INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

BELARUS UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 4, No. 22
June 2001

IN THIS ISSUE:

- Presidential Elections News
- Pressure on OSCE AMG Continues
- US Supports OSCE AMG Activities
- OSCE Hosts Workshop on Media Freedom With Belarusian Journalists
- Mass Protests in Minsk During CIS summit
- Religious Freedom: Anti-Semitism in Belarus Persists

-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS-

DATE OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN BELARUS TO BE SET ON JUNE 7

On May 29, the Council of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Lukashenko-controlled parliament, approved a proposal under which the presidential elections in the country would take place in September 9, reported Kommersant Daily, a Russian independent newspaper. The final hearing on the proposal will take place on June 7. Few observers think it will fail to pass the full House. The proposal took two months to draft. In late March 2001, Leonid Sinitsyn, former head of the Lukashenko administration, who announced his intention to run for the Belarusian presidency, urged deputies to hold the presidential elections ahead of time, in the first half of May 2001. He explained his request by pointing out the urgency of stopping the clandestine, unlawful privatization of Belarusian state property by Russian financial tycoons with Lukashenko's silent approval. According to Kommersant, Sinitsyn's proposal has been ignored by deputies. (Kommersant Daily, May 30)

"WORST-CASE" SCENARIO FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS?

On May 27, many Belarusian independent newspapers and informational agencies reported that they had received an e-mail sent by a sender described as the "Y Analytical Group," which alleged that the Lukashenko administration was planing to conduct the election in accordance with "a tough scenario," reported Charter 97. According to the group, the Belarusian government will soon expel Amb. Wieck from the country, prohibit international observers from entering Belarus, intensify harassment of the democratic opposition, and drastically raise taxes on private entrepreneurs and enterprises. To neutralize potential rivals, the regime will deny them registration and disqualify others on the pretext of electoral law violations. Eventually, only candidates controlled by the administration will be given a "chance" to challenge the current Belarusian ruler. According to the Charter 97, the Y group first emerged in late 2000, when all Belarusian independent and almost all state media received an anonymous e-mail allegedly written by a former KGB officer, which said that a former officer of the Almaz (Diamond) Special-Assignment Police Force, five active and two retired officers from the presidential security service, and two Chechens have recently been arrested and confessed to killing Dmitry Zavadsky, the ORT cameraman in Belarus missing since July 7 (See Belarus Update Vol. 3, No. 48).

On May 28, Alexander Shpilevski, deputy chair of the House of Representatives' Committee on International Affairs and Relations with CIS Countries, assured the Interfax news agency that this fall, the presidential vote will be fair and held in accordance with electoral legislation. He said that the rumors spread by the Y group are aimed at discrediting the government and making people believe that the upcoming elections will not be legitimate. (Charter 97, Interfax, May 28)

DEMOCRATIC FORCES TO FORM BROAD CIVIC COALITION

On May 29, the Coordination Council of the Democratic Forces decided at a meeting that
a round-table called "The Broad Civic Coalition: Reality and Future" is to be held on June 8
in order to plan the program of the united opposition activities ahead of the presidential election. The round-table will host representatives of different political parties, NGOs, trade unions, and media and will discuss the following topics:

- necessary conditions which will ensure that forthcoming presidential election in Belarus will meet international standards and the possibilities of their creation in Belarus;

- nomination of a single presidential candidate from the democratic opposition;

- coordination of efforts among the democratic opposition during the collection of signatures in support of opposition candidates, formation of the election commissions at all levels, and election monitoring.

It was decided that a group, headed by Vyacheslav Sivchik, deputy chair of the BPF Adradzhenne, will compile a list of the opposition activists, from which the authorities will have to choose the opposition representatives to sit on the election commissions at all levels. The Council members gave their strong support to the idea of cooperation between the Coordinating Committee on Observation of Elections, chaired by Mechislav Grib, and the Independent View, a civic initiative launched last year by the Assembly of Democratic NGOs, to promote opposition candidates who decide to run for the Belarusian presidency, which was recently announced. During the meeting, Vasily Leonov, the former Minister of Agriculture, who recently established "For A New Belarus," a new civil-rights movement for election of a new president, confirmed his intention to closely cooperate with the Council without duplicating its functions. As a possible example of cooperation he suggested participation in the work of election commissions and monitoring of the vote. (BPF Adradzhenne Press Service, May 29)

SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY CALLS FOR BROAD ELECTORAL ALLIANCE

On May 27, the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (BSDP), or Narodnaya Hramada, chaired by Nikolai Statkevich, held its Fifth Congress in Minsk to discuss the political situation in the country ahead of the presidential election. The Congress adopted a resolution to support the five Belarusian opposition members, Mikhail Chigir, ex-Prime Minister; Pavel Kozlovsky, former Defense Minister; Vladimir Goncharik, chair of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB); Semyon Domash, a deputy of the 13th Supreme Soviet [the disbanded parliament], chair of the Grodno Initiative and the Coordination Council of Belarusian Regions; and Sergey Kalyakin, leader of the Party of Communists of Belarus (PCB) in opposition to the government; who announced their intention to challenge Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential election later this year and to unite behind the candidate with the best chances for victory, reported Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta. Party members plan to actively participate in the work of the election commissions of all levels and in the election monitoring, using every opportunity to increase the Party influence in the regions." The BSDP leadership believes that opposition candidate should represent a broad coalition of parties and movements rather than any single one. Nikolai Statkevich also insists that a single candidate from the opposition should be named after the registration procedure is complete. Otherwise, the regime will try to find any reason to deny the candidate registration. (Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta, May 28)

REGIONAL BELARUS SUPPORTS DOMASH

On May 26, at the National Congress of Regional Belarus, nationwide movement, 815 delegates from 99 Belarusian regions nominated its leader Semyon Domash, chair of the Coordinating Council of the Grodno Initiative and head of the Coordinating Council of Belarusian Regions, as his candidate in the 2001 presidential election. (Radio Racyja, May 29)

PARTY APPEALS TO CANDIDATES TO PROTECT BELARUSIAN INDEPENDENCE

On May 29, the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada, chaired by Stanislav Shushkevich, former speaker of the 12th Supreme Soviet, resigned its membership in the Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces, on the grounds that other Council members have not assumed a firm position regarding the Belarusian sovereignty, reported Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta. The Party urged all potential opposition candidates in the forthcoming presidential election to include in their election platforms the pledge to defend Belarusian independence and national currency and to restore the 1994 constitution and national symbols. The Party's executive committee welcomed the decision of Zyanon Paznyak, exiled leader of the Conservative Christian Party of the Belarusian Popular Front and an ardent supporter of the Belarusian sovereignty, to run for the presidency. (Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta, May 30)

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS REFUSE TO COOPERATE WITH OTHER CANDIDATES

On June 1, "New Belarus: Unity," pre-election bloc recently formed by the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (LDPB), issued a statement saying that it will not make any agreements with the Five (Mikhail Chigir, Pavel Kozlovsky, Vladimir Goncharik, Semyon Domash, and Sergey Kalyakin) or other representatives of the democratic opposition and will discuss the cooperation with other potential presidential candidates after their official registration, reported Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta. In an interview to Belapan, LDPB's chair Sergei Gaidukevich said that the bloc has an experienced leader [apparently, Gaidukevich himself - Ed.], who has the necessary skills to successfully run for the Belarusian presidency. He added that the Party plans to send its members to monitor the voting process and to participation the work of the election commissions. (Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta, Belapan, June 1)

CIS TO SEND OBSERVERS TO BELARUSIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

CIS leaders have supported the request of Belarusian authorities to send observers to the presidential election, Russian President Putin, who visited Minsk on the occasion of a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), announced on June 1. (Itar-Tass, June 1)

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS--

FOREIGN MINISTER DEMANDS FROM OSCE MISSION TO WORK WITHIN MANDATE

On May 31, Mikhail Khvostov, Belarusian Foreign Minister, and his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov held a meeting in Minsk to discuss the preparation of both states for the 56th UN General Assembly and the development of a common position of Belarus and Russia in dealing with major international events within the framework of the Russia-Belarus Union. After the meeting, the ministers reiterated to journalists a vintage theme of the Lukashenko regime that the OSCE mission in Belarus exceeds its powers and should return to the operating within the framework of its mandate, reported Itar-Tass. Ivanov drew a parallel with the situation in Yugoslavia right before Slobodan Milosevic's ouster, when, according to him, "the OSCE interference only made the situation more worse." (Itar-Tass, May 31)

U.S. URGE BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES TO END THEIR SELF-IMPOSED ISOLATION

On May 24, Josiah B. Rosenblatt, Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, delivered the following statement on Belarus to the Permanent Council in Vienna:

"The United States wishes to voice its support for the statement of the Chairman-in-Office and also for the Chair's continuing support of Ambassador Wieck.

