Belarus Project

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Belarus Updates, 2000
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BELARUS UPDATE Edited by Victor Cole Vol. 3, No. 45 November 2000 IN THIS ISSUE: - Second Round of Election Held - Decade of Independence, Nothing to Brag About - Post-Election Political Harassment Continues - Mass Arrests of Opposition at Dzyady rallies - New Crackdown on Independent Press - Democratic Opposition to Nominate Single Candidate for Presidency - Minsk Teachers to Strike --HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS— SECOND ROUND OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION On October 29, runoff votes in a Belarusian rigged parliamentary election were held in 56 Belarusian districts. The election was seen by many local and international observers as a showdown before next year's presidential poll. No candidate had won more than half the votes cast in the first round held on October 15. After the first round of the elections, the opposition parties accused the regime of election fraud in favor of backers of Lukashenko and decided to boycott the October 29 runoff. About 5,500 domestic election observers worked at 3,500 polling stations during the first round and asserted that the required 50 percent threshold was not met in more than a third of the districts. According to the observers, the nationwide turnout was about 40 percent, rather than the 60 percent claimed by the regime. The observers documented 80 various ways employed by the electoral officials to manipulate the vote count. Citing interference with the judiciary and pro-government bias in the state-controlled media, the U.S., EU, and OSCE agreed that the first round of voting did not meet international standards for democratic elections and decided not to send observers to the runoff. On October 29, the Minsk authorities, apparently stung by a low turnout in the first round, organized street fairs offering residents cheap vegetables and fruits, while radio and television called on voters to turn up at polling stations. "The elections took place calmly and we have had no complaints, unlike the first round," Lydia Yermoshina, Chair of the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda, told journalists at October 30's press conference in Minsk. Yermoshina claimed turnout in the second round was 52.64 percent. [Election rules stipulate that 50 percent of eligible voters must cast ballots in the first round of parliamentary elections to make them valid and at least 25 percent must participate to make the run-off election valid.-Ed.]. She said that after runoff vote, a total of 97 deputies had been elected to the 110-seat House of Representatives. The total included 56 members, who won seats during the runoff. Repeat polls will be held in 13 constituencies where the low turnout invalidated the result, Yermoshina said. The new Chamber of Representatives, which convenes on November 27, will have many new faces, with only about 30 lawmakers from the previous parliament. Local political experts say the new assembly will be largely loyal to Lukashenko. None of the leading opposition parties won seats in the parliament, and several of those who made it into the runoff dropped out, saying the results of the election were falsified in favor of pro-Lukashenko candidates. Officials say that by ignoring the election the opposition has distanced itself from Belarus's political arena. "A certain selection has taken place - those who support the [state] system in general, have been elected to parliament, while those who want to march in the street have been left on the sidelines of political life," Sergei Posokhov, Lukashenko's aide on political issues told Reuters. (Belapan, Reuters, October 29-31 ) NGO ACCUSES AUTHORITIES OF FORCING PEOPLE TO VOTE The Belarusian Helsinki Committee accused the regime of falsifying the results of both rounds. The Committee said that mass violations of the electoral code mean the newly elected legislature should not be recognized as legitimate. According to the Committee, the most flagrant violations included compulsory early voting in military units and institutions of higher learning as well as the doctoring of election lists to obtain the necessary turnout figures. The committee also noted that at many polling stations observers from NGOs were not allowed to observe the vote count and were not given copies of the official reports on voting results. According to Oleg Gulak, BHC Executive Director, before the second round of the elections, the organization obtained a confidential document sent by the Brest Regional Council to all local electoral commissions titled "On Some Measures to Organize The Second Round of The Elections," which reads that heads of enterprises, organizations, and farms should be at work on the day of the runoff and are personally responsible for sending their personnel to polling stations. Gulak said that similar instructions were issued in other Belarusian