Belarus Project

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Belarus Updates, 2000
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BELARUS UPDATE Edited by Victor Cole Vol. 3, No. 35 August 2000 IN THIS ISSUE: --HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS-- - Lukashenko Shows He Cares - Communists Handle Mass Media - Opposition Hopes West Will Ignore Election - Independents Negate Boycott Effect - Highest Court Sides with Chigir's Defense - Lower Court Upholds Klimov's Sentence - No One Gives to Election LUKASHENKO CHASTISES LAW ENFORCEMENT On August 17, at a meeting with several heads of the Belarusian law-enforcement agencies, broadcast live by Belarusian state TV, Alexander Lukashenko harshly criticized law-enforcers for what he sees as "their inefficiency in combating crime and their involvement in corruption." The Belarusian leader accused the Committee for State Security (KGB), Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), Border Troops, State Customs Committee, State Motor Vehicle Inspectorate, and Prosecutor's Offices of poor performance, corruption, bribery, and over-reporting of their successes. "A series of contract killings and kidnappings in the country has seriously undermined faith in the authorities' ability to protect the country's citizens from encroachments on their life and health, and the lingering impunity of criminal gangs shows that the Procurator General's Office, the KGB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Committee for State Security work extremely inefficiently," Lukashenko said. "The KGB's performance is extremely poor. I am sometimes informed by ordinary people about the things I should be informed about by the KGB," Lukashenko complained to his fellow Belarusians. "I will not even speak about the State Customs Committee -- it's a totally corrupt institution," he lamented. Lukashenko condemned the "outrageous behavior" of road police officers, who "impose fines on drivers right and left," and threaten to suspend their driving licenses to exact a bribe. The Belarusian leader warned the law-enforcement chiefs that they should do their job "conscientiously" if they want to continue working in the government. According to Lukashenko, the purpose of the broadcast -- which was considered by the opposition as the usual "Night Show with Luka" -- was just "cheap populism in the run-up to the parliamentary and presidential elections." (Belapan, August 17) PARTY RUNS IDEOLOGY SHOW AGAIN On August 23, Lukashenko introduced Victor Chikin, a newly-appointed chief of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company, to the staff, reported Belapan. The Belarusian leader reiterated that he had no intention of removing rigid state controls over the media and stressed that he does not want to "put the Belarusian state TV up for sale." "Ideology is not subject to privatization," Lukashenko added. For his part, Chikin, who is also a deputy chair of the Minsk City Council and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, outlined the main principles of the new broadcasting policy. "The Company's strategic objective is to promote the image of Belarus as that of a modern democratic state with a dynamically developing national economy, firm legitimate state power, and effective legal system, which ensure the freedom and security of its citizens," Chikin said. "The republic's dazzling achievements, based on the advantages of the Belarusian model of a socially-oriented market economy, will be aired against the background of fraternal relations with the Russian Federation and other strategic partners," he elaborated. As a Minsk's deputy mayor, Chikin became notorious for banning many opposition rallies in the capital and letting dogs loose on demonstrators. Alexander Zimovsky, host of Resonance, a news commentary program produced by the Belarusian State Television, who is known for his harsh commentary about opposition leaders and his biased statements, and Yegor Rybakov, former director of the Gomel Regional TV, were appointed Chikin's deputies. Local observers fear that in light of the forthcoming election, the Lukashenko regime will not loosen its iron grip on the media. "Lukashenko will continue to lie through the mass media, while his Comrade Chikin will make sure that any opposing view will not get through," Belarusian filmmaker Vladimir Khalip told RFE/RL. (Belapan, RFE/RL, August 23) OPPOSITION ASKS WEST TO IGNORE OCTOBER 15 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION On August 22, the Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces appealed to influential Western politicians and the governments of West European states and the U.S. to ignore the October 15 parliamentary election because the regime had failed to create conditions for free and fair democratic elections in the country. [The Lukashenko government did not fulfill its promises to amend the Electoral Code, ensure actual separation of power, give the opposition access to mass media, and respect the freedom of assembly and speech.- Ed.]