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INTERNATIONAL
LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
BELARUS
UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole
Vol.
4, No. 3
January 2001
IN
THIS ISSUE:
-
Lukashenko promises "democratic" election
- Regime ignores OSCE's invitation to reception
- NGOs nominate local opposition leader as presidential
candidate
- Trade unions warned against proposing candidate for
presidency
- 13th Supreme Soviet deputy beaten by the police
- Borisov activists charged with defamation of Lukashenko
- Activists in Brest fined for rallying on Human Rights
Day
- Authorities seize property of local activist to cover
unpaid fine
- ILHR urges government to cease harassment of Sergei
Obodovsky
- Workers in Mogilev to stand trial for striking
- New NGO set up to provide legal assistance to population
- Lukashenko gets hero welcome in Russia
- Moscow, Minsk protest U.S. arrest of ex-Kremlin finance
chief
--HUMAN
RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS-
LUKASHENKO
PROMISES ANOTHER "DEMOCRATIC" ELECTION
On
January 12, during the traditional Old New Year's reception
for foreign diplomats accredited in Belarus, Alexander
Lukashenko said that he attaches great importance to
building good relations with the European Union, the
U.S., as well as with China and India. He told the foreign
envoys that Belarus had chosen a path of gradual political
and economic transformations aimed at further democratization
of Belarusian society. According to Lukashenko, last
year's parliamentary election took place in "absolutely
democratic fashion" was a convincing proof of those
developments. The Belarusian leader assured the diplomats
that the presidential election will also be conducted
in a "democratic, honest, and open way." (BBC,
January 15)
REGIME IGNORES OSCE's INVITATION TO RECEPTION
Mikhail
Khvostov, Belarusian Foreign Minister, ignored the invitation
sent to him by the OSCE AMG in Belarus to take part
in the reception on the occasion of the 25th anniversary
of the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference for Security
and Cooperation in Europe. Neither Khvostov, who only
a few weeks ago said that co-operation with the OSCE
in good faith has always been a priority for the Belarusian
leadership, nor his deputies did not use the invitation
as an opportunity to confirm the commitments of the
Belarusian authorities to comply with the basic principles
and purposes of the OSCE. [The OSCE mission in Belarus,
which has repeatedly raised with the government the
issues of electoral fraud and suppression of democratic
institutions, has long annoyed official Minsk. Lukashenko
recently expressed doubts whether it makes sense for
the OSCE AMG to stay in the country any longer. In Mid-December
2000, Leonid Yerin, the newly appointed chief of the
Belarusian State Security Council (KGB), accused the
OSCE AMG of being involved in anti-Belarusian and anti-constitutional
activities and supporting subversive groups and the
radical opposition in their allegedly unlawful attempts
to seize power.-Ed.]. (Belapan, January 17)
NGOs
NOMINATE LOCAL OPPOSITION LEADER AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
On
January 16, representatives of 30 Belarusian NGOs named
Semyon Domash, a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet and
chair of the Grodno Initiative and the Coordination
Council of Belarusian Regions, as a potential opposition
candidate to challenge Lukashenko in next year's election,
reported Nasha Svaboda. "Semyon Domash has proved
his adherence to the democratic principles and demonstrated
a strong ability to ensure freedom and prosperity for
the Belarusian people," they said in a joint statement.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Domash defined
his nomination as a serious step toward the establishment
of a broad democratic coalition in the run-up to this
year's presidential campaign. Prior to the meeting,
he had held consultations with Mikhail Chigir, former
Prime Minister, and Vladimir Goncharik, chair of the
Belarusian Federation of Trade Unions, two other possible
presidential candidates from the opposition, and agreed
to work together no matter who will be eventually chosen
as the best rival for the Belarusian authoritarian ruler.
(Nasha Svaboda, January 17)
TRADE
UNIONS WARNED AGAINST PROPOSING CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENCY
The
Ministry of Justice has warned the Belarusian Federation
of Trade Unions (BFTU) that it is not allowed to nominate
its leader Vladimir Goncharik as a potential presidential
candidate because it runs counter to the organization's
by-laws, reported Belapan. Speaking to a Belapan correspondent,
Valentina Polevikova, secretary of the Federation's
Executive Council, said that the BFTU has the constitutional
right to participate in the country's political and
economic life and considers the Ministry's warning a
sign of the organization's growing influence on workers,
which is so much dreaded by the regime. (Belapan, January
16)
13TH
SUPREME SOVIET DEPUTY BEATEN BY THE POLICE
On
January 16, Valery Shchukin, deputy of the 13th Supreme
Soviet and a journalist of Narodnaya Volya, an opposition
newspaper, was turned away from the press-conference
given by Vladimir Naumov, Belarusian Interior Minister.