regions. "Coerced voting is a crime," he commented, adding that the Committee is planning to file complaints with a court. (BHC, October 30) US CONGRESS: DEMOCRACY DENIED IN BELARUS On October 19, Sen. Ben Campbell (R-CO), Co-Chair of the Helsinki Commission of the U.S. Congress, said that instead of using the elections process to return Belarus to the path of democracy and end that country's self-isolation, Alexander Lukashenko tightened his grip on power, launched an intensified campaign of harassment against the democratic opposition and fledgling independent media. The Senator said that after Slobodan Milosevic's ouster, "Belarus now has the dubious distinction of being the sole remaining dictatorship in Europe," adding that "misguided steps toward recognition of the results of Belarus's flawed parliamentary election would only serve to bolster Mr. Lukashenko in the lead up to presidential election slated for next year." Sen. Campbell pledged to continue to work with his colleagues to "support the people of Belarus in their quest to move beyond dictatorship to genuine democracy." (Congressional Records, October 19) On October 25, the U. S. House of Representatives passed a resolution (H. Con. Res. 153) sponsored by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Baltic Caucus Co-Chair, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Helsinki Commission Co-Chair, and Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemning Alexander Lukashenko for an illegitimate and undemocratic parliamentary election on October 15; intimidation of the democratic opposition by beating, harassing, arresting, and sentencing its members for supporting a boycott of the election even though Belarus does not contain a legal ban on efforts to boycott elections; failure to provide the democratic opposition a role in the Central Election Commission and fair and equal access to state-controlled television and radio and slandering it instead by the state-controlled media; denial of the vast majority of independent candidates opposed to the regime the right to register as candidates in the election; dismissal of the OSCE's recommendations for making the election law in Belarus consistent with OSCE standards. The U. S. Congress called upon Lukashenko and his regime to provide a full accounting of the disappearances of individuals in the country, and release of all imprisoned for their political views. The full text of the resolution can be found at: http://thomas.loc.gov/ and searching for HCONRES 153). On October 26, Rep. Christopher H. Smith ( R-NJ), Chair of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, said that the parliamentary election in Belarus "represents a continuing pattern of violations of human rights and the erosion of democracy which has haunted Belarus throughout the last six years of Alexander Lukashenko's rule." "The OSCE and other European institutions, as well as the State Department, all concluded that this election were not free, fair and transparent and that they failed to meet the international norms for democratic elections," Rep. Smith said. "We witnessed the denial of registration to many opposition candidates; detentions and fines of individuals advocating a boycott of the elections; confiscation of 100,000 copies of an independent newspaper among other examples of harassment of the opposition; rampant governmental interference in the election process and extensive irregularities on election day itself," Rep Smith said. The full text of his statement can be found at http://www.house.gov/csce DECADE OF INDEPENDENCE, NOTHING BRAG ABOUT On October 29, Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), congratulated the Belarusian-American Foundation on its 50th anniversary. "Over nearly a decade of independence, the promise of democracy, freedom of expression and association, and the flowering of a national identity have not come to pass for the Belarusian people," Rep. Pallone said. "The fault for this sad state of affairs rests, as all of us know, with Alexander Lukashenko," he added. Pallone accused the Belarusian strongman of illegally extending the term of office beyond the legally mandated expiration date, monopolization of the mass media, undermining the constitutional foundation for the separation of powers, using intimidation and strong-arm tactics against the political opposition, suppressing freedom of the press and expression, defaming the national culture and the Belarusian language, and eroding Belarus's rightful position as a sovereign nation. He expressed his gratitude to the Association for all its efforts and confirmed his desire to continue to work together to "pursue real democracy, and truly free and fair elections that comply with OSCE principles and the Helsinki Accords." The full text of Pallone's statement can be found at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query 13TH SUPREME SOVIET IS STILL RECOGNIZED On November 2, at session of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, Amb. Hans-Georg