Belarus Project

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Belarus Updates, 2000
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BELARUS UPDATE Edited by Victor Cole Vol. 3, No. 50 December 2000 IN THIS ISSUE - Regime prepares for next year's presidential election - Lukashenko demands full commitment from law-enforcers - Ex-prime minister decides to challenge Lukashenko in election - Democratic NGOs are to coordinate activities ahead of election - U.S. Ambassador urges Belarus to cooperate with OSCE - Open Society Foundation vs. Lukashenko - Want to protest? Pay up! - Trials of opposition activists continue - Minsk courts refuse to hear defamation suit against Lukashenko - Imprisoned son of opposition leader forced to stop hunger strike -Independent trade union to protest against regime - Educators to strike for higher pay - New chief of presidential security service appointed --HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS REGIME GETS READY FOR NEXT YEAR'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION On December 4, at a meeting with Viktor Chikin, director of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company, who is also a deputy chair of the Minsk City Council and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, Lukashenko demanded that extreme measures be taken to "withstand pressure from the West" and to make sure that the population is provided with "objective" information about the current political events in the country and abroad. He accused "foreign patrons" of helping "ideologists of the Belarusian opposition" to create and impose on people various "myths" oriented toward "weakening [Belarusian] statehood and undermining socio-economic stability." State television, run by Lukashenko's loyal servant Chikin, went all out to launch an unabashed propaganda campaign directed against the democratic opposition and the West during this year's parliamentary elections. Preparing for the next year presidential election, the regime increased the budget of the Company by 250 per cent and allocated about the equivalent of $1.5 million to the pro-Lukashenko Belarusian Patriotic Youth Union, popularly referred to as "Lukamol," reported Narodnaya Volya, an independent newspaper. By denying the Belarusians of unbiased information, Lukashenko wants to made them "spiritual cripples" who cannot see any alternatives to him. (Belapan- Narodnaya Volya, December 4) LUKASHENKO DEMANDS FULL COMMITMENT FROM LAW-ENFORCERS On December 5, while introducing to the staff Viktor Sheiman, former secretary of the Belarusian State Security Council and newly appointed Belarusian Prosecutor General, the Belarusian leader expressed deep dissatisfaction with the work of the Prosecutor General's Office, reported Itar-Tass. "I cannot see any significant results in the struggle against corruption, organized crime and the corrupted opposition that is trying to seize power by any means with the large support of Western nations," Lukashenko said. He demanded that law-enforcement agencies "redouble their efforts to prevent destabilization of the state system." Lukashenko said that he expects the prosecutors to "become the driving force" behind the work of the entire law enforcement system in Belarus. (Itar-Tass, December 6) EX-PRIME MINISTER TO CHALLENGE LUKASHENKO IN ELECTION On December 5, Mikhail Chigir, former Belarusian prime minister, now active in opposition, confirmed his readiness to challenge Alexander Lukashenko in next year's presidential election, which according to Lydia Yermoshina, Chair of the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda, will be held in September 2001. The announcement came right after the Belarusian Supreme Court vacated a lower court judgment against him for alleged abuse of power and returned the case for further investigation on the grounds that it had been incomplete, reported Belapan. "You may congratulate me -- I am a free man now, enjoy all civil rights, including the right to register as a presidential candidate, which I will do in 2001," Chigir told Reuters. [On May 19, the Minsk City Court had found Chigir guilty of "criminal negligence" and "abuse of power resulting in serious damage to the state budget" under Articles 167-168 of the Belarusian Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison with a two-year reprieve (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 21). The former prime minister called the sentence "legally absurd" and appealed it.-Ed.]. Although a Supreme Court official stressed that the decision does not mean a final acquittal yet, the ex-premier shrugged this off. "To send the case back to the prosecutor's office for further investigation means quietly to bury this story without recognizing anyone's guilt," he said. In October, despite the decision of the Congress of Belarussian Democratic Forces to boycott the parliamentary election, Chigir ran for a parliamentary seat but quit the fight after a first round, accusing the authorities of fraud. (Interfax-Reuters, December 6) DEMOCRATIC NGOS TO COORDINATE ACTIVITIES AHEAD OF ELECTION On December 3, at a session of the Assembly of the NGOs, a coalition of democratic non-governmental organizations, 11 Belarusian NGOs expressed their support of the resolution adopted by the Coordinating Council of the Belarusian Democratic Forces to nominate a single candidate from the opposition for the presidency and decided to create a new association, which will coordinate their activities ahead of the presidential election, reported Nasha Svaboda, an independent newspaper. Oleg Volchek, chair of the Public Legal Aid Association, Oleg Beliatsky, head of Viasna Human Rights Center, and Nikolai Glushko, an opposition activist from the Gomel Region, have been asked to prepare all documents necessary to register the association with the Ministry of Justice. "We want to unite our efforts in order to pull Belarus, which now has the dubious distinction of being the sole remaining autocracy in Europe, from dictatorship toward democracy," Volchek said. (Nasha Svaboda, December 5) U.S. AMBASSADOR