Belarus Project

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Belarus Updates, 2000
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BELARUS UPDATE Edited by Victor Cole Vol. 3, No. 51 December 2000 IN THIS ISSUE - KGB ordered to root out subversive Western influence - State TV accuses OSCE and U.S. of helping dissident groups in Belarus - U.S. refutes allegations of Belarusian TV - OSCE: Our activities in Belarus are within mandate - Detentions of opposition activists during Human Rights Day protests - Local journalists abused by police, charged with slander - Suspect in journalist's killing denied release from jail - Open Society Foundation vs. Lukashenko - Regime continues to restrict religious freedom - No future for Jewish community in Belarus? --HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS KGB ORDERED TO ROOT OUT SUBVERSIVE WESTERN INFLUENCE Resorting to desperate measures in an effort to keep its grip on power, the Lukashenko regime continues to use its favorite weapon - vicious propaganda against its opponents. On December 13, Leonid Yerin, newly appointed chief of the Belarusian State Security Council (KGB), accused the United States and the OSCE of teaming up with the opposition to subvert the existing state order, reported Belapan. "U.S. diplomats have put themselves above Belarusian law and international norms, actively helping Belarus's radical opposition, which strives to overthrow the government," Yerin said. "Several European countries and the U.S. use their official influence to keep Belarus politically and economically isolated," the Lukashenko official added. The KGB chief also accused the OSCE AMG of taking actions beyond its mandate and "boosting anti-president orientated political structures on the eve of the presidential election." The KGB is vigilant and will stay on alert, since the hardest battle--the presidential election--is still ahead, Yerin warned. (Belapan, December 13) STATE TV ACCUSES OSCE, U.S. OF HELPING SUBVERSIVE GROUPS IN BELARUS The OSCE mission in Belarus has long annoyed official Minsk, since it has criticized the Belarusian government for human rights violations and fraud in the recent parliamentary election. On December 8-9, the Belarusian State TV accused the OSCE AMG of being involved "in anti-Belarusian and anti-constitutional activities" and supporting "subversive groups and the radical opposition" in their illegal attempts to seize power. State TV also claimed -- falsely --that during a meeting with the management of the George Marshall Research Center in the German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Daniel Speckhard, former U.S. ambassador to Belarus, called on the European Union on behalf of the U.S. Administration to introduce trade and economic sanctions against Belarus. State TV alleged that Speckhard vowed to continue support of "rebellious activities of the Belarusian opposition" and recommended that the OSCE mission in Minsk to redouble its efforts to unite the opposition ahead of the presidential election. (Belapan, December 11) U.S. REFUTE ALLEGATIONS BY BELARUSIAN TV In a December 11 letter to the Belarusian Ambassador in Brussels, Speckhard called the Belarusian TV report about his alleged statements against Belarus "a fabrication from start to finish," adding that he was appalled at the brazen nature of the effort to influence public opinion with such obvious lies, and was deeply disturbed by the attempts of the Belarusian authorities to discredit him in the eyes of the Belarusian public. On December 12, the U.S. Embassy urged State Belarusian TV to find the courage to admit the false nature of the report and to air a public apology to the Ambassador. "It would be impossible for Amb. Speckhard to have made comments about recent political events in Belarus to an audience at the Marshall Center simply because he hasn't been to the Marshall Center for almost three years," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. Amb. Speckhard has never called for economic and trade sanctions against Belarus, it said. Moreover, since he departed Minsk, Amb. Speckhard has not been speaking on behalf of the U.S. Administration, because he now works for all 19 nations at the NATO headquarters in Brussels and reports to the Secretary-General Lord Robertson, the Embassy said. (US Embassy in Minsk, December 12) OSCE CAN PLAY A VALUABLE ROLE IN BELARUS On December 11, Amb. Jutta Stefan-Bastl, chair of the OSCE Permanent Council, issued a statement concerning the recent remarks made by Alexander Lukashenko and other Belarusian officials about the future work of OSCE AMG in Belarus. [Lukashenko recently stated that it was time to think about the role and place of the AMG in Belarus (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 49)]. "The Austrian OSCE Chairmanship firmly believes that the AMG can still play an important and valuable role in Belarus," the Ambassador said, adding that it is important to keep up the dialogue between the OSCE and the Belarusian government, as well as the opposition political