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INTERNATIONAL
LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
BELARUS
UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole
Vol.
4, No. 17
April 2001
IN
THIS ISSUE:
-
Mass arrests of opposition activists in Minsk
- Eighteen activists detained for holding unauthorized
rally
- U.S. urges regime to respect freedom of expression
and assembly
- Chronicle of mass detentions and harassment of opposition
- Opposition marks anniversary of Chernobyl disaster
- OSCE representative on freedom of media cancels visit
to Belarus
- Ten people to run for Belarusian presidency
- Opposition candidates form alliance against Lukashenko
- Supreme Soviet deputy to serve three months in jail
- Workers strike in Minsk
- EBRD vows to raise democratic standards for Belarus
--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS--
MASS
ARRESTS OF OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS IN MINSK
Despite
commitments made to the OSCE and UN, the Belarusian
authorities continue to unlawfully restrict the internationally-recognized
freedom of assembly and to use force against peaceful
demonstrators. On April 21, about 1,000 activists from
Zubr [Bison], a nation-wide youth opposition movement,
staged an unauthorized protest in Minsk, calling on
voters not to support Lukashenko in a presidential election
later this year, reported Nasha Svaboda, an independent
newspaper. The action, titled "Ultimate Diagnosis,"
took place in Gorky Park in Minsk. The protesters waved
a banner with the slogan "Say 'No!' to the Idiot,"
chanted "Do Not Vote for Lukashenko," and
distributed a special issue of Nasha Svaboda with excerpts
from a medical paper prepared by Dr. Dmitry Schigelsky,
a Belarusian psychiatrist who has questioned Lukashenko's
mental health. Four activists dressed up as doctors;
others donned Lukashenko masks and carried hockey sticks
[hockey is Lukashenko's favorite sport.- Ed]. They formed
a line waiting their turn to be examined by the "doctors."
Denis Artushkevich and Anton Syalyavka skied on the
grass and then jumped into the Svisloch River.
The
park was cordoned off by the riot police with truncheons
and helmets. Speaking through megaphones, police officers
continuously warned the protesters that the gathering
had not been permitted by the Minsk City Council, and
ordered the youth to disperse. The action started at
6:00 p.m. and lasted for about 15-20 minutes, after
which the police chased the youngsters, many of whom
are minors, into police buses. Svetlana Danilova, 65,
and Irina Pavluchenko, 61, two pensioners who came to
watch the action, were knocked face down to the ground
and then forced into a police vehicle. Thirty- eight
protesters were detained and brought to the Partizanski
District Internal Affairs Directorate [police station].
On route to the station, many of the demonstrators were
physically and verbally abused. One riot policeman put
a blindfold on Alexander Matvienko, a minor, and brutally
beat him. Viktor Mukhin and Tatyana Emelyanova, correspondents
of Radio Ratsiya; Tatyana Snitko, a reporter from Nasha
Niva, a Belarusian- language independent newspaper;
and Vitaly Rimashevsky and Anastasia Chernik, freelance
writers for Nasha Svaboda, were also arrested and dragged
into a police bus, although they identified themselves
as journalists. Mukhin and Emelyanova were set free
at 11 p.m., after four hours in detention. Rimashevsky
was kept for another three hours. Ekaterina Shaban,
Tatyana Kuchko, Olga Buraya, and Anastasia Chernik were
released after a five-hour detention and received summons
to appear in court on April 25 on charges of "violating
public order."
At
the police station, Ekaterina Shaban was punched in
the face by Lt. Alexander Novikov for daring to sit
down. After the release, she was immediately taken to
the hospital with a concussion. Shaban has filed a lawsuit
against the lieutenant, charging him with abuse. A pregnant
woman was held in custody for over 5 hours and was released
in critical physical condition. Most of the juvenile
protesters were released by 3 a.m., after about eight
hours in detention. Many of them sustained numerous
bruises and scratches. Natalya Kravchuk and Aleksey
Kamenski, juvenile activists from Vitebsk, were released
the next morning. Denis Artushkevich and Anton Syalyavka,
who had jumped into the Svisloch River, were also released
on April 22. While in detention, the boys were not allowed
to change their wet clothes and immediately after the
release were sent to the hospital, where they were diagnosed
with hypothermia.