Although Shchukin had press credentials from the independent
press, police spokesman Bykov said the event was open
only to state-run media , in violation of the Law On
Press and Other Media, which allows free access to such
press-conferences to all journalists. The police then
detained Shchukin at the entrance to the building where
the press-conference was to take place, knocked him
to the ground, and twisted his arms behind his back.
While trying to subdue Shchukin, the policemen accidentally
broke a glass entrance door. As a result, Shchukin sustained
several deep cuts. According to eye-witnesses, Schukin
lost a significant amount of blood during the twenty-minute
interval before the ambulance arrived, lying on the
ground while the policemen continued holding his arms.
Commenting on the incident, Vladimir Naumov said that
he does not consider Shchukin a journalist.
For
the past four years, the government has targeted Shchukin
on numerous occasions for his active stance against
the crack-down on the basic rights and freedoms in Belarus.
These attacks culminated on April 24, 2000, when Shchukin
and Statkevich, chair of the Belarusian Social-Democratic
Party (Narodnaya Gromada), stood trial for their participation
in the Freedom March. Both men pled not guilty. On June
19, 2000, Judge Igor Krot of the Minsk City Court sentenced
Shchukin to a one year suspended term under Art. 168,
para 3, of the Belarusian Criminal Code. Belapan reported
that on January 31 the Minsk City Court will reconsider
the case.
The
League believes that the beating of Shchukin and the
charges brought against him are a serious attack on
press freedom and constitute a violation of international
law. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights provides the right to "seek, receive and
impart information and ideas through any media and regardless
of frontiers." The League has long been disturbed
by the Lukashenko administration's systematic crackdown
against independent journalists and all persons critical
of his government's policies. It urged the Belarusian
leader to take steps to improve the media climate in
the country and to ensure that the rights of independent
journalists are guaranteed. (Belapan, ILHR, Charter
97, January 18)
BORISOV
ACTIVISTS CHARGED WITH DEFAMATION OF LUKASHENKO
On
January 16, opposition activists in Borisov, Minsk Region,
held an unauthorized picket in downtown Borisov, demanding
psychiatric examination of Alexander Lukashenko, reported
Belapan. The picketers passed out leaflets containing
excerpts from a medical paper prepared by Dr. Dmitry
Schigelsky and published in the January 12 issue of
Nasha Svaboda, an independent newspaper, saying that
the Belarusian dictator suffers from a serious mental
disorder and presents a danger to society. After about
15 minutes, the picket was dispersed by the police.
Alexander Abramovich, chair of the Borisov branch of
Narodnaya Hramada, or Belarusian Social Democrat Party
(BSDP); Alesia Yasyuk, Nadezhda Grechukha, both BSDP
members; two brothers, Dmitry and Mikhail Kuznetsov,
activists of the local branch of the Malady (Youth)
Front; and Dmitry Borodko, chair of the local branch
of Viasna Human Rights Center, who observed the action,
were arrested and brought to the nearest police station.
At the station, Borodko was released, while others were
charged with the violation of Art 167 para 1, Art 167
para 2 (organization and participation in mass actions
violating public order). After filing reports on the
activists, police officers took Abramovich, Yasyuk,
and Grechukha to court, where judge Alexsey Bolotov
ruled that the picketers had violated Art. 368 of the
Belarusian Criminal Code (defamation of the country's
president) and sent the cases to the local prosecutor.
If found guilty, the activists face a fine or up to
two years of correctional labor or up to six months
in jail. The cases of minors Dmitry and Mikhail Kuznetsov
will be considered by a juvenile commission.
On
January 15, the State Committee for Press forwarded
the article from the Nasha Svaboda about Lukashenko's
mental condition for the examination to the prosecutor's
office, which was given by the Lukashenko administration
ten days to decide whether the newspaper violated the
law. Speaking to a Belapan correspondent, Pavel Zhuk,
editor-in-chief of Nasha Svaboda, said that before publishing
the article he consulted in-house counsel, and now,
if the authorities want to prove that the information
in the article is false, they have to conduct a medical
examination of Lukashenko. Itar-Tass reported on January
19 that the Belarusian Prosecutor's Office has initiated
a criminal case against Dmitry Schigelsky for libeling
the Belarusian President. On January 17, the Coordinating
Council of the Belarusian Democratic Forces adopted
a statement about the necessity of independent medical
examination of all presidential candidates, reported
Belapan. (Belapan, January 17)
ACTIVISTS
IN BREST FINED FOR RALLYING ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
On
January 15, Evgeny Belasin, deputy chair of the Brest
branch of the BPF Adradzhenne, and Sergei Bakun, chair
of the local branch of the Malady [Young] Front, were
fined 200 minimum wages (about $600) each for the violation
of Art 167 para 1, Art 167 para 2 (organization and
participation in mass actions violating public order)
and Art 166 (resisting an officer) of the Administrative
Offenses Code, reported Viasna Human Rights Center.