Wieck, head of the OSCE AMG in Belarus, presented a report on the Belarusian parliamentary election. Amb. David T. Johnson agreed that the elections "were indeed a setback for democracy" and that "the 13th Supreme Soviet, led by Semyon Sharetski, should continue to be accepted by the international community as the legitimate parliament of Belarus." "Belarusian authorities assert that Lukashenko enjoys the overwhelming popular support of Belarusians," Johnson said, adding that the proposition should be "put to the test." "If he [Lukashenko] holds free, fair and transparent election that allows for a real contest with the opposition, we will be the first to accept its outcome," Johnson said. He reminded the Belarusian authorities that in order to hold free and fair election next year they have to meet the four criteria, established by the Troika: - allow the democratic opposition access to the state-controlled media; - comply with human rights standards, including the release of political prisoners and an end to show trials; - reform the electoral code in keeping with ODIHR's recommendations; - work with the AMG, ODIHR and the Parliamentary Troika and engage in a dialogue with the opposition and the NGO community. Amb. Johnson reaffirmed the U.S. support for Amb. Wieck and his staff in their efforts to promote a return to democracy in Belarus. For the full text of the statement, go to www.usia.government. BELARUSIAN PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS US CONGRESS RESOLUTION On November 3, the Council of Republic, upper chamber of the Belarusian National Assembly, condemned the U.S. Congressional resolution, H. Con. Res. 153, saying it was "in sharp contrast with the conclusions of independent international monitors and the real situation in Belarus," reported Interfax. "Over 140 international observers from 25 countries confirmed that the election was democratic and transparent," said the members of the Lukashenko hand-picked parliament in a statement. The deputies expressed hope that "the new members of the U.S. Congress will adopt a more constructive attitude and will seek cooperation with Belarus." (Interfax, November 2) CHRONICLE OF DETENTIONS, FINES, AND HARASSMENT OF OPPOSITION On October 25, Sergei Shestack, student of the Belarusian State Polytechnic Academy, was fined 8,000 BYB (about $ 8) for alleged "distributing of printed materials not registered with the Belarusian Ministry of Justice" under Art. 172 of the Belarusian Administrative Code, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. On October 7, the activists was detained by the police in Lida, Minsk Region, while pasting "Boycott 2000" sticker to the wall of a local supermarket. He was taken to the police station, where a protocol was filed. On October 28, Elena Balabanovich and Elena Korotkaya were detained near Pushkinskaya metro station in Minsk for distributing Nasha Svaboda, an independent newspaper, reported Charter 97. The girls were taken to the Frunzensky District Internal Affairs Directorate and charged with alleged "violation of the election legislation" under Art. 167, para 3 of the Belarusian Administrative Code. The police confiscated all copies of the newspaper, but did not file any protocols. On October 30, Stanislav Karashchenko, 19-year-old activist of the Viasna Human Rights Center, was attacked by three unidentified men near the organization's headquarters in Minsk. The assailants knocked him off his feet and started kicking. The opposition activist have chosen not to contact the police fearing that instead of searching for hooligans, the law-enforces will try to find any reason to charge him with some kind of illegal activities. (Belapan, October 31) On October 31, the Leninski District Court of Bobruisk, Mogilev Region, reprimanded Sergei Shendarev, chair of the local branch of the BPF Adradzhenne, who had been accused of staging an unsanctioned meeting on October 8, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. In the court room the opposition leader and his public defender Yevgeny Chepuryshkin, head of the local branch of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, insisted that Shendarev was holding meeting with voters and such gatherings are not prohibited by election legislation. On November 2, Minsk police arrested 11 activists of the opposition youth organizations for distributing leaflets calling on Belarusian citizens to take part in the opposition-staged action called "Changes," scheduled for November 12 and already banned by the Minsk City Council. (Viasna Human Rights Center, October 26 - November 3) MASS DETENTIONS OF OPPOSITION DURING DZYADY RALLY On October 29, commemorating Dzyady, the ancestors' remembrance day, about 1,000 activists of the BPF Adradzhenne, carrying candles and ringing bells, marched from Minsk city center to Kurapaty, the site of mass graves of thousands of victims of the Stalinist repressions in the 1930s. The six-mile walk to the Kurapaty burial