On
the morning of April 22, Irina Tolstik, Daria Ratkevich,
Svetlana Danilova, Petr Sadovski, Namik Ahadov, Evgeny
Afnagel, Sergei Pyanykh, Alexander Bogan, Yaroslav Steshik,
Vladimir Drozdov, Andrei Konstantinov, Vitaly Struy,
Andrei Krivko, Roman Karpovich, Kiril Fidelman, and
Valery Zherbin were transferred to Okrestina Prison,
where they were held for another three days. On April
23, their friends staged an unauthorized picket near
the prison to express moral support to detainees. On
April 25, the exhausted youths stood trial. They had
to spend another three hours in a police vehicle, awaiting
permission to enter the courtroom. To support each other
and show government officials that they were not afraid,
the activists sang patriotic songs. All defendants were
charged with "participation in mass actions that
violated public order" under Art. 167, par. 1,
of the Administrative Offenses Code. Irina Tolstik,
Daria Ratkevich, Vladimir Drozdov, Namik Ahadov, Andrei
Konstantinov, Yaroslav Steshik, Roman Karpovich, and
Alexander Bogan were sentenced to three-day arrest but
since they had already served the term, the judge released
them. Denis Artushkevich and Anton Syalyavka, who had
jumped into the Svisloch River, were fined 20 minimum
wages (about $100) each. Petr Sadovski, Olga Buraya,
Tatyana Kuchko, Anastasia Chernik, Ekaterina Shaban,
Alexander Opryanich, Kiril Fidelman, Vitally Struy,
Dmitry Ivanenko, Svetlana Danilova, Irina Pavluchenko,
Andrei Krivko, Tatiana Morozova were handed reprimands.
The trial of Sergei Pyanykh was postponed until May
3; Evgeny Afnagel and Valery Zherbin will be tried on
May 7. (Nasha Svaboda, April 27)
EIGHTEEN
ACTIVISTS DETAINED FOR STAGING UNAUTHORIZED RALLY
On
April 21, the opposition held another unauthorized action
called "Last March to Bangalore." The action
was supposed to start at approximately 3:00 p.m. near
the main entrance to Komarovsky Rynok, THE outdoor food
market in Minsk, reported the Belarusian Popular Front
[BPF Adradzhenne] Press Service. From there, the demonstrators
planned to march toward the infamous Bangalore Square,
the field on the city outskirts where the authorities
usually send the opposition to hold demonstrations,
and install a memorial sign saying that April 21, 2001,
was the last day when the Belarusian opposition held
its gathering there. At 1:00 p.m., the police cordoned
off Front headquarters and searched all people, who
were leaving the office. Three empty buses for the potential
detainees and police vehicles were waiting nearby. Trucks
with armed policemen also arrived at Komarovsky Rynok.
No one was allowed even to approach it. Considering
the situation, the action organizers decided to march
along Varvasheni Street. Twenty activists of the Malady
Front, carrying two white flags, and shouting "Everybody
to Bangalore," put the hands behind their heads
and formed a column, which started to move toward Bangalore
Square. On Very Khoruzhey Street, the demonstration
was dispersed by the OMON, the Belarusian riot police.
Eighteen demonstrators, including two journalists, were
forced into a police bus and taken to the Sovetsky District
Internal Affairs Directorate, where they were charged
with taking part in an unauthorized demonstration under
Art. 167, par. 1, of the Administrative Offenses Code.
The journalists were released after showing their IDs.
Andrei Pavlovski, a minor, Mikhail Shevtsov, Dmitry
Yashchenya, Alexander Tarasov, Alexander Krulikovski,
Aleksey Shein, Aleksey Tolstoi, Denis Markhotok, Timofei
Atroshchenkov, Ivan Timoshevich, Ivan Shablinski, Sergei
Stremkovski, Irina Viatkina, Dmitry Kasperovich, Ruslan
Kharkevich, and Oleg Medvedev were kept in detention
for about four hours. (BPF Adradzhenne Press Service,
April 21)
U.S.