Vladimir Velichkin, head of the Brest branch of the
Viasna Human Rights Center, Kiril Danko, a member of
the Malady Front, and Oleg Didishko, an activist of
the Free Trade Union of Belarus, were charged with the
same offence and fined 20 minimum wages (about $60)
each. On December 10, 2000, the activists were detained
and taken to the Leninski District Internal Affairs
Directorate of Brest for staging an unauthorized picket
to mark the 52nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. Before staging the picket, the activists
submitted to the Brest City Council five applications
for permission to stage it at various locations in 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. The demonstration lasted for about
an hour until it was dispersed by the police. The activists
spent the night in jail. (Viasna Human Rights Center,
January 15)
AUTHORITIES
SEIZE PROPERTY OF LOCAL ACTIVIST TO COVER UNPAID FINE
On
January 15, the authorities sealed the property of Alexander
Kotlyarov, chair of the Slutsk, Minsk Region, branch
of the United Civic Party, reported Viasna Human Rights
Center. The activist was arrested on October 8, 2000,
during the unsanctioned Freedom March in downtown Slutsk
and later fined 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. He was ordered to pay the heavy fine
by December 11 in order to avoid property confiscation.
Under Art. 268 of the Belarusian Administrative Offenses
Code, all imposed fines should be paid within two weeks
after the sentence is announced. Nevertheless, an individual
is subject to the confiscation of property only if he
does not have any other income. Alexander Kotlyarov
receives a pension, from which the fine should be gradually
deducted over time. (Viasna Human Rights Center, January
15)
ILHR
URGES REGIME TO CEASE HARASSMENT OF SERGEI OBODOVSKY
On
January 18, the International League for Human Rights
sent letters to Alexander Lukashenko,
Anatoly Dudkin, Prosecutor of the Mogilev region, and
Svyataslav Kurel, Director of Internal Affairs, Mogilev
branch, expressing deep concern about the criminal case
against Dmitry Obodovsky, the son of Sergei Obodovsky,
an opposition activist. Dmitry has been held in detention
for the past year and a half. Dmitry was arrested on
July 20, 1999, and has been held in pre-trial detention
since then. He was initially charged with rape and then
later with two cases of theft, all charges which he
denies. Although Dmitry was acquitted of one theft,
he was sentenced to six years in prison for allegedly
stealing a pair of shoes. At the present moment, the
case has been forwarded for re-examination. The judge
has repeatedly denied defense counsel's request that
Dmitry be released during the proceedings. The latest
refusal to release Dmitry came from Ivan Gorodkov, who
is the chief investigator in Dmitry's case, despite
the new Penal Code, which came into force on January
1, 2001, which prohibits holding a suspect in pre-trial
detention for a period longer than 18 months.
The
League fears that the charges against Dmitry Obodovsky
may be in retaliation for the opposition activities
of his father, Sergei Obodovsky, the director of the
Mogilev Human Rights Center and a lawyer at the Mogilev
branch of the Free Trade Union. Dmitry was arrested
just after Sergei was elected to the opposition electoral
commission of the opposition-organized presidential
elections in the spring of 1999. Sergei's other two
sons have also faced harassment in the past two years.
One was forced to seek political asylum in Poland, while
the other, a student at the Mogilev State University,
had faced charges of computer hacking. The League urged
Alexander Lukashenko to immediately cease harassment
of Sergei Obodovsky and his family for his opposition
and trade union activities, release Dmitry from detention
during the ongoing investigation, ensure that he has
access to lawyers of his choosing and that any future
trial proceeds in an open and fair manner. (ILHR, January
18)
WORKERS
IN MOGILEV TO STAND TRIAL FOR STRIKING
The
administration of the Mogilev-based car-manufacturing
plant is looking for scapegoats to be charged with initiating
a spontaneous strike which broke out on December 28,
2000, when about one thousand people left their work
stations and blocked traffic, demanding that the administration
repays all wage arrears by December 31, reported Charter
97. Nikolai Mikhailov, the plant's director, ordered
some of the female employees to watch the video tape
of the strike and identify the protesters. Later, the
key-organizers of the action were summoned to the plant's
administrative building, where an officer of the Oktyabrsky
District Internal Affairs Directorate of Mogilev charged
them with staging an unauthorized picket. They are to
stand trial soon. The Independent Trade Union believes
that the workers can not be persecuted for putting forward
a legitimate claim to have their salaries paid out and
are prepared to defend their rights.(Charter 97, January
18)
NEW
NGO SET UP TO PROVIDE PUBLIC LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Belapan
reported on January 15 that a new nationwide public
association called the Human Rights Protection Center
was established in Belarus. The new organization, which
will provide legal assistance to Belarusian citizens,
was initiated by activists of the Public Legal Aid Association,
headed by Oleg Volchek, a prominent Belarusian civil
rights lawyer. He will also head the newly established
NGO. Raisa Mikhailovskaya was elected his deputy. (Belapan,
January 15)
--BROTHER
SLAVS-
LUKASHENKO
GETS HERO WELCOME IN RUSSIA
On
January 15-16, Alexander Lukashenko, visited Moscow
to seek Russia's support amid Western doubts over improvements
in conditions for elections in Belarus, reported Belapan.