site has become an annual tradition to honor memory of those who were killed during Joseph Stalin's terror. Speaking at the rally, Yuri Belenki, acting BPF Adradzhenne chair, said that the current Belarusian leadership follows into steps of "those who once shot innocent people in the back of the heads." The same day, about 30 BPF opposition activists in Mogilev held an unauthorized rally near the Cross of Memory, erected to commemorate the memory of the victims of Stalinist repressions. Numerous policemen watched the meeting and videotaped the protesters, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. Later, the police detained Andrei Kavalov, head of the local branch of the Malady Front, who was holding a poster "Our Ancestors are With Us," and Sergei Girkin, activist of the local branch of the BPF Adradzhenne, who one day prior to the rally applied to the Mogilev City Council for a permission to stage it. The activists were accused of staging an unsanctioned meeting and to stand trial. Mass detentions of opposition activists were carried out by the police in Grodno. On November 1, local activists gathered near a board of honor at a local rail road station, commemorating the riot of liberation, led by Kastus Kalinovsky, Belarusian national hero, reported BPF press service. From there the activists marched to the campus of the Grodno State University to lay flowers at the monument to Yanka Kupala, famous Belarusian poet. All of a sudden, a few dozen police cars surrounded the marchers, and the policemen started manhunt. Twenty three activists, including young girls and women, were forced into the cars and brought to the Leninski District Internal Affairs Directorate, were protocols were filed. Alexander Michalchik, elderly member of the local branch of the BPF Adradzhenne, Mikola Varona, and Petr Anisimov, two other BPF activists, who tried to resist to the police brutality, were thrown on the muddy ground and severely beaten up. (Viasna, BPF Adradzhenne press service, October 29-November 2) NEW CRACKDOWN ON INDEPENDENT PRESS On October 26, Oleg Bozhelko, Belarusian Prosecutor-General, warned journalists in Minsk that those of them who disseminate slandering reports about Lukashenko and other high rank officials may face criminal charges. He cited Narodnaya Volya and Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, two independent newspapers, as periodicals that "on a regular basis libel the Belarusian leadership." Mikhail Sukhinin, Head of the Department of Registration of Public Organizations at the Belarusian Ministry of Justice, added that in accordance with the law "On the Press" a newspaper that published information about any organizations not registered with the Ministry, will be warned or shut down. As a recent example of such violation, he cited Narodnaya Volya, which published information about activities of two NGOs: Choice-2001 Committee, established by the Belarusian democratic opposition to promote opposition candidates who decide to run for the Belarusian presidency next year; and Civic Initiative, a Grodno-based NGO, promoting consolidation of democratic forces in the Region. Fearing that due to deliberately complicated re-registration procedure most of the country's independent media outlets will be closed, the Belarusian Association of Journalists has appealed to international organizations to send their experts in Belarus to study the situation on the spot. In accordance with reminder letters sent by the State Committee on Press, all Belarusian independent newspapers should be re-registered by January 2001. (BBC, Belapan, October 30 - November 3) DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION TO NOMINATE SINGLE CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENCY On November 2, the Coordinating Council of the Belarusian Democratic Forces adopted a resolution, stating that the Council decided to nominate a single democratic candidate for the presidency. Nikolai Statkevich, chair of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, who unsuccessfully ran in the elections, vote against the resolution. (Belapan, November 3) BLDP LEADER TO RUN FOR PRESIDENCY NEXT YEAR On October 31, Sergei Gaidukevich, chair of the Belarusian Liberal Democratic Party, told Interfax that he will run for the Belarusian presidency next year in case he receives a unanimous support of all opposition parties. Shortly before that announcement, Mikhail Chigir, former prime minister and opposition leader, expressed his intention to participate in the next year presidential campaign. Lukashenko, who extended his term of office by two years to 2001, boosted his powers and dissolved the opposition-led parliament through a 1996 referendum, has said he will seek re-election and expects to win. If re-elected, the new five-year term will be his last. Some local observers believe that Moscow would like to see Vladimir Yarmoshyn, Belarusian prime minister, as the Belarusian next president instead of unpredictable Lukashenko. To