URGES REGIME TO RESPECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND ASSEMBLY
On
April 26, in a statement to the Permanent Council of
the OSCE in Vienna, Josiah B. Rosenblatt, U.S. Charge
d'Affaires, urged the Lukashenko government to withdraw
Decree No. 8 "On Certain Measures of Regulation
of the Procedure of Receipt and Use of Foreign Charitable
Aid," which went into effect on April 16, 2001,
and to establish conditions for a free and fair presidential
election that the international community can recognize.
"As the date for presidential election draws closer,
the United States is concerned that Belarus continues
to step further away from meeting international criteria
for free and fair election," said Rosenblatt. He
added that mass detentions of participants in events
organized by the opposition on April 21 is contrary
to Belarus's commitments to freedom of expression and
assembly and constitutes just one more step in the wrong
direction. The U.S. official urged the regime to reverse
course by taking steps that convey, in deed and not
just in word, its readiness to cooperate with and facilitate
the activities of OSCE institutions such as ODIHR and
the Free Media Representative, the AMG, and the NGO
community so that it can establish conditions for free
and fair elections the international community can respect."
(USIA, April 27)
CHRONICLE
OF MASS DETENTIONS AND HARASSMENT OF OPPOSITION
On
April 19, Vladimir Zhylach, Andrei Bondarovich and Yury
Zenkovich, all members of the BPF Adradzhenne, were
arrested for transporting opposition leaflets in their
car, along with several copies of special issue of Rabochy
(Worker), an officially registered newspaper of the
Belarusian Independent Trade Union, with an appeal to
Belarusians to take part in Charnobylsky Shlyakh [Chernobyl
March] 2001 in Minsk on April 26 to mark the 15th anniversary
of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a white-red-white
flag (a symbol of opposition to the Lukashenko regime)
and a loudspeaker, reported BPF Adradzhenne Press Service.
The activists were taken to the Zavodsky District Internal
Affairs Directorate, where all the opposition's printed
materials were confiscated. Protesting unlawful detention,
the activists refused to provide the policemen with
any information, demanded the return of the confiscated
literature and insisted upon their immediate release.
After three hours, they were set free. The next day,
the activists addressed the head of the Zavodsky District
Internal Affairs Directorate with a request to return
the confiscated materials. Yury Zenkovich intends to
file a complaint with the Minsk Prosecutor's Office.
(BPF Adradzhenne press service, April 20)
Evgeny
Glytsko, Evgeny Savin, and Alexander Fedoseev, all juvenile
opposition members, were arrested at approximately 10:30
p.m. on April 19 in Bobruisk, Mogilev Region, for the
distribution of the special issue of Rabochy, reported
Viasna Human Rights Center. The policemen searched the
boys, and took them to the Pervomaisky District Internal
Affairs Directorate, where they were forced to write
a statement explaining their actions. Officers threatened
the youth with expulsion from high school. After about
three hours in detention, the activists were released.
All copies of Rabochy were confiscated. (Viasna Human
Rights Center, April 20)
On
April 20, the Minsk police detained five opposition
activists (three girls and two boys) near Okean (Ocean),
fish supermarket located near Victory Square, for the
distribution of a documentary titled "Wild Manhunt,"
produced by Pavel Sheremet, head of special projects
at ORT, about Dmitry Zavadsky, the ORT cameraman in
Belarus, who has been missing since July 7, 2000, (see
Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 28-31), and a special edition
of Nasha Svaboda about Lukashenko's mental condition,
reported Viasna Human Rights Center. The special edition
of the newspaper is called "Ultimate Diagnosis"
and includes many Lukashenko's remarks such as the following:
"Do not complain that you are sick. We have many
sick people in our government." (Viasna Human Rights
Center, April 20)
Ivan
Tomashevich, a juvenile member of the Malady Front,
was detained by the police patrol at about 11:00 p.m.
