider a parliamentary mandate as a means of protection from persecution by the regime. On August 16, Nikolai Statkevich told Belapan that the boycott of the October 15 election is a "mistake" and may cause "very dangerous consequences." Statkevich believes that the opposition's participation in the vote may help to create the opposition faction in the House of Representatives. (BAJ, Belapan, Charter 97, Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, August 14-16) BELARUSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY LEADERS TO RUN FOR PARLIAMENT Elena Skrigan, Secretary of the Belarusian Communist Party, told Belapan that about two dozen party members have also decided to participate in the October 15 ballot. Among those who are planning to run in the election are BCP's chair Sergei Kalyakin, Skrigan herself, and Igor Annushkin, another BCP's secretary, all members of the 13th Supreme Soviet, Belarusian parliament disbanded by Lukashenko in 1996. (Belapan, August 14) LUKASHENKO ADDRESSES OSCE WITH NEW PROPOSALS ON ELECTION The regime remains anxious that the international community acknowledge the balloting by sending observers. On August 14, the Belarusian state TV reported that Alexander Lukashenko had sent an open letter to Javier Solana, European Union foreign policy chief, and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian Foreign Minster and OSCE chair-in-office. The letter contain Lukashenko's initiatives to provide free, fair, and democratic parliamentary election in accordance with international standards and requirements. Lukashenko personally guaranteed that all candidates will have access to free broadcasts on state-owned television, and pledged not to interfere with the opposition's activities and independent media's work. The Belarusian leader wrote that he thinks that the broadening of parliament's functions is an integral part of social processes in Belarus. "The president's initiatives are yet another proof of the Belarusian leadership's readiness to hold free and democratic parliamentary elections," the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Commenting on the new Lukashenko's initiatives, Nikolai Statkevich said that they are "insignificant and cosmetic," reported Belapan. Elena Skrigan told the agency that Lukashenko's proposals should be considered a propaganda move aimed at the OSCE and other European organizations, adding that there is no time to implement those proposals before the October 15 ballot. (Belapan, August 14-16) OFFICIAL MINSK SENDS INVITATIONS TO INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS Belapan reported on August 15 that the House of Representatives' Committee on International Affairs and Relations with CIS Countries has sent out invitations to foreign observers to attend the parliamentary election scheduled for October 15. According to the Committee, parliamentarians from about 50 nations and 10 international organizations have been invited to Minsk to monitor the election. (Belapan, August 15) NEW AGENCY, OLD-FASHIONED PROPAGANDA? Local observers fear that with the October parliamentary election looming on the horizon, Alexander Lukashenko is getting prepared to launch a new campaign of defamation against his political opponents. On August 14, he held a meeting with Mikhail Myasnikovich, head of his administration, Vladimir Zametalin, first deputy chief of the presidential administration, Vladimir Matskevich, chair of the Committee for State Security (KGB), and Nikolai Krukovsky, Belarusian Minister of Communication, to discuss the creation of a new state-owned information agency and ordered them to prepare "all necessary documents" by October, reported Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta. Despite the government's publicly declared readiness for an open dialogue with "anybody," the state media remains inaccessible to opposition parties and most citizens. The state-controlled media fills its news programs with propaganda about "the only correct opinion" on all ongoing processes. (Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, August 16) PROSECUTOR: ORT CAMERAMAN'S DISAPPEARANCE WAS PREMEDITATED The disappearance of Dmitry Zavadsky, ORT cameraman in Belarus who has been missing since July 7 (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 28-31) was a well-planned crime, Nikolai Koroliuk, head of the Belarusian Transport Prosecutor's Office, told Interfax on August 16. "The investigation of the case has advanced so far that we have started investigating a number of Belarusian citizens who may be involved in Zavadsky's disappearance," Koroliuk added. The official did not specify whether any of them have been taken into custody, but expressed a hope that Zavadsky is alive. "I cannot tell you whether any of the suspects are arrested," he said. Koroliuk refused to elaborate on the possible causes of the cameraman's disappearance, noting that "to identify the cause of the disappearance means to identify the motive for the crime and to reveal the scenario on which the investigation is working, which could affect its success." (Interfax, August 16) 100 DAYS IN JAIL Charter 97 reported that on August 17, Alexander Abramovich, chair of the Borisov branch of the Belarusian Social Democrat Party, was released from jail after serving 14 days of imprisonment for organizing an unsanctioned picket on August 3 in downtown Borisov, Minsk Region, demanding resignation of the city mayor and his deputies (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 33). The opposition activist declared a hunger strike in protest of the verdict and was set free one day before his prison term officially expired. He said that he was released earlier because, taking into consideration the degrading and inhumane conditions of his detention, the authorities did not want to take responsibility for the further deterioration of his health. It has been his 11th arrest. In total, Abramovich had spent 100 days in jail for his anti-Lukashenko protests. (Charter 97, August 18) UCP ACTIVISTS PICKET MINSK CITY COUNCIL On August 17, the activists of the United Civic Party held an unsanctioned picket in front of the Minsk City Council, protesting against the municipal authorities' crackdown on free speech and assembly through an unconstitutional ruling requiring that the locations of pickets and mass gatherings be moved to Bangalore Square on outskirts of Minsk, reported Charter 97. (Charter 