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Belarus Updates, 2000
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BELARUS UPDATE

Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 3, No. 43 October 2000

IN THIS ISSUE: --Parliamentary Election in Belarus --

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS- OPPOSITION HOLDS ANTI-LUKASHENKO PROTESTS
On October 14, the Belarusian democratic opposition staged anti-Lukashenko rallies in a score of cities, chanting "Today Milosevic, Tomorrow Lukashenko," a reference to the massive street protests that forced Slobodan Milosevic to concede defeat in the last month's Yugoslavian presidential polls. About 5,000 activists marched from the Belarusian Academy of Science along Skaryna Avenue in Minsk protesting against the electoral farce. Vintsuk Viachorka, chair of the BPF Adradzhenne, and his deputy Vyacheslav Sivchik addressed the demonstrators. The Minsk City Council have only allowed demonstrators to gather in the Bangalore Park on the city outskirts. Lukashenko called the protesters "a bunch of windbags" and said that "the people will not let them get anywhere near power." (Charter 97, October 15)

LUKASHENKO VOWS TO WIN NEXT YEAR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
On October 15, in a surreal monologue at a Minsk polling station, Alexander Lukashenko insisted that the West's refusal to recognize the election, boycotted by the opposition, would unmask its double standards and discredit it in the eyes of the Belarusian people, reported Belapan. He dismissed complaints that the parliamentary vote and the pre-election campaigning leading up to it were undemocratic and monopolized by the state. "We are conducting this election for the people of Belarus, not for the West," said Lukashenko, adding that "boycotting the election is foolish." The Belarusian leader said that he does not need "lectures on democracy from abroad" and that "Belarus is no less democratic than Britain." He described Milosevic as "a patriot of his own country who did the best he could." Lukashenko laughed off suggestions that the ousted Yugoslav leader might seek asylum in Belarus. He also vowed to win the next year presidential election. "The person who will win is the one who loves his people and his country. Do not worry, I will become the president in 2001, and you can already line up to congratulate me," Lukashenko told journalists, adding that he was joking. The Belarusian leader once again accused Anatoly Lebedko, chair of the United Civic Party, of receiving financial assistance from the West. Lebedko has filed a defamation suit against Lukashenko, demanding from Lukashenko to produce any evidence to support the accusations, reported Interfax. (Belapan, October 16- Interfax, October 20)

ELECTORAL COMMISSION DECLARES ELECTION VALID
On October 16, Lydia Yermoshina, Chair of the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda, pronounced the parliamentary election valid, reported Belapan. "The election has been valid not only in the country as a whole, but in the majority of districts as well," Yermoshina told reporters. According to Yermoshina, the turnout exceeded 50 percent in 82 local electoral districts. The Belarusian electoral law requires more than a 50 percent turnout in 73 of the country's 110 districts in order for the parliament to be formed. Yermoshina pointed out that despite the general validity, most of the 82 districts had failed to produce clear winners and thus would require a second round in two weeks. Only a 25 percent turnout is needed in the second round. In districts where votes are declared invalid because of low turnout, a new round of election must be held within three months. The official results mean that Lukashenko is assured of a massive support in the newly elected 110-seat National Assembly. All 43 deputies elected on October 15 are pro-Lukashenko. Only three opposition candidates made it to a run-off ballot, including Mikhail Chigir, a former prime minister, and Nikolai Statkevich, chair of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party. Three Minsk seats contested by opposition party leaders were among 14 districts where the ballot will have to be re-run within three months. "The generously-funded boycott campaign has failed," said Alexander Zimovsky, host of Resonance, a notorious news commentary program broadcast by the Belarusian State Television. "In general, voters took part in the election, meaning that democracy won," scoffed Zimovsky. (Belapan- Reuters, October 16)