. Concerned with the fact that the Belarusian legislation governing the elections does not confirm to international standards and allows the government to easily falsify the results, the opposition considers the participation in the vote senseless. The Council believes there are no political, legal, or moral grounds to send international observers to the poll and expressed this position in a letter sent to Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian Foreign Minster and OSCE chair-in-office, Adrian Severin, chair of the OSCE PA Ad Hoc Working Group on Belarus, Javier Solana, European Union foreign policy chief, Lord Russel-Johnston, President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, and Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State. The opposition said in the letter that the arrival of international observers in Belarus would "mean an implicit recognition of the election and might lead to international legitimization of an anti-democratic regime." The Council argues that such a move would promote the further incorporation of Belarus into Russia, weaken and split the country's democratic forces, and prolong Lukashenko's term in office. "Boycott does not mean passiveness," Vintsuk Viachorka, chair of the BPF Adradzhenne, told Belapan. "On the contrary, we will start an active campaign against the electoral farce. The opposition will collect signatures needed to initiate a nationwide referendum, demanding that the authorities comply with the four OSCE conditions. This fall will become a hot prelude to the presidential race next year," Viachorka added. (Belapan, August 22) ..AND IS DEEPLY DIVIDED OVER "INDEPENDENT" CANDIDATES On August 22, reiterating the opposition's tough stance to the election, Oleg Bebenin, press secretary of Charter 97, criticized Nikolai Statkevich, chair of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (BSDP), and former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir, who have decided to participate in the election as so-called "independent candidates." "The opposition no longer has anything in common with them," Bebenin told Reuters. On June 19, Statkevich was sentenced to a two-year suspended term for allegedly "organizing and actively participating in mass actions which violated public order," during the October 17, 1999, Freedom March in Minsk and barred from participating in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections (See Belarus Update Vol. 2, No. 42). In early August, the BSDP adopted a resolution allowing all its members who were nominated by workers' collectives or other groups, to run for parliament individually (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 32). Chigir was prohibited from participating in any election after receiving a three-year suspended jail sentence for "abuse of power" (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 21). Both opposition leaders were allowed to register as candidates after Lukashenko, who apparently needs an appearance of clemency, had publicly announced that "they could take part in the vote as long as they were not in jail." They 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 an opposition faction in the House of Representatives. (Reuters, August 23) FOREIGN MINISTRY: BOYCOTT IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE On August 23, Nikolai Borisevich, spokesman of the Belarus Foreign Ministry, shrugged off the opposition's threats to boycott the vote. "The president has invited international observers, and we expect their participation," Borisevich told Reuters. "To boycott the election is counterproductive," the Lukashenko official added. (Reuters, August 23) ELECTION COMMISSION: OPPOSITION- STAGED REFERENDUM IS PROVOCATION On August 18, Lydia Yarmoshyna, head of the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda, warned that the results of the opposition-organized nationwide referendum in support of the four criteria established by the OSCE for free and democratic vote in Belarus, will not have any legal power. In Yarmoshyna's opinion, the referendum is "a provocation to stir up people's minds and destabilize the situation in society." (Belapan, August 18) SUPREME COURT POSTPONES HEARING OF FORMER PREMIER'S CASE On August 18, the Belarusian Supreme Court granted the request of Mikhail Chigir's wife Julia, who represents her husband in the court, to give her some additional time to study the protocols of the lower court hearings, reported Belapan. In her petition, Mrs. Chigir explained that after she was charged with attacking a policeman on duty, which under the Belarusian legislation is punishable by one year in jail or one year of corrective labor (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 21, 30), she had been distracted by another investigation and was unable to get acquainted with all materials in her husband's case. Mikhail Chigir commented with great satisfaction about the Supreme Court's decision. "All obstacles to my election campaign have now been removed," he pointed out. The U.S. Embassy in Belarus welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to return the case of Mikhail Chigir to the Minsk City Court, as the defense insisted. In a press release, the Embassy wrote that the U.S. regards the whole case as politically motivated and called on the Lukashenko government to drop all the charges against Chigir and other opposition figures, thus demonstrating adherence to its commitments to establish "a period of trust" during the preparations to the forthcoming parliamentary election. (Belapan, August 18) COURT UPHOLDS PRISON SENTENCE OF 13TH SUPREME SOVIET DEPUTY On August 23, the Minsk City Court rejected a complaint filed by Gari Pogonyailo, acting chair of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), who appealed the court's decision in the cases of Andrei Klimov, businessman and a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet, and two of his employees, reported Belapan. 