URGES BELARUS TO COOPERATE WITH OSCE On December 7, Amb. David T. Johnson, U.S. permanent representative to the OSCE, in a statement to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, urged Belarus to cooperate with the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Minsk. The statement came as response to the "doubts" expressed by Lukashenko at the November 28's meeting with the KGB leadership whether it makes sense for the OSCE AMG to stay in the country any longer since the Belarus's authorities "had learned all they could from the OSCE" (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 49). Following is the text of Johnson's statement: "We share your strong support for the important work of the Advisory and Monitoring Group in Minsk. We believe that it continues to play a valuable role in assisting Belarus to meet its OSCE commitments, particularly during the run-up to Presidential election next year." "An active Assistance and Monitoring Group can provide invaluable assistance to the Belarusian authorities in helping those authorities implement the requirements of the criteria established by the OSCE Troika with respect to the presidential election. The AMG has already laid a key cornerstone for democratic presidential election by training a team of domestic observers. These experienced observers rendered democracy in Belarus a vital service in the last elections. The AMG's continued support of a domestic observation effort will help the Belarusian authorities ensure that the presidential election is indeed democratic." "Madame Chairperson, when the Permanent Council adopted a clear mandate for the AMG it set it for two tasks -- to assist the Belarusian authorities in promoting democratic institutions and in complying with other OSCE commitments and to monitor and report on this process. Ambassador Wieck and his colleagues have demonstrated a high degree of integrity and commitment in faithfully carrying out this mandate. AMG activities in support of civil society, development of the media, and monitoring of commitments are not only consistent with that mandate, but central to its fulfillment." "We urge the Government of Belarus to extend to the AMG its full cooperation and support as a way to signal its determination to meet its OSCE commitments and to carry out truly democratic presidential election." (USIA, December 7) OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATION VS. LUKASHENKO Belapan reported that on December 1-5, the Belarusian Supreme Economic Court considered the case filed by the New York-based Open Society Foundation, founded by George Soros, prominent American financier and philanthropist, against the Lukashenko government over its seizure of the Foundation-owned printing equipment in Magic Publishing House. 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 parliamentary 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. On October 11, the Lukashenko regime froze the bank accounts of the House and five days later, seized Magic's equipment. The Soros Foundation accused the Lukashenko regime of silencing the beleaguered free press in Belarus and having no respect for private property. It urged the Belarusian authorities to return the equipment to its owner and to cease the harassment of the independent press. The hearings revealed the fact that the tax police representatives did not acquaint themselves properly with the documentation, on the basis of which they had seized the equipment, insisting that the property was confiscated to compensate the Foundation's debt to the state. The judge ruled to summon to the court representatives of the Foundation. The next hearing is scheduled for December 12. (BAJ, December 6) HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS APPEAL TO DICTATOR On December 7, participants of the USIA's International Visitors Program, a special training program for human rights activists around the world held in the U. S. on November 16 - December 7, signed an appeal condemning Alexander Lukashenko for illegally extending the term of office, 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, and defaming the national culture and the Belarusian language, reported Charter 97. They 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. (Charter 97, December 8) IMPRISONED SON OF OPPOSITION LEADER FORCED TO STOP HUNGER STRIKE Dmitry Obodovsky, 26, son of Sergei Obodovsky, director of the Mogilev Human Rights Center and lawyer of the Mogilev Branch of the Free Trade Union, was forced to end his hunger strike and take food. The administration of the correctional institution, where Dmitry has been held, declared that he himself decided to stop the fast, which he started on November 18 in protest of his verdict (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 48). In the summer of 1999, Dmitry was accused of larceny and sentenced to five years and three months in prison. Appealing the sentence, Dmitry's lawyers insisted that serious irregularities occurred during the preliminary investigation and the trial, which was closed to the public. The Mogilev Regional Court sent the case for re-trial, which began in the Tsentralny District Court of Mogilev on August 25, 2000. Local observers believe that Dmitry's persecution is an attempt by the authorities to hinder the opposition activities of his father. In an open letter to the prosecutor, Dmitry wrote that he considers the hunger strike the only possibility to draw public attention to his case, which shows that in its efforts to silence the political opponents, the regime is not above perverting justice and using its oft-tried methods of unfounded charges and slander. In response, investigator Ivan Gladkov wrote that Dmitry's sentence cannot be changed or reduced. (Charter 97, December 6) LOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RECEIVES HEAVY FINE On December 7, the Slutsk City Court fined Alexander Kotlyarov, chair of the Slutsk branch of the United Civic Party, 150 minimal wages (about $525) for alleged participation in mass actions which violated public order under