LUKASHENKO SAYS POLL "ABSOLUTELY DEMOCRATIC"
On October 18, Alexander Lukashenko declared the widely-criticized general election in the country "absolutely democratic," adding that the outcome proved once again that his policies enjoy popular support. Officials released final results of the election, boycotted by most opposition parties, showing that 43 districts produced a candidate supported by the outright majority, while 54 districts will have to hold a second round. Lukashenko dismissed any notion of a rigged ballot. "Elections in Belarus took place in absolutely democratic fashion. We knew that we would be under scrutiny and viewed with prejudice," Lukashenko was shown saying on state television. "There could be no question of falsification. We knew that even minor shortcomings would be magnified a thousand times by the West," the Belarusian leader said. Lukashenko, shown seated in his office, said it made little difference if a handful of opposition members made it into parliament's lower chamber. "They will have no influence on the parliament," he said. "The election's main outcome is that despite the difficulties, people support current policies." (Belapan, October 19)

OPPOSITION CONTESTS GOVERNMENT TURNOUT FIGURE
At a late-night October 15's news conference in Minsk, opposition leaders contested the official turnout figures, citing numerous violations and claiming electoral fraud, reported Belapan. Opposition leaders pointed out that some 5,000 independent observers set the overall turnout figure at no more than 45 percent, compared to the official count of 60 percent. The opposition will file a report of violations witnessed by independent monitors, such as crossing out names from voter lists and forcing people to go to the polls. In one polling station in Minsk, authorities cut more than 400 names from the voter rolls, thus artificially inflating the turnout, Ales Beliatsky, head of Viasna Human Rights Center said. In Grodno, police summoned voters to polling stations, he said. "We already have hundreds of documents and will have more proving that the elections in Belarus were invalid," Beliatsky said. "The regime falsified about 15-20 percent of votes in each district," said Vintsuk Viachorka, chair of the BPF Adradzhenne. He added that the vote was the "first stage of the presidential election, which the opposition won." "We hope to see Belarus without Lukashenko in 2001," Viachorka concluded. "The opposition won this election. Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] would have flopped had the presidential election taken place today," said Anatoly Lebedko, chair of the United Civic Party. (Belapan, October 16)

COMMITTEE ON ELECTION OBSERVATION REPORTS MASS VIOLATIONS
On October 18, Mechislav Grib, chair of the Coordinating Committee on Observation of Elections, announced that voter turnout in the first round of the parliamentary was far below the required 50 per cent in 31 districts, as opposed to 13 declared by the authorities. According to the Committee, voter turnout was below the required 50 per cent in all 18 Minsk' districts, while the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda invalidated the election results only in three of them. Grib told reporters that the local election commissions arbitrarily shortened and extended lists of registered voters to secure the desired result. As a result, officially announced turnout figures for Minsk's districts were from 44 to 47 per cent on the evening of October 15 and jumped up to 53 per cent the next day. Grib said that about 6,000 observers, sent by the Committee to monitor the voting process, reported about 5,000 irregularities. Grib said that the Committee will not observe the second round because international organizations have already declared that the election fell short of meeting the minimum requirements for free and fair vote. (Belapan, October 18)

CHARTER 97 CRITICIZES ELECTION
On October 18, Vladimir Kobets, activist from Charter 97, a civic organization, which is a partner of the International League for Human Rights, informed the OSCE Implementation Meeting held on October 17 in Warsaw, that the united democratic opposition of Belarus has prepared a report on the parliamentary election held on October 15, which were "accompanied by gross violations of electoral law." Following are the excerpts from his statement:

"Approximately six thousand local independent observers invited by the united opposition witnessed unprecedented falsification of this election's results. The following violations have been the most typical:

1. Reduction of numbers of registered voters -- flagrant elimination of voter registration of entire blocks -- in order to inflate voting participation numbers in the government's favor, which began on the afternoon of October 15. One telling fact is the twofold increase in voting participation numbers during the last hour of the election.
2. Psychological pressure exerted on voters before and on the day of election (threats of expulsion from university, dormitory, hospital, etc.).
3. Destruction of unused ballots without counting them, thus making it impossible to determine the real number of votes.
4. Participation of members of executive bodies in counting votes.
5. Refusal of heads of district election commission to make public the pre-election results.
6. Permission to vote with any kind of ID whatsoever (student ID's, pensioners' ID, etc.) thus violating the electoral code's rule which requires a passport or a similar document. 7. Cases of a single person presenting passports of several others and being allowed to vote on their behalf, e.g., family voting."