forces to support the building up a well-functioning civil society. Amb. Jutta Stefan-Bastl confirmed the OSCE AMG's readiness to furthermore support the Belarusian government in its reform efforts in further developing its legislation; continue to advise the Belarusian Government at all levels on elections issues and related matters; implement projects financed by the European Union and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, such as regional conferences on youth and democracy, prison rehabilitation and legal assistance, as well as seminars on conflict resolution. (OSCE, December 11) OSCE ACTIVITIES IN BELARUS ARE WITHIN ITS MANDATE On December 11, Wolfgang Behrendt, the Belarus Rapporteur for the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, issued a statement that the termination of the OSCE's activities in Belarus would be a serious setback to the already fragile relations between the country's leadership and the European community, reported Belapan. "The accusations, which were obviously made to discredit the mission, raise serious doubts about President Lukashenko's intentions to further cooperate with the European organizations," Behrendt said. That same day the Coordinating Council of the Belarusian Democratic Forces condemned the Lukashenko regime for mounting unprecedented pressure on the OSCE AMG and ignoring the organization's efforts to assist Belarus to meet its OSCE commitments, particularly during the run-up to the presidential election next year, reported Charter 97. On December 15, Amb. Hans-Georg Wieck, head of the OSCE AMG, said that his organization takes strong issue with respect to recent public statements by the Belarusian KGB chief. Amb. Wieck reminded the Belarusian authorities that the OSCE AMG's work is well within its mandate and follows the 1997 Memorandum of Understanding between the OSCE and the Belarusian government. "Our activities in Belarus are aimed solely at supporting the development of democratic institutions," Amb. Wieck said. He also noted that Heads of State and Government of 54 OSCE Participating States issued a joint declaration at the Istanbul Summit in 1999, in which they expressed strong support for the work of the OSCE AMG. "Alexander Lukashenko participated in the OSCE Istanbul Summit, thereby clearly endorsing the active role of the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in support of the development of democratic institutions," Amb. Wieck concluded. On December 15, Amb. Jutta Stefan-Bastl said that the OSCE leadership believes that state television has a public responsibility and its reports cannot be seen as an isolated opinion of a single journalist, but should rather be regarded as a kind of campaign against the OSCE and the AMG, in particular against Amb. Wieck. (Belapan, Charter 97, OSCE, December 11-15) NEW FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH U.S., OSCE On December 7, Mikhail Khvostov, newly appointed Belarusian Foreign Minister, told journalists in Minsk that Belarus and the U.S. should "restore trust in each other," reported Belapan. Khvostov confessed that the Belarusian authorities are not happy with the statements that the U.S. State Department issues "from time to time" with regard to Belarus's poor human rights record. The official also condemned the U.S. for refusal to recognize Lukashenko's new hand-picked parliament. At the same time, he expressed hope that somehow the countries will find the way to improve bilateral relations. Khvostov also said that co-operation with the OSCE in good faith has always been a priority for the Belarusian leadership. (Belapan, December 7) DETENTIONS OF OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS DURING HUMAN RIGHTS DAY PROTESTS The Lukashenko regime is heading deeper into authoritarianism, restricting its citizens' right to their freedom of opinion, assembly, and expression. Twenty opposition activists were arrested nationwide for marking the 52nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On December 10, about two hundred activists, wearing athletic vests with pictures of well-known Belarusian public figures who went missing over the recent years, gathered on Oktyabrskaya Square in downtown Minsk to mark International Human Rights Defenders Day and to demand release of all political prisoners, immediate investigation into the disappearances of prominent opposition leaders, and a free and fair presidential election. The demonstrators marched along Skaryna Avenue toward Independence Square, distributing the texts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and independent newspapers. As usual with mass opposition rallies, the Minsk City Council had only granted permission for demonstrators to gather in the Bangalore Park on the city outskirts and deployed several hundred policemen and soldiers in the courtyards of apartment houses in downtown Minsk to prevent them from marching in the center of town. Yury Zenkovich and Sergei Skameyka, who were wearing the vests with a picture of disappeared opposition leader Viktor Gonchar, were