on April 21 near of the Belarusian Supreme Court in
Minsk while pasting opposition stickers on the walls
of nearby buildings, reported the press service of the
Malady Front. The activist was accused of violating
public sanitation regulations and brought to the Leninski
District Internal Affairs Directorate, where the policemen
confiscated his photo camera. Later, the activist was
transferred to the Tsentralny District Internal Affairs
Directorate, where he was kept until 3:00 a.m. and than
released. (Press service of the Malady Front, April
21)
OPPOSITION
MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF CHERNOBYL DISASTER
On
April 26, about 10,000 people gathered at Svabody Square
to take part in the Charnobylsky Shlyakh 2001 and mark
the 15th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster,
Charter 97 reported. With prayers and flickering candles,
grim-faced marchers honored those killed and sickened
15 years ago by the world's worst nuclear disaster at
the Ukraine's Chernobyl power plant. The marcher walked
along International and Yanka Kupala Streets toward
Skaryna Avenue. At approximately 7:30 p.m., the leaders
of the democratic opposition held a meeting near the
National Academy of Science. The Minsk City Council
originally banned the march but acquiesced after the
opposition warned about the possibility of clashes.
No incidents with the police were reported. Similar
actions took place in other Belarusian cities. The rally
in Baranovichi, Brest Region, was dispersed by the police.
In Mogilev, the authorities tried to detain Anatoly
Fedorov, chair of the Mogilev branch of the BPF Adradzhenne,
accusing him of organizing the unsanctioned meeting.
In Mozyr, Gomel Region, the key organizers of the unauthorized
action were "invited" to a police station
for explanations. In Borisov, Minsk Region, law-enforcers
arrested and searched Dmitry Borodko, chair of the local
branch of Viasna Human Rights Center. He was released
after a few hours. (Press service of the BPF Adradzhenne,
April 27)
OSCE
REPRESENTATIVE ON FREEDOM OF MEDIA CANCELS VISIT TO
BELARUS
Freimut
Duve, OSCE Representative on Freedom of Media, has decided
not to visit Belarus as scheduled on April, 25, 2001,
to protest against a "severe interference in the
independence of the OSCE by the Belarusian authorities."
The OSCE official expressed regrets that the Lukashenko
government, while officially welcoming the visit, has
denied a visa to his senior advisor, who was to accompany
him. In light of the upcoming presidential election,
Freimut Duve was very concerned about the media situation
in Belarus and considered a visit to the country to
be of utmost importance. However, he firmly believes
that no participating state should dictate for or against
any of the staff members of an OSCE institution. He
decided, after consultations with the OSCE AMG in Belarus,
to invite in the near future a group of independent
Belarusian media representatives to an OSCE-sponsored
Public Workshop on Freedom of Media later this year
for an exchange of views with the participating states
and European journalists. On April 26, Josiah B. Rosenblatt,
Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, told
the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna that the United
States supports the decision of the OSCE's media freedom
representative to cancel his trip to Belarus. He deplored
the regime's refusal to issue visa to Duve's senior
advisor, viewing this decision as additional evidence
of the deteriorating situation regarding the media in
the country and the authorities' unwillingness to cooperate
with the OSCE.
Subsequently,
the League learned that the official who was denied
a visa for entry into Belarus was Diana Moxhay, an American
citizen and long-time foreign service official, who
is now working for the OSCE Representative. Moxhay previously
served as the head of USIA/USIS in Minsk, and in that
capacity ran the cultural and education programs for
the Embassy and also handled the Democracy Commission
grants program. According to independent journalists,
the Belarusian government denied Moxhay a visa because
of her perceived support of the opposition. (OSCE, April
24- USIA, April 27; ILHR, April 30.)
TEN
PEOPLE TO RUN FOR BELARUSIAN PRESIDENCY
On
April 23, Lydia Yermoshina, Chair of the Central Commission
for Elections and National Referenda, told Interfax
that so far ten Belarusian citizens have announced their
decision to participate in the presidential ballot.
The potential presidential candidates are Alexander
Lukashenko, the current Belarusian leader; Vladimir
Goncharik, chair of the Federation of Trade Unions of
Belarus (FTUB), formerly the Belarusian branch of the
Soviet Union's All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions;
Semyon Domash, a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet [the
disbanded parliament], chair of the Grodno Initiative
and the Coordination Council of Belarusian Regions;
Sergey Kalyakin, leader of the Party of Communists of
Belarus (PCB) in opposition to the government; Pavel
Kozlovsky, former Defense Minister; Mikhail Chigir,
ex-Prime Minister; Valery Levonevsky, a member of the
Council of the Free Trade Union of Entrepreneurs; Sergei
Gaidukevich, chair of the Liberal Democratic Party of
Belarus (LDPB); and Leonid Sinitsyn and Leonid Kryzhanovsky,
both former Lukashenko officials. Yermoshina said that
the latest date for scheduling the election is September
27 and that the candidates may start their election
campaigns three months prior to that date. (Interfax,
April 25)
OPPOSITION
CANDIDATES FORM ALLIANCE AGAINST LUKASHENKO
Five
prominent Belarusian politicians, who decided to challenge
the authoritarian Belarusian ruler in this year's presidential
election, have agreed to coordinate their efforts in
order to increase their chances to win, reported Belapan.