"According to the independent observers' count, during the elections, the necessary number of votes (50 percent plus one) were received only in 52 of 110 districts. Even in those districts, however, these numbers were artificially created by reducing the number of voters. 20 percent of all votes cast were against all candidates, a fact explained by people's fear of NOT participating in the elections."

To give an illustration of pressure exerted on voters, Kobets presented the following letter addressed to a newspaper by a group of students at Grodno's Medical University:

"Dear Editor,
We would like to tell you about how the elections were conducted at our university. With October 15 approaching, the students began to wonder whether or not to participate in the election. However, everything had already been decided for us. Friday, October 13, will be remembered as a dark day in our history. At approximately 11 a.m. all the departments received the following order from the office of the university's president: 'release students from lectures and seminars to cast early (pre-election) votes.' Many professors began feverishly implementing the order, personally accompanying students to polling stations. Such treatment enraged even those students who had intended to vote from the beginning. It got worse, however. By 2 p.m., the department deans had lists of students who had refused to vote under pressure. Soon after, harassment of those students began at their dormitories. Imagine, a knock on the door, you open it, and you see three deans standing there. After verifying the student's department, the relevant department dean zealously begins to try to find out the reason for the student's refusal to exercise his or her 'free right to vote.' This charade continued until Sunday night, October 15. On top of all this, threats of expulsion were also common. By doing all this, the university administration has achieved an almost 100 percent turnout. According to our internal sources, however, only 49 percent of students willingly participated in the election. This is how the main principle of democracy—the right to free participation or non-participation in the elections ­ has been carried out." (Charter 97-ILHR, October 18)

MOSCOW WELCOMES BELARUSIAN POLL, SLAMS EUROPEAN CRITICISM OF VOTE
The Foreign Ministry of Russia Federation praised the election, saying it had been conducted "calmly and in organized fashion" and criticized its detractors as prejudiced, reported Interfax. "The lack of objectivity of the majority of the conclusions, which ignore the radical steps Belarus has recently made to meet the conditions set by the OSCE, reveals the political and preconceived campaign aimed at justifying the continuing international isolation of Belarus," said the Ministry. Moscow hopes that Belarus will be accepted back into the parliamentary assembly of the OSCE, the Ministry statement concluded. On October 16, Russian President Putin called Lukashenko to congratulate him on carrying out a free and democratic election, reported Belapan. The Belarusian leader was also invited to the Black Sea resort of Sochi on October 19 to "discuss bilateral relations." On October 19, Lukashenko thanked Putin for Moscow's endorsement of the election and expressed his gratitude for "the great support and the position Russia took during the recent political events in Belarus." (Belapan- Interfax, October 17-19)

PARLIAMENTARY TROIKA DECLARATION ON POLITICAL SITUATION IN BELARUS
"We regret that the Belarusian authorities did not recognize the desire for democratic change expressed by a significant parts of the Belarusian population and that they were, in the end, unable to use the window of opportunity offered by the October 15 parliamentary election to make progress," the Parliamentary Troika of the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe and the OSCE and the European Parliament said on October 16. On the occasion of its visit to Belarus on October 12-16 (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 42), the Troika welcomed the efforts made by the authorities to satisfy the democratic demands of the European institutions, but it considered that insufficient progress was achieved to establish: - genuine dialogue on key issues related to the parliamentary elections,
- access of opposition political parties to the state controlled mass media,
- actual separation of power to ensure independence of a future parliament,
- a period of peace with the discontinuation of the prosecution of political opponents by criminal and administrative court proceedings.

It urged the Belarusian authorities to comply with these criteria well in advance of the next year's presidential elections. "We understand the decisions of those opposition figures who chose to boycott the elections. We respect the courage of those who chose to participate in the elections despite the unsatisfactory conditions, and regret that the democratic opposition was unable to remain united. We would urge all true democratic forces to establish a common and credible strategy which offers a real choice to the people of Belarus," the Troika declared. "In line with its mandate, the Parliamentary Troika will continue in the future to offer its support, and the support of the institutions it represents, to the strengthening of the democratic process in Belarus that will lead to the normalization of the country's relations with the Council of Europe, the European Union and the OSCE and will thus increase peace and stability in the whole of Europe," the Troika concluded. (PACE, October 16)

BELARUSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS OSCE STATEMENT BIASED
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry promptly dismissed the above-mentioned report, saying it was "in sharp contrast with the conclusions of independent international monitors and the real situation in Belarus," reported Belapan. "The lack of objectivity of most of the ODIHR's conclusions support the fact that the negative assessment of the election was prejudged," the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. (Belapan, October 16)

APPARENT MANIPULATION OF SOME INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS IN BELARUS
On October 17, responding to a press statement issued by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) said that it cannot be associated with the conclusions of some international observers who appear to have been manipulated and noted the following:

"Some 150 international observers, with no relation to the OSCE/ODIHR, arrived mostly on the invitation of the Belarusian authorities to observe the October 15 parliamentary elections. They were present in country for only 4-5 days. The OSCE/ODIHR is informed that the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has offered to pay or has actually paid the hotel and other per diem expenses for some of these observers. On the election day, the CEC organized guided bus tours for some observers to visit polling stations. The CEC provided to these observers OSCE/ODIHR reporting forms, without the authorization of OSCE/ODIHR. At the end of the process, the CEC made these observers sign a prepared statement, which praised the elections. The OSCE/ODIHR only established a Technical Assessment Mission for these elections, and no short-term observers were deployed on the election day. Based on a month-long monitoring of the process, the Technical Assessment Mission produced detailed and documented findings, which were published on October 16 in a Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions," which can be found on the OSCE website at http://www.osce.org/odihr.

U.S. DISMISSES BELARUSIAN ELECTION AS UNDEMOCRATIC
The United States agrees with the conclusions of the OSCE and the European Parliamentary Troika that parliamentary elections in Belarus October 15 were not free, fair, or transparent, and says it will not accept the results. Following is the text of a statement made by Philip T. Reeker, deputy State Department spokesman.

"The United States supports the view of our European allies that the October 15 elections in Belarus were not free, fair, or transparent. The assessment mission of both the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Parliamentary Troika concluded that the elections failed to meet the international norms for democratic elections. The United States does not accept the results of the elections and will continue to recognize the democratically elected 13th Supreme Soviet, led by Chairman Semyon Sharetsky, as the legitimate parliament of Belarus. Free, fair and transparent elections are not defined solely by unhampered balloting on election day. Such balloting is part of the process that makes up a democratic election, which necessarily must also include an unfettered campaign with a free exchange of views. Despite repeated encouragement by the U.S., EU and OSCE to create a climate necessary for such a campaign, the Belarusian authorities made no significant progress in this area. The United States deeply regrets that the Belarusian authorities ignored the desire of a growing number of Belarusian citizens to return to democracy, and strongly condemns the gross abuses committed by the Lukashenko regime during the elections. Presidential elections planned for next year must be free of such abuses, or they too run the risk of not being accepted by the international community." (USIA, October 16)

On October 19, Josiah Rosenblatt, charge d'affaires for the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, told the OSCE Permanent Council that the recent parliamentary election in Belarus "are not worthy of its name." Following is the text of Rosenblatt's statement:

"We listened with great interest to Amb. Stoudmann's statement, and salute him for his clarity, specificity, and comprehensiveness. The United States supports the position just expressed by the European Union, and strongly believes that the elections held in Belarus on October 15 were not free, fair, or transparent."

"We also agree with the Chairperson-in-Office's conclusion that 'the four substantive criteria of the international community ­ greater transparency of the elections process, a climate of confidence and trust, regular access to state-controlled electronic mass media for opposition parties and, above all, the strengthening of the functions of the parliament -- will have to continue to serve as the basis for further democratic reforms leading to next year's presidential elections in Belarus.' Independently, both ODIHR and the European Parliamentary Troika have concluded that these elections failed to meet the minimum international norms for democratic elections."

"For these reasons, we strongly believe these 'elections' are not worthy of the name. True elections require more than people casting ballots on election day. They require unfettered campaigns with a free exchange of political views. They require transparent and credible tabulations of results. And they require an atmosphere of confidence and trust where candidates can express themselves openly - as opposed to the existing climate of pervasive fear, where political opponents disappear at night never to be seen again."