Art. 167, para 1, of the Administrative Offenses Code, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. The activist was arrested on October 8 during the Freedom March in downtown Slutsk, Minsk Region; the rally was not sanctioned by the local authorities. If Kotlyarov fails to pay the fine by December 11, he may face a property confiscation. Under Art. 268 of the Belarusian Administrative Offenses Code, all imposed fined should be paid within two weeks after the sentence announcement. However, an individual is subject to the confiscation of his property only if he does not receive any salary or pension. Alexander Kotlyarov lives on a tiny pension, from which the fine should be gradually deducted over time. He intends to appeal the verdict in the Minsk Regional Court. (Viasna Human Rights Center, December 8) WANT TO PROTEST? PAY UP! With Belarus mired in misery and widespread poverty, the regime is desperate to find new sources to feed the growing army of law-enforcers. Viasna Human Rights Center reported that the authorities in Slutsk, Minsk Region, were willing to permit the local opposition to stage a protest at a local stadium on the Human Rights Defenders Day, if they pay in advance to the City Council six minimum wages (about $21) to ensure "the protection of public order." In the event that the organizers of the picket fail to make a payment, the picket would be considered unauthorized. (Viasna, December 7) OPPOSITION ACTIVIST REPRIMANDED On December 6, the Pervomaisky District Court of Minsk reprimanded Sergei Pyanych for participation in mass actions which violated public order under Art. 167, para 1, of the Administrative Offenses Code, reported Charter 97. The opposition activist were arrested on November 12 during a peaceful youth protest against the Lukashenko regime called Changes! (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 47). (Charter 97, December 6) MINSK COURTS REFUSE TO HEAR DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST LUKASHENKO Another District Court of Minsk refused to hear a defamation suit filed by Anatoly Lebedko, chair of the opposition United Civic Party, against the Belarusian strongman, reported Interfax. The Frunzensky District Court of Minsk rejected Lebedko's suit on the grounds that it does not consider a statement made by Lukashenko as slanderous. The opposition leader has been notified that the president's statement is "just a personal opinion expressed during an open discussion." On October 15, while casting his ballot at a Minsk polling station, Alexander Lukashenko accused Lebedko of receiving $1,500 from the OSCE AMG in Belarus (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 43). Lebedko demanded from the Belarusian leader produce evidence to support the accusations. In mid-November 2000, the Partizanski District Court of Minsk refused to start legal proceedings against Lukashenko on the pretext that the defendant does not reside in the Partizanski district of the Belarusian capital (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 48). Lebedko is determined to take an appeal against the district courts' decision to a higher court. (Interfax, December 6) INDEPENDENT TRADE UNION TO PROTEST AGAINST REGIME On December 6, Gennady Bykov and Anatoly Gurinovich, leaders of the Independent Trade Union of Belarus, applied to the Minsk City Council for permission to stage a rally and a meeting with workers on December 18 near the Minsk Tractor Plant in Minsk to urge the Lukashenko regime to cease its violation of the rights of Union members and improve deteriorating living conditions in the country, reported Charter 97. Quoting suppression of trade union movements and workers' rights, as well as other human rights, the U.S. recently suspended Belarus's benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 28-29). The Lukashenko administration had accused trade union leaders of imposing on Belarus's public opinion and the world community a "groundless" theory about the infringement of trade union rights by the authorities. (Charter 97, December 7) EDUCATORS TO STRIKE FOR HIGHER PAY Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, an independent newspaper, reported that about 160,000 school teachers and college professors 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. "Give us a chance to survive," wrote the educators in the appeal. The monthly salary of a school teacher is 20,000 (about $20). (Belarusskaya delovaya gazeta, December 4) --AT HOME IN BELARUS-- NEW CHIEF OF PRESIDENTIAL SECURITY SERVICE APPOINTED On December 4, Gen. Gennady Niavihlas, former deputy chair of the Belarusian State Border Troops Committee, was appointed as chief of the presidential security service, reported Belapan. Niavihlas replaced Leonid Yerin, who became the KGB chief. (Belapan, December 4) FALLING NUMBER OF CONSCRIPTS WILLING TO FULFIL THEIR "PATRIOTIC DUTY" On December 5, Gen. Mikhail Kaurin, chief of the Belarussian General Staff mobilization department, told the Military News Agency that the Belarusian Armed Forces and other law-enforcement agencies are planning to draft 18,000 men by January 2001. He complained that the current draft has run into lots of difficulties caused primarily by the unfavorable demographic situation in the country. Even if the authorities cancel all benefits and deferments it will be impossible to fill all the vacancies in the Armed Forces five-six years from now, Kaurin said, adding that the planned Armed Forces reduction, recently announced by Alexander Lukashenko, "is right and timely." [Military service in the country remained compulsory. There are no provisions for conscientious objection in the Constitution.- Ed.] (Military News Agency, December 5) VISIT OUR PARTNER, CHARTER 97, AT www.charter97.org -CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS- December 10- opposition to mark the International Human Rights Defenders Day December 18 - Democratic Trade Unions to stage rally in Minsk ********************************************************************** 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**