detained near the Hotel Minsk and taken to the Moskovsky District Internal Affairs Directorate (police) on the pretext that the boys resembled two criminals who committed a burglary in a nearby apartment buildings. After an identity check, the law-enforcers confiscated the vests, filed two reports, and released the two after two hours. Viasna Human Rights Center reported that two other picketers were detained on Volodarsky Street, but immediately released due to the presence of numerous journalists. Five people were arrested at a similar protest in Brest. The local opposition submitted to the Brest City Council five applications for a permission to stage pickets in different places of the city. Fearing possible mass unrest, the local authorities only allowed one picket and banned four others. The organizers of picket considered this decision unlawful and anti-constitutional, and despite the ban, staged an unauthorized demonstration near a department store in downtown Brest. Protesters held signs that said: "Today is Human Rights Day" and "We are people deprived of human rights." The demonstration lasted for about an hour until it was dispersed by the police. Vladimir Velichkin, Sergei Bakun, Oleg Didishko, Evgeny Belasin, and Kiril Danko were detained and taken to the Leninski District Internal Affairs Directorate where they were charged with participating in an unauthorized demonstration. They spent the night in jail. Fifteen people staged an unauthorized picket in Borisov, Minsk Region. After about thirty minutes, the picket was dispersed by the heavy armed law-enforcers. Anatoly Askerka, leader of the local branch of the BPF Adradzhenne, and Dmitry Borodko, chair of the local branch of Viasna Human Rights Center, were detained, but released shortly. No protocols were filed against them. On December 9, eight opposition activists in Grodno held an unauthorized picket demanding democratic changes. The picketers were holding posters: "Students are against dictatorship," "We have a right to a decent life," and "We have a right to freedom." The police arrested Svetlana Nekh, deputy chair of the local branch of the Malady Front, Denis Mikhalchyk, chair of the Student Trade Union, journalist Alesia Sidlarevich, one passer by, and a member of the Polish Socialist Party, who was filming the action. Nekh and Mikhalchyk were charged with participation in mass actions which violated public order under Art. 167, para 1, of the Administrative Offenses Code and will stand trial. The next day, about sixty activists from the local branches of Viasna Human Rights Center, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the BPF Adradzhenne, and Narodnaya Hramada, the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, staged three authorized pickets. Numerous policemen watched the meeting and videotaped the protesters. No arrests were reported. On December 10, four members of the BPF Adradzhenne were arrested in Vitebsk for staging a unauthorized picket near the monument to poetess Evdokiya Los. Plainclothed agents forced Elena Zaleskaya, Sergei Vasenko, Anatoly Zakharov, and Denis Muskov into the police car and brought them to the Zheleznodorozhny Internal Affairs Directorate. The activists were accused of participation in mass actions which violated public order under Art. 167, para 1, of the Administrative Offenses Code and to stand trial. In other Belarusian towns the pickets were authorized and no incidents with the police were reported. (Nasha Svaboda, Viasna Human Rights Center, December 10) LOCAL JOURNALISTS ABUSED BY POLICE, CHARGED WITH SLANDER On December 12, police in Osipovichy, a town in Mogilev Region, raided an apartment where Nikolai Tomashov, editor-in-chief of Panorama, a local independent newspaper, and journalist Igor Simbirov were working on the paper's next issue. Police confiscated about one hundred pages of documents and the computer. During the search, the officers were verbally and physically abusive, broke Simbirov's nose, and damaged his watch. The journalists were taken to the prosecutor's office for interrogation and charged with a criminal offense for "slandering high-ranking officials." (Viasna Human Rights Center, December 13) SUSPECT INTO JOURNALIST'S KILLING DENIED RELEASE FROM JAIL Charter 97 reported that Valery Ignatovich, the suspect in the killing of ORT cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky, was reportedly to be released from police custody after signing a written pledge not to flee. But the suspect remains behind bars to date. According to the anonymous e-mail allegedly written by a former KGB officer (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 48), Ignatovich, along with five active and two retired officers from the presidential security service, as well as two Chechens, allegedly confessed to killing Dmitry Zavadsky, missing since July 7. Apart from the abduction and murder of Zavadsky, Ignatovich, a former officer of the Almaz (Diamond) Special-Assignment Police Force and a leader of the Belarusian wing of the Russian National