"The United States does not accept the results of these so-called 'elections' as valid, and will continue to recognize the democratically elected 13th Supreme Soviet, led by Semyon Sharetsky, as the legitimate parliament of Belarus. Like Amb. Stoudmann, we take exception to the accusations that the OSCE/ODIHR report displayed a 'lack of objectivity,' 'ignorance,' and was of 'biased and prejudged character,' as claimed in the press statement issued on October 17 by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"Moreover, we consider outrageous the reported efforts of the Central Election Commission (CEC) to manipulate the findings of independent observers in Belarus. In particular, the CEC's distribution of OSCE/ODIHR reporting forms, without the authorization of either body, as well as the Belarusian government's presentation of a pre-written statement praising the elections for these observers to sign, run entirely contrary to the basic principles of impartial observation and misrepresents OSCE and ODIHR's position. Confronted with facts like these, I leave it to each of us to judge where the 'lack of objectivity' and 'prejudged character' really lie. (USIA, October 19)

MINSK BLAMES US FOR INTERFERING IN OSCE'S WORK
On October 17, Ural Latypov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview to the Belarusian State TV that a negative assessment of the parliamentary election by the technical mission of the OSCE/ODIHR was due to the fact that "the US dominates the OSCE." "The conclusion of the Parliamentary Troika, based on the mission's report, cannot be used as a document determining whether or not the parliament is legitimate," Latypov said. "The US will continue to pursue the arm-twisting policy to ensure that Belarus is represented in the OSCE by deputies of the 13th Supreme Soviet with whom the US made a deal," the Lukashenko official concluded. (Interfax, October 17) On October 18, Mikhail Myasnikovich, chief of the Lukashenko administration, condemned the United States State Department's comments on the Belarusian vote as "slanderous." "I begin to think that Philip Reeker, US State Department spokesman, is following the Belarusian opposition's favorite methods of unfounded charges and slander," Myasnikovich said in an interview published by Sovetskaya Belarusiya, state-controlled daily. "His statements can only mean disrespect for the voters' will, arrogant intention to shamelessly trample on other countries, and rude interference into a sovereign state's internal affairs," the Lukashenko official added. "It would be fair for the US administration to provide actual proof supporting their serious charges," Myasnikovich said. (Belapan, October 19)

EU SLAMS BELARUS FOR IGNORING ELECTION ADVICE
On October 18, the European Union criticized Belarus for ignoring its recommendations to ensure the parliamentary election was fair. "The EU deplores the fact that, despite certain positive steps the Belarusian authorities did not sufficiently take into account recommendations made jointly by the OSCE, the EU and the Council of Europe," the EU said in a statement issued by France, which holds the rotating presidency. It listed the recommendations as "the establishment of a political truce with the opposition, free and fair access to the media for all political movements, a reform of the electoral code to guarantee the fairness of the vote and a change in parliament's role in order to give it real powers." "The EU renews its support for the process of democratization in Belarus and hopes that significant progress can be made during the next elections," the statement said. (EU, October 18)

CHRONICLE OF MASS DETENTIONS, FINES, AND HARASSMENT OF OPPOSITION
On October 12, Andrei Sinakov and Vladimir Kishkurny were detained on Skaryna Avenue in Minsk while passing out a special issue of Rabochy, containing calls to boycott the parliamentary election, and taken to the Leninski District Internal Affairs Directorate, where the law enforcers confiscated about 300 copies of the paper.

On the same day, the Vitebsk police arrested Sergei Grod, Alexsey Prokhor, Vladimir Pototsky, Yury Melnikov and Sergei Shapiro, all activists of the local branch of the BPF Adradzhenne, for staging an unsanctioned picket. The activists were brought to the Oktyabrsky District Internal Affairs Directorate, where a protocol was filed against them; they are to stand trial.

BPF press service reported on October 12 that Anna Zgodina, forth year student of the Mogilev State University was expelled for distributing the opposition printed materials, calling to boycott the elections.

On October 13, Yury Korban, head of the Contour Civic Initiative Center, was detained in Vitebsk for pasting "Boycott 2000" stickers and charged with "violation of the electoral legislation" under Art. 167, para 3 of the Belarusian Administrative Code, reported BPF Adradzhenne press service.