prevent any farther speculation, Lydia Yermoshina told journalists that since Yarmoshyn was born in Russia, he is not eligible under Belarusian legislation to run for the Belarusian presidency. According to Yermoshina, a presidential ballot must be held no later than September 27, 2001. (Interfax, October 31) PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE ALLOWED TO MEET WITH HIS WIFE Charter 97 reported that Tatyana Klimova, wife of Andrei Klimov, imprisoned deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet, was allowed to spend three days with her husband on the premises of the correctional institution, were the deputy serves his term. [Klimov was accused of an alleged financial malfeasance and sentenced to six years; his conviction was upheld by an appellate court on August 22. He was severely beaten in prison last December and then denied proper medical treatment.-Ed.] (Charter 97, November 3) MINSK TEACHERS TO STRIKE FOR HIGHER PAY, DEMAND REFORMS Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, an independent newspaper, reported that about 20,000 Minsk teachers have signed an appeal to the government demanding higher salaries and threatening to go on strike if the authorities fail to improve their poor living conditions by the end of this year. "We demand a change of the outdated course of the economic development of our state, development opportunities for industry, agriculture, and business, which will give us all a chance to survive," wrote the educators in the appeal. The monthly salary of a teacher is 14,500 BYB (about $14). (Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, November 1) --AT HOME IN BELARUS-- LUKASHENKO PROMISES TO SHARE POWER Speaking to reporters after casting his vote in a runoff in parliamentary elections, Alexander Lukashenko, said he might share some of his powers with the parliament. Lukashenko said that a "period of anarchy and chaos," which "compelled" him to assume sweeping powers was over. "It is possible to hand over some of the president's powers to parliament and certain steps will be taken prior to the presidential election [next year]," he said. "After the presidential election, we will take an important step. Maybe we will have to initiate a referendum to make the constitution more flexible," the Belarusian leader said. Lukashenko also said to his impoverished compatriots that he intends to trim country's armed forces because "we can no longer afford such a huge army." He did not give any details of how large cuts would be or when the changes would be made. Like the military in many former Soviet republics, the Belarusian army is poorly funded. Belarus inherited a large conventional force and nuclear arsenal when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Five years later, Lukashenko gave up the nuclear weapons to Russia. (Belapan, October 30) ...BUT BLASTS MARKET REFORMS On October 27, a few days before the runoff, in an emotional speech to the students of the agricultural institute in the eastern Mogilev Region, of which he is an alumnus, the Belarusian leader promised to continue the policy of tight state regulation of the economy and ignore market reforms. "If we had pressed reforms, we would be eking out a miserable existence," he said, adding that "some may not like my policies, but they'd better get used to them." Belarus, he said, could not afford experiments with "wild" reforms. Lukashenko, once director of a state farm, may have had some trouble persuading a young audience less and less willing to enter the farming sector, where monthly wages as low as $10. Some students told him that farmers now bringing in a reasonable grain harvest after two disastrous crops had little incentive. They sought changes to allow broad private ownership of land. Lukashenko replied that land privatization has been removed from his agenda. "Belarus would never be a country of private landowners," he said. The Belarusian leader also denounced as unfair the West's criticism of the parliamentary election. "In the run up to the election, we came under enormous pressure. Now, they are kicking us from below, from above, left and right," he said. "As a nation, we deserve our place in the world. We will demand respect for our people and the country." (Reuters, October 28) OPPOSITION SKEPTICAL ABOUT LUKASHENKO'S PLANS TO SHARE POWER Both domestic opponents and foreign diplomats expressed skepticism about Lukashenko's remarks that he might share some of his sweeping powers with the government or parliament. On October 29, Yuri Belenki, acting chair of the BPF Adradzhenne, said that a referendum on power sharing might be a ploy to keep Lukashenko in office. "Lukashenko is not the kind of person who can share anything, let alone, state power," the opposition leader added. (Belapan, October 30) -CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS - November 12- the opposition youth organizations to stage protests in many 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**