Vladimir Goncharik, Semyon Domash, Sergey Kalyakin,
Pavel Kozlovsky, and Mikhail Chigir have issued a statement
outlining the essential elements of their common election
platform: building a strong democratic state; improving
the living standards of the Belarusian nation, which
is mired in misery and widespread poverty, and returning
Belarus to the international democratic community. (Belapan,
April 25)
SUPREME
SOVIET DEPUTY TO SERVE THREE MONTHS IN JAIL
On
April 27, 2001, the Minsk City Court upheld the ruling
of the Tsentralny District Court of Minsk, declaring
Valery Shchukin, deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet and
a journalist of Narodnaya Volya, an opposition newspaper,
as guilty of "malicious hooliganism" under
Art. 339, par. 1, of the Penal Code (see Belarus Update
Vol. 4, No. 3, 12) and confirmed that he must be imprisoned
for three months. On January 16, 2001, Schukin was refused
admission to a press conference held by Vladimir Naumov,
the Belarusian Interior Minister. Despite Schukin's
press credentials and the Law On Press and Other Media,
which allows free access to such press-conferences for
all journalists, police spokesman Bykov said the event
was open only to representatives of the state-run media.
The police then detained Schukin 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 Schukin, the
policemen accidentally broke the glass entrance door.
As a result, Schukin sustained several deep lacerations.
According to eye-witnesses, Schukin lost a significant
amount of blood during the twenty-minute interval before
the ambulance arrived, and lay on the ground while the
policemen continued holding his arms. (Charter 97, April
27)
WORKERS
STRIKE IN MINSK
On
April 27, a spontaneous strike broke out at the Minsk-based
knitwear plant. About four hundred people left their
work stations and blocked traffic on Mayakovsky Street,
demanding that the administration repay all wage arrears,
reported Charter 97. Erokhov, deputy of the Minsk mayor,
personally arrived at the place for negotiations. Within
a few hours the plant's administration agreed to pay
each worker about $29, an equivalent of the "minimum
consumer basket," or cost of minimal food and supplies
for one family of four. The strikers were also promised
to receive their March salary within a few weeks. (Charter
97, April 27)
-INTERNATIONAL
NEWS-
EBRD
VOWS TO RAISE DEMOCRATIC STANDARDS FOR BELARUS
On
April 24, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD), the multilateral bank for Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union, pledged to increase efforts
to raise standards of democracy in its client countries,
reported the Financial Times. The newspaper hinted that
states that failed to meet its criteria could face penalties,
including possible suspension from EBRD membership.
Speaking at the close of the bank's annual meeting in
London, its president Jean Lemierre, said democracy
was very important to the bank. "Lack of democracy,
corruption, monopoly and the absence of the rule of
law go hand in hand with poverty and economic hardship,"
he added. In its letter to Alexander Lukashenko, the
EBRD announced that it was reviewing its operations
in Belarus in the light of the authorities' failure
to embrace democratic change or market reform. It said
it would regard the presidential election this autumn
as a key test. If there is no improvement in the country's
democratic record, the bank will consider asking its
board to "make decisions regarding the bank's operations
in Belarus." Though not stated, the options could
include suspension of membership. Valery Kokorev, one
of Belarusian deputy prime ministers, told the EBRD's
annual meeting in London that Belarus is committed to
universal democratic values, rights and freedoms, reported
Belapan. (Financial Times, Belapan, April 25)
************************************************************************
For daily updates, visit our partners website, Charter
97, www.charter97.org with news in Belarusian, Russian,
and English.
************************************************************************
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 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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