On the same day, Sergei Shinkevich and Valery Shcherbin were detained for holding a meeting with voters near the Academy of Science metro station in Minsk. The activists were taken to the nearest police station and charged with an administrative offence.

On October 14, Ludmila Gryaznova, deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet, was attacked by an unknown individual while meeting with voters in Minsk, reported BPF Adradzhenne press service. The assailant broke the deputy's glasses and verbally abused her. Police standing nearby did nothing to apprehend the attacker, but instead, arrested Gryaznova and took her to the Partizanski District Internal Affairs Directorate for interrogation.

Also on October 14, Vitally Makarenko and Andrei Kachurovsky, both activists of the Mogilev branch of the BPF Adradzhenne, were detained while passing out "Boycott 2000" leaflets. The activists spent three hours at the Centralny District Internal Affairs Directorate.

Leonid Mironov was detained at the Osipovichy railroad station while receiving a bag with copies of a special issue of Rabochy from an opposition activist from Minsk, reported BPF Adradzhenne press service. The time and place of the meeting was arranged by the activists during a telephone conversation, which was obviously tapped by police. Mironov was searched, all copies of the paper were confiscated.

On October 17, the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk acquitted opposition activists Natalya Emelyanova, Leonid Sadovsky and Andrei Tereshkov. On October 11, the activists were arrested for picketing the headquarters of the Belarusian KGB in Minsk and taken to the Leninski District Internal Affairs Directorate, where they were charged with administrative offence. During the hearing, Boris Gunter, public defender from Viasna Human Rights Center, showed the judge a video tape of an interview given by Ural Latypov to Padzei (Events), news program of the Belarusian state TV, where the official pledged that the authorities would no longer persecute people for advocating the boycott of the election. (BPF Adradzhenne press service- Charter 97, October 13-19)

REGIME ADOPTS AMENDMENTS TO ADMINISTRATIVE AND CRIMINAL CODES
At the eleventh hour, the Belarus legislature has abolished the article in the Administrative Code that made public calls for a boycott of elections punishable by a fine or up to two months of hard labor. The parliamentarians have also amended the Criminal Code to stiffen penalties for electoral offences. Now, "activities that prevent voters from freely exercising their electoral rights and involve use of force, fraud, or bribery," are punishable by three years in jail under amended Art. 130. The same punishment applies to actions interfering with the work of electoral commissions. Changes have also been introduced to Art. 131 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, which punishes electoral commission members and officials for tampering with election results or for violating the secrecy of the ballot. The offence may now is punishable by up to five years in jail with deprivation of the right to hold certain offices and perform certain duties. (Belapan, October 18)

ORTHODOX CHURCH SUPPORTS ANTI-SEMITIC CANDIDATE
The Belarusian Orthodox Church has supported infamous Vladimir Chartovich, head of the Orthodox Christian Initiative Publishing House, which published an anti-Semitic book entitled "War by the Law of Viciousness," as a candidate for a seat in the Belarusian parliament. [In March, 2000, the Association of Belarusian Jews and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee filed a complaint with the Sovetsky District Court in Minsk, citing anti-Semitic statements made by the book's authors and saying they fostered an unfriendly attitude toward Jews and provoked religious intolerance. The judge ruled that the book was "a product of academic polemics" and dismissed the case. On May 11, the Minsk City Court upheld his ruling (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 22)]. Minsk residents were given an opportunity to become acquainted with the candidate, when they found in their mailboxes a special issue of Preobrazhenie (Transfiguration), a newspaper of the Belarusian Exarchate, containing the candidate's electoral platform and an extensive interview with him, illustrated with photos. One of them shows Chartovich next to Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk. "In the submissive fashion of warped, Soviet style Orthodoxy, Filaret has given Lukashenko uncritical support for all of his anti-Semitic statements instead of using his international status as the head of the foreign relations of the Moscow Patriarchate to provide an independent voice for justice and freedom," commented Yakov Gutman, president of the International Association of Belarusian Jews. "The fact that anti-Semite Chartovich, a faithful servant of the regime, gained the support of the Belarusian Orthodox Church looks very logical for me," Gutman added. He said that with regret that "in democratic country the parliament would have long initiated hearings on attempts to incite ethnic hatred." (BBC, October 16)