97, August 18) KLIMOV'S 6-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE APPEALED IN COURT The Belarusian Association of Journalist reported on August 16 that Gari Pogonyailo, filed a complaint with the Minsk District Court, appealing the court's decision on the cases of Andrei Klimov, businessman and a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet and some of his employees. In March, 2000, after a controversial eight-month trial, the Leninski District court found Klimov guilty of large-scale embezzlement and forgery (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 12). Judge Vera Tupik ruled that 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 Klimov's company, were convicted of the same offenses. Volkovich was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, forfeiture of property and three-year abstention from public office. Lukyanchuk received a three-year suspended sentence. The court found that 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 defendants maintained that they had wanted to reach a final settlement with the Minsk government on the completion of the house. Interestingly, the amount the court declared the Klimov's company embezzled is half the amount mentioned by the prosecution in the charge sheet. The court acquitted Klimov and Volkovich of the chargers concerning constructing an apartment building without a license and obtaining bank loans fraudulently. The criminal prosecution of Andrei Klimov was widely regarded as politically motivated. (BAJ, August 16) MALADY FRONT STILL WAITS FOR REGISTRATION The Belarusian Ministry of Justice is not in a hurry to register Malady Front, the youth organization affiliated with the BPF Adradzhenne. On August 18, BPF press service circulated the press-release saying that it has been already three month since the youth organization has filed for registration with the Ministry. On August 16, the organization received a fax from Mikhail Sukhinin, head of the department of registration of public organizations at the Belarusian Ministry of Justice, saying that the Front's application for registration is still being considered by the department. Existing legislation mandates that the Ministry consider an application within a month. (BPF Adradzhenne press service, August 18) OSCE HOLDS POLITICAL PARTY TRAINING PROGRAM IN BELARUS On June 16-17, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in co-operation with the OSCE AMG in Belarus, conducted a two-day training in Minsk for senior campaign managers from opposition parties. The training focused on basic campaign techniques and party organization. Specific topics covered by the international trainers included image presentation, strategic planning, coalition and alliance building. The training was also offered to campaign managers close to the ruling political forces. The AMG will provide assistance with organizing further training at regional level. (OSCE, July) RELEASE OF PARDONED CONVICTS BEGINS IN BELARUS About 12,000 inmates will be set free under an amnesty declared by Lukashenko earlier this year to mark the 55th anniversary of the victory over the Nazis, the Committee for Corrective Institutions of the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs told Interfax on August 15. The amnesty will apply primarily to convicts whose term in prison expires this year and who fully repaid all monetary damages. About 18,000 more inmates will have their prison terms shortened. The amnesty will not apply to persons jailed for felonies and other serious crimes. The Committee says that Belarusian prisons are chronically overcrowded. Belarus, with about 47,000 imprisoned citizens and 12,000 more kept in pre-trial detention facilities [in a population of about 10 million---Ed], is among the countries with the highest prison populations in the world relative to general population. (Interfax, August 14) --AT HOME IN BELARUS-- FORMER SOVIET KOMSOMOL LEADER TO REGISTER NEW PARTY Vyacheslav Tatsyn, former leader of the Soviet Komsomol and head of the Baranavichy branch of the Belarusian Liberal Democratic Party, is going to register the Christian Party. The main goal of the new organization is to "influence the situation in Belarus and revive a genuine Christian outlook for the future in Belarusians." The participants of the founding conference, which was held in Baranavichy, Brest region, on August 12-13, adopted the text of an open letter to Lukashenko, asking him for "moral guidance and support." (Belapan, August 15) ICE KING In stagnant Belarus, apart from serving the Lukashenko regime, there is little chance to move up, wrote a Belapan correspondent Mikhail Vaniashkin in an article entitled "The Ice King," published by Transitions Online in its August 15 issue. With a president, who is openly hostile to private businesses and has said that all business people are swindlers, for many, sports remain among the few hopes for upward social mobility, especially as the president has done much to boost the country's sports industry. Tall, fiery, and charismatic, Lukashenko is a keen athlete who skis, plays tennis, soccer, and hockey. When he moved to Minsk, he left his wife behind on the farm, explaining that he makes up for her absence by devoting himself to sports. The Belarusian leader maintains close links with hockey and is quick to play up his role in the national team's successes. Vladimir Zametalin, first deputy chief of the presidential administration, offers incentives and rewards for athletes on behalf of the government. Lukashenko has injected sizable funds into the construction of hockey arenas. The last two years have seen the construction of the president's Ice Palaces in Brest, Gomel, Vitebsk, and Mogilev, and two in Minsk- increasing the number of hockey arenas from four to ten. Each palace is estimated to cost about $10 million. Nikolai Voitenkov, head of the Gomel regional government, recently told reporters that 75 percent of the money for the construction of the local Ice Palace had been provided by Lukashenko and the rest was from the local budget. But he made clear that the 75 percent had not originated from the national budget. Local journalists speculated that the money might have come from funds at Lukashenko's disposal, which are beyond public control. (Transitions Online, August 15) ********************************************************************** 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 Back**