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. The defense petitioned the judge to take action against the prosecution for illegal attempts to influence the judge and for disregarding the presumption of innocence. The judge dismissed the petition as politically motivated and irrelevant to the case. TV hosts and correspondents, representatives of foreign missions were present in the court room. "I believe that the authorities want to physically destroy my son," Klimov's mother told RFE/RL. Under the existing legislation the defendant may now appeal to higher instances, including the Supreme Court. However, the Klimov's defense team has no illusions about the final result. (Belapan, August 23 - RFE/RL, August 24) LUKASHENKO OFFICIAL MEETS WITH EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF On August 22, Sergei Martynov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with Javier Solana, European Union Foreign Policy Chief, trying to influence a final decision whether to send observers to monitor the parliamentary election in Belarus. The decision will be taken on August 30, at a joint meeting of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the European Union, reported Charter 97. On July 21, Solana telephoned Alexander Lukashenko to express concerns over preparations for the October 15 election (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 30). Solana asked the Belarusian leader to assure a free, transparent and democratic electoral process, and stressed the need to engage in constructive dialogue with the opposition. Solana said he shares the concerns of the OSCE, which was deeply concerned by reports of human rights violations and continued persecution and harassment for political reasons, including sentences and imprisonment of potential opposition candidates. (Charter 97, August 22) U.S. AMBASSADOR TO OSCE SKEPTICAL OF BELARUS ELECTION PLEDGES On August 24, in a statement to the Permanent Council of the OSCE, U.S. Ambassador David T. Johnson expressed doubt that Belarus would meet the conditions to qualify for an OSCE election observation mission. Despite repeated promises by the Belarusian government, Johnson said, "we have seen no evidence that the Government of Belarus has made real progress toward fulfilling the conditions. The U.S. Ambassador stressed that "sending an international observation mission would be a mistake." Following is the text of his statement: "As our Belarussian colleague has just reminded us, international observation of upcoming elections in Belarus will be the subject of an August 30 meeting in Vienna of technical elections experts. The United States supports the Belarusian Ambassador's request that the evaluation should be objective, and we believe strongly that a recommendation on that matter must be based on deeds not promises. I can confirm my Belarusian colleague's statement that we have been actively making these views know to others -- in this room, through diplomatic channels and an active program of engagement with those who wish to support the development of democracy in Belarus." "In April, the OSCE Troika established four criteria the Government of Belarus would have to fulfill in order for the OSCE to send international observers to the election. Unfortunately, since that time, we have seen no evidence that the Government of Belarus has made real progress toward fulfilling the conditions. Promises? Yes. Progress? No. The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) delegation that visited Belarus on July 31- August 3 came to this conclusion when it recommended publicly against observation." "Based on our conversations, we believe the opposition in Belarus shares this view. In a letter signed by the Chair of the Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces, the opposition urged the international community not to observe these elections." "In the aftermath of the PACE visit to Minsk, the Government of Belarus made some promises in the direction of the Troika's conditions. Similar promises were made by the Belarus Foreign Minister, who stated in a 1997 letter to the President of the European Union that the Belarus Government was committed to establishing a fuller balance of power among the branches of government." "Three years later, expanding the powers of Parliament is one of the OSCE Troika's conditions. Now, the Government of Belarus maintains it has no time to meet this objective -- in spite of the three years that have expired -- before the elections, but promises that this issue will be taken up by the new Parliament. We believe we should not be distracted by promises that are overdue, inadequate, and hollow in the absence of meaningful implementation." "These elections will take place at a time of increased political repression and harassment of journalists. Prominent political figures go on trial almost weekly; some, as we know, have disappeared. Many independent newspapers have been closed by the Government. Peaceful demonstrations have been violently crushed. Announcement by the Lukashenko government of a so-called "period of peace" comes late, and it is difficult to be put to the test by the opposition or by us. The preliminary indications, however, are not positive. There is no question that free and fair elections are an important and necessary step in the realization of the goal of restoring a democratic and independent Belarus -- which we all want." "However, sending an international observation mission at the urging of a regime that seeks such observation as a badge of legitimacy would be a mistake. We look forward to the day when the international community can applaud the efforts of a Belarusian Government