"We remain concerned about continued attacks by the Belarusian authorities against Ambassador Wieck and the activities of the Advisory and Monitoring Group (AMG).

"The United States supports AMG dialogue with the Belarusian authorities just as we support AMG dialogue with the opposition and civil society. Both are normal, acceptable activities for a mission whose mandate is to support the development of democratic institutions.

"Of course, as the saying goes, 'it takes two to tango.' The Belarusian authorities suspended their participation in AMG-sponsored roundtable discussions, they have chosen repeatedly not to participate in the Political Advisory Council created by the AMG, and they have declined to accept the AMG's invitation, extended at the beginning of this year, to create working groups to address key issues.

"The AMG cannot be blamed for the Belarusian authorities' decisions not to engage in dialogue.

"As we and others around this table have stated on repeated occasions, the United States finds the AMG's activities completely consistent with its mandate. Belarus is fortunate to have such an experienced and skilled diplomat as Ambassador Wieck to lead the AMG and to actively carry out its mandate.

"A sound domestic election-monitoring program is central to the conduct of free and fair elections in keeping with international standards. It is also entirely in keeping with the AMG's mandate to develop democratic institutions. This is similar to work carried out by the OSCE in other countries, including Bosnia, where the OSCE Mission has supported the development of independent NGO monitoring activities. Without such a program in Belarus, it is difficult to see how the international community would be able to recognize the presidential elections as legitimate.

"The AMG's involvement in this activity has never been a secret. In fact, Ambassador Wieck has reported to this Council about the work of this network in prior elections. He has repeatedly consulted with Belarusian authorities about his work.

"The claim by the Belarusian authorities that the domestic election monitoring effort consists of armed guerillas does not merit comment.

"The assertion that the election-monitoring program contains elements of the opposition is true. However, that does not make it objectionable. Rather, it lends it credibility.

"Such an effort headed up by government officials and supporters is not a domestic monitoring program. It is a campaign re-election team.

"Mr. Chairman, the United States is prepared to respect the outcome of presidential elections in Belarus that meet international standards for free and fair elections, including the criteria set by the OSCE Troika.

"We urge the Belarusian authorities to seize the opportunity these elections represent and end their self-imposed isolation." (USIA, May 24)

OSCE CHAIR-IN-OFFICE REFUSES TO MEET WITH BELARUSIAN DIPLOMAT

Mircea Geoana, the newly elected OSCE chair-in-office and Romanian Foreign Minister,
has refused to receive Victor Gaisenok, Belarusian Ambassador in Vienna, who was supposed to relay a memorandum revealing the allegedly illegitimate activities of Amb. Hans-Georg Wieck, head of the OSCE AMG in Belarus. The OSCE chair-in-office explained he refusal to meet with the Lukashenko official by the fact that the Belarusian authorities continue campaign to tar election-monitoring officials from the OSCE with espionage allegations and has not invited her in Minsk to resolve the issue with the country's leadership. (Radio Racyja, June 1)

OSCE HOSTS WORKSHOP ON MEDIA FREEDOM WITH BELARUSIAN JOURNALISTS

On May 31, Freimut Duve, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, hosted a public workshop on media freedom with Belarusian journalists in Vienna. Participants included Zhanna Litvina, president of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ); Vladimir Glod and Eduard Melnikov, BAJ's vice-presidents; Mikhail Pastukhov, a former Constitutional Court judge and now the director of the Media Defense Center of the BAJ; media expert Yuri Toporashev; Sergei Zayats, correspondent of Interfax news agency; Ludmila Kovaleva, representative of the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTR), Vladimir Lebedik, deputy editor-in-chief of Sovetskaya Belorussiya, state-owned newspaper, and an official of the State Press Committee. (Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta reported that Duve made a decision to invite the representatives of the state-controlled media to give the regime a lesson on democracy.) The workshop was aimed at facilitating an exchange of views with OSCE-participating States and European journalists. The representatives of independent media told the gathering that the pressure on the them is growing, and many editors expect even harsher restrictions during the electoral campaign this fall. "Belarus is a European country. Belarusian journalists must build