Unity, was also accused of murdering a family from Azerbaijan, as well as Gleb Samoilov, another RNU leader. The RNU, a Russian nationalistic movement not registered in Belarus, is believed to be supported by some Belarusian government officials, particularly within the official youth organization. Investigators also claimed to have established that Ignatovich was involved in the disappearance and assassination of Viktor Gonchar, a prominent opposition leader. Local observers at first linked reports of Ignatovich's release to the appointment of Viktor Sheiman as new Belarusian Prosecutor General. But on December 15, Ignatovich's appeal to a Minsk city court to be released upon a written pledge not to flee was turned down. Ignatovich remains in jail. (Charter 97, December 12; December 15) OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATION VS. LUKASHENKO Charter 97 reported that on December 12, the Belarusian Supreme Economic Court postponed until December 18 the hearing of the case filed by the New York-based Open Society Foundation against the Lukashenko government over its seizure of Foundation-owned printing equipment in Magic Publishing House. Despite the presence of Sergei Levshunov, member of the Foundation's Monitoring Council, at the December 12 hearing, the judge once again demanded that the foundation be represented in court by "an official." Levshunov explained that since the Foundation seized its activities in Belarus, such a representative simply does not exist. The Leninski District Tax Inspection urged the court not to recognize the 1997 accord between the Belarusian Soros Foundation and the Open Society Foundation, under which the printing equipment became the Institute's property. On December 19, the court will consider the issue of the legal liquidation of the Belarusian Soros Foundation. (Charter 97, December 13) DEMOCRATIC PARTIES UNITE AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION On December 8-9, the United Civic Party and the BPF Adradzhenne, the two largest opposition parties, held separate meetings in Minsk to discuss the political situation in the country ahead of the next year presidential election. Both parties supported the November 2 resolution adopted by the Coordinating Council of the Belarusian Democratic Forces to nominate a single democratic candidate for the presidency. "Today we find ourselves on the doorstep of the political campaign, which may bring a real change of the existing situation in the country," Vintsuk Viachorka said. "We tested our abilities by holding national political mass actions and we are ready to challenge Lukashenko in next year's election." The United Civic Party nominated Mikhail Chigir, Pavel Kozlovsky, Anatoly Lebedko, and Semyon Domash as potential candidates from the opposition, from whom the Council may choose one. (Charter 97, December 12) BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION DELEGATION VISITS CZECH REPUBLIC At the invitation of the People in Need Foundation, five Belarusian opposition leaders visited the Czech Republic from December 7-13, to meet with Belarusian diaspora groups, human rights organizations, and the press. The Belarusian delegation included Anatoly Lebedko, chair of the 13th Supreme Soviet's Commission on Foreign Affairs and newly elected chair of the United Civic Party; Vintsuk Viachorka, chair of the Belarusian Popular Front Adradzhenne; Stanislav Shushkevich, former chair of the Supreme Soviet and independent Belarus's first Head of State and current leader of the Social Democratic Party; Ales Beliatsky, head of the Viasna Human Rights Center; and Ales Mikhalevich, a leader of the BPF Adradzhenne. The purpose of the trip was to discuss the current political situation in Belarus; conditions for next year's presidential election; support of the democratic opposition; and the dangers of the Belarus-Russian Union. During the visit, the Belarusian opposition leaders met with Czech president Vaclav Havel, Mikhal Zhantovsky, chair of the Committee for International Relations, Defense and Security of the Czech Senate, his deputy Oldrzhyh Dochekal [spelling as received--Ed], and Sen. Jan Ruml, member of the Commission and former Interior Minister. The Czech officials condemned the Lukashenko regime in the strongest terms and expressed deep concern at the disappearance of political opponents in the country. Given the deterioration of human rights in Belarus and the particularly repressive measures against the opposition, the need to support democratic forces in Belarus is more pressing than ever, Havel said. He expressed hope that Europe's last tyranny will collapse in the nearest future and praised the opposition for its decision to nominate a single candidate for the Belarusian presidency . "We will do our best to help the Belarusian democratic opposition overcome the legacy of communism and build a democratic society based on the rule of law," said Senator Zhantovsky, adding that the Czech Senate will appeal to the EU leadership to support the Belarusian dissents. (CTK, December 11) SOLIDARITY