Widely regarded as a part of his presidential election
campaign, Lukashenko's high-profile trip included meetings
with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister
Mikhail Kasyanov, and Viktor Gerashchenko, chief of
the Russian Central bank. Their talks focused on the
creation of a tighter union between the two countries.
"We are working hard toward economic unification
and political integration with our brothers, whose roots
we share," Putin told Lukashenko at the Bolshoi
Theatre late on January 16 before a performance of the
ballet Rogneda by the Belarusian National Academic Ballet
Theatre, which marked the start of a Belarusian cultural
season in Russia. For his part, Lukashenko reaffirmed
his country's steadfast loyalty to Russia. He presented
the Francisk Skaryna Order, Belarus' highest national
award, to Gennady Seleznyov, Russian Duma Speaker and
Chair of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarus,
and Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov.
Vremya Novostyei, Russian newspaper, reported that on
his visit to Moscow, Lukashenko also discussed the security
issues of the Russia-Belarus Union and the production
and sale of arms. Russia wants all talks to be confidential,
because of some tension with Europe triggered by reports
in the U.S. media about tactical nuclear weapons being
deployed in Kaliningrad. Until recently, Moscow had
firmly declined Lukashenko's insistent proposals to
discuss a return of some Russian nuclear weapons to
Belarus. Moscow still remembers how difficult it was
to withdraw the last Topol ICBMs by the end of 1996
(Lukashenko objected to the withdrawal even then). It
seems, at the same time, that Moscow and Minsk are gradually
coming to an agreement on the issue of strategic bases.
The transfer to Belarus of Russian TU-95 and TU-22M3
long-range bombers (the major delivery aircraft in the
Russian Air Force) was drilled during Russian-Belarusian
joint military exercises last autumn, for the first
time since the break-up of the Soviet Union. (Belapan-
Vremya Novostyei, January 16)
MOSCOW,
MINSK PROTEST U.S. ARREST OF EX-KREMLIN FINANCE CHIEF
Pavel
Borodin, a senior Russian official and political patron
of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was detained by
the U.S. on the request from the Swiss authorities.
The arrest has triggered a diplomatic ruckus and put
the spotlight on a money-laundering and corruption case
that Russia has long sought to smother, reported Itar-Tass.
Borodin was taken into custody on January 17 by FBI
agents as he stepped off a plane at JFK airport in New
York. He was traveling to attend President-elect George
W. Bush's inauguration in Washington, using an invitation
obtained from a major Bush contributor. A federal court
will have to decide whether to extradite Borodin to
Switzerland to face money-laundering charges. Swiss
prosecutors are seeking to question him about allegations
that bank accounts he or his family control in Cyprus,
the Bahamas and the English Channel Island of Guernsey
received kick-backs totaling more than $25 million from
Swiss-based companies that were renovating the Kremlin.
Russian prosecutors closed their probe into the case
last month, saying there was no evidence of a crime.
Igor Ivanov, Russian Foreign Minister, summoned U.S.
Ambassador in Moscow James Collins to lodge a formal
protest. The detention of Borodin, who is the current
secretary of the union of Russia and Belarus, drew a
swift protest from Alexander Lukashenko. In a statement
released in Minsk, Lukashenko called the arrest "a
highly unfriendly act by the United States against Belarus
and Russia and their union." (Itar-Tass, January
18)
************************************************************************
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 60th year,
is a New York-based human rights NGO in consultative
status with the United Nations.
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.
***********************************************************
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LEAGUE HAS MOVED: PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS
ILHR
823 UN Plaza Suite 717
New York, NY 10017
tel. 212-661-0480
fax 212-661-0416
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The
e-mail remains the same: belarus@ilhr.org
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