genuinely committed to respecting international conditions for free and fair elections by participating actively in observing them. We believe, unfortunately, that day has not yet arrived." (USIA, August 24) OPPOSITION ACTIVIST DETAINED IN MINSK Nasha Svaboda, an independent newspaper, reported on August 25 that Galina Yurina, United Civic Party and Charter 97 activist, was arrested late at night on August 22 for having in her car the opposition leaflets with an appeal to boycott the forthcoming election. Yurina and her son were leaving the garage, when their car was stopped by two police vehicles. The KGB agents in a camouflaged uniform, bulletproof jackets and machine-guns in hands jumped out of the cars, ordered Yurina to open her car, and give them all the leaflets, but she refused to obey their order. The activist was then forced into a police car and taken to the Frunzensky District police station for interrogation. Along with Ales Beliatski, head of Viasna 96 Human Rights Center, who called the police station, Yurina tried to convince the law-enforcers that under the Belarusian Electoral Code boycotting the vote is not unlawful. After three hours, Yurina was released. The activists had to leave a few thousand leaflets for an "expertise." (Nasha Svaboda, August 25) POLITICAL PARTIES QUESTION FAIRNESS OF ELECTORAL PROCESS On August 18, at a round table held in Minsk, leaders of a number of political parties choosing to participate in the election expressed their dissatisfaction with the current process of forming local electoral commissions, reported Belapan. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Belarusian Liberal Democratic Party, the Belarusian Communist Party, the Belarusian Patriotic Party, the Republican Party of Labor and Justice, the Social Democratic Party of People's Accord, and the Belarusian Social-Sporting Party. Sergei Gaidukevich, chair of the Belarusian Liberal Democratic Party (BLDP), informed those present that out of the 349 applications filed by the BLDP for seats in district election commissions, 277 had been rejected. The Party has repeatedly announced its intention to send more than 7,500 representatives to voting places. According to its chair, however, district commissions refused to accept lists of nominees until August 23. The BLDP was unable to register all the applications as the commissions were supposed to be formed by August 30, Gaidukevich said. "All these facts suggest that the elections will unlikely be fair and democratic," he added. Sergei Yarmak, chair of the Social Democratic Party of People's Accord, noted that none of the Party's representatives has been included in district electoral commissions in Gomel Region, where the party has its headquarters. Elena Skrigan, Secretary of the Belarusian Communist Party, also cast doubt on the fairness of the process of the formation of electoral commissions and the established procedure for early voting, which, in her opinion, does not guard against fraud. (Belapan, August 18) 75 COMMUNIST PARTY MEMBERS TO RUN FOR PARLIAMENT Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, an independent newspaper, reported on August 23 that the Belarusian Communist Party held its Congress in Minsk on August 19. It was decided that 75 party members will participate in the October 15 ballot. (Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, August 23) AUTHORITIES FAIL TO RAISE NON-BUDGET FUNDS FOR ELECTION On August 21, Ivan Likhach, secretary of the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda, told Belapan that not a single ruble has been paid to a special account to collect non-budget funds for the October 15 election. Under a Lukashenko's decree, the voluntary contributions from the population and public organizations to the election fund, are to be distributed evenly among all candidates. (Belapan, August 21) BPF ADRADZHENNE PROTESTS IN MINSK The BPF Adradzhenne press service announced that on August 20 the organization held a two-hour sanctioned picket in Partizanski District in Minsk to protest the latest wave of repression launched by the Lukashenko government, including its use of the Latin American model of abducting political opponents. No incidents with the police were reported. (BPF Adradzhenne press service, August 21) AUTHORITIES CLAIM CAMERAMAN'S DISAPPEARANCE NOT POLITICAL The disappearance of Dmitry Zavadsky, ORT cameraman in Belarus, who has been missing since July 7, 2000 (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 28-31), can not be regarded as politically motivated, Nikolai Koroliuk, head of the Belarusian Transport Prosecutor's Office, told Interfax on August 24. The prosecution currently investigates five suspects, the official said. "Neither the Belarusian secret services nor the state power institutions have any relation to this crime," Koroliuk said. "We are dealing here with a premeditated murder committed by criminals, which is punishable under Art. 101 of the Belarussian Criminal Code," the official added. (Interfax, August 24) --CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS-- September 1: opposition will start collecting 450,000 signatures needed under law to initiate a nationwide referendum as a counterbalance to the ongoing election campaign in Belarus October 1: opposition will stage the Freedom March-3 in Minsk October 8, 14: a range of rallies under the slogan "Yes to Election, No to Farce" will be held in all Belarusian regions ********************************************************************** 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**