PICKETS HELD IN BRUSSELS, PRAGUE On December 8, pickets of solidarity with the Belarusian democratic opposition took place in Brussels and Prague, reported Charter 97. Picketers held signs with slogans such as "Today Chechnya, tomorrow Belarus," "Stop supporting Lukashenko," "No! to the union with Russia." (Charter 97, December 12) OPPOSITION PARTY: "MOSCOW, HANDS OFF BELARUS" On December 10, the Conservative Christian Party (CCP), led by Zyanon Paznyak, issued a statement calling for setting up a legitimate Belarusian government, reported Belapan. "The power in Belarus is already in the hands of Moscow's secret police," Paznyak said in the statement, adding that the ethnic Belarusians are being removed from the Belarusian government and replaced by the Russia-born officials. The CCP leader called on compatriots to unite and urged the 13th Supreme Soviet (the parliament disbanded by Lukashenko in 1996) to proceed immediately to forming a new Belarusian government as had been proposed by its exiled speaker Semyon Sharetski. (Belapan, December 11) -RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN BELARUS- REGIME CONTINUES TO RESTRICT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM The Lukashenko regime continues to pursue a deliberate policy of favoring the Russian Orthodox Church as the country's dominant religion, increasing harassment of minority religions. The Belarusian State TV recently aired a documentary titled Expansion, which alleged that Protestant communities carry out fanatical rituals, including the ritual use of human blood and human sacrifice, threaten Orthodox priests with physical violence, and remove national-religious consciousness from the Belarusian people. The Association of Evangelical Churches, many Protestant ministers and preachers believe that the documentary insults their religious feelings and incites religious hatred in society. They appealed to the State Committee for Religious and Ethnic Affairs, whose direct duty it is to oversee the observance of the laws on freedom of religion and to prosecute infringements of the law in the area of the rights of national and religious communities. The Protestant leaders do not believe, however, that their appeals will be heard. Although the Belarusian Constitution provides for freedom of religion, the regime restricts this right in practice. Many Protestant denominations repeatedly have been denied registration by the Lukashenko government. Without registration, many of these groups find it difficult, if almost impossible, to rent or purchase property for their communal services. Many Protestant denominations have been threatened with judicial action by the authorities for allowing foreigners to preach in their churches. Articles about "the neo-Protestant tendency, which exerts U.S. pressure on Belarusians" often appear in state-owned newspapers. Local observers believe that some journalists simply put there signatures under material written by Vladimir Zametalin, Belarus' chief ideologist. (Belarusian Interconfessional Association, December 15) NO FUTURE FOR JEWISH COMMUNITY IN BELARUS? Many Belarus Jews, who were hiding their identity, are now coming forward and declaring their Jewishness, wrote Elli Wohlgelernter, journalist of the Jewish Chronicle after visiting Minsk this month. Today, the community is very much alive, though no one can say for sure how many Jews there are, or how long the community will last. There are 26 Jewish communities in Belarus, five statewide organizations and 15 local cultural organizations. They have 16 Reform congregations and 24 Orthodox, of which 10 belong to the Habad movement. There are three Jewish schools in Minsk, one in Gomel and another one in Pinsk, and about 20 Sunday schools. Estimates of how many Jews all these organizations are serving varies. The official 1999 Belarus census puts the figure at 27,800, out of a total population of 10.4 million. Community leaders say there are 70,000 Jews, while others estimate that those whose mother was Jewish is over 200,000. Since 1989, 68,000 Jews have immigrated to Israel from Belarus. While most of the elderly will stay because they know the place, they speak the language, and are familiar here, many young people and those with relatives in Israel have a different perspective. After over 70 years of Communism, Belarusian society remains largely secular in its orientation. However, societal anti-Semitism persists. The Government has done little to counter the spread of anti-Semitic literature. In May 2000, the Minsk City Court refused to hear an appeal brought by Jewish organizations to stop the publishing and sale of the book "War According to Vicious Law," which, among other anti-Semitic writings, included the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and blamed Jews for social and economic problems in the country (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 22). (Jewish Chronicle, December 13) -CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS- 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**