REGIME CONTINUES HARASSMENT OF INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING HOUSE
On October 11, the Lukashenko regime froze the bank accounts of Magic Publishing House, the only remaining private publishing house in Belarus. [A month ago, on September 13, Minsk police raided the publishing house, without a warrant, confiscating 112,000 copies of a special issue of Rabochy, a newspaper of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union, devoted to the opposition-staged boycott campaign of the October 15 election. On September 19, the Pervomaisky District Court of Minsk fined Victor Ivashkevich, Rabochy editor-in-chief, BYR 13,000 (about $13) and Dmitry Kostukevich, Rabochy's general counsel, 5,200 BYR (about $5) for an alleged "violation of the election legislation" under Art. 167, para 3 of the Belarusian Administrative Code (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 38-39)]. The United States condemned the seizure, saying that it appears intended to silence the beleaguered free press in Belarus. "We have information that an order has been issued to seize Magic's equipment on October 16, the day after parliamentary elections," Richard Boucher, State Department Spokesman, pointed out in a October 16 statement. He urged the Belarusian authorities to rescind this order, to release the Magic's bank accounts, and to cease persecution of the independent press. "The Lukashenko regime's actions against the Magic Publishing House constitutes an additional and important piece of evidence that under the current conditions in Belarus it is almost impossible to hold truly free and fair elections. The U.S. will not recognize the results of elections in Belarus which are not democratic and we urge other governments to reinforce this same message with the Belarusian government," Boucher said in the statement. (USIA, October 16)

CORRESPONDENT OF MOSKOVSKIE NOVOSTI BEATEN UP IN MINSK
On October 12, around 9 p.m., Alexander Feduta, a correspondent of Moskovskie Novosti in Belarus, has been beaten up in his apartment building, suffering a concussion and broken nose. "I had just stepped out of the elevator into the dark hallway when I was punched in the face. The attacker was a tall man; I cannot describe him in more detail: it was dark and my face was all covered with blood," Feduta recalled. Feduta's wife Marina heard the door bell ring continuously and helped her husband, bent double, into the apartment. She called the police, which arrived some 20 minutes later. On September 15, Feduta was officially registered as an independent candidate deputy for the House of Representatives of the Belarusian National Assembly. As of that day he had two friends accompany him to his apartment. But on October 10-12 he was returning home along. "As soon as the registration went through, we began to receive threats and strings of profanities on the telephone and the pager," Feduta said. "Three weeks ago, the bulb and its holder disappeared from the hallway outside our door," Marina recalled. "I was going to buy a new holder, but a sales clerk told me they were of four basic types and I was not sure which one would fit, so we were left without lighting," she added with regret. The Belarusian state TV took a biased stance on the incident, saying that it could have occurred because the journalist was competing against Mikhail Chigir, an opposition leader, who is running in the same district. Feduta believes that the regime by any means will try to slander Chigir, who intends to run for the Belarusian presidency next year. He inclines to think that since he was the first to report in the press about the activities of the Russian National Unity in Belarus, the assailant might be the organization's member. ""Neither can I rule out that some other people are posing as Russian National Unity," Feduta added. The investigator told Feduta that the range of suspects has been established and that he will soon be called in for identification procedure. Alexander doubts that he will be able to identify his assailant as he did not see his face. Moskovskie Novosti has begun its own investigation. (MN, October 18)

CHIGIR'S WIFE RECEIVES A THREE-YEAR SUSPENDED JAIL SENTENCE
On October 17, Julia Chigir, wife of Mikhail Chigir, former prime minister, received a three-year suspended jail sentence for "malicious hooliganism." The incident occurred on May 19, 2000, when a sentence was announced in her husband's case. When all those who wished to attend the court hearing attempted to squeeze in the courtroom, a brawl began during which Mrs. Chigir was hurt (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 21, 30). "I unconsciously bit a policeman who kicked me," she said. The policeman ended up with seven stitches on his ear, the Belarusian prosecutor's office said. In her turn, Julia Chigir registered her injuries with legal medical experts. She then filed a complaint with the Frunzensky District prosecutor office of Minsk as a victim, but later was put on trial as attacking a policeman on duty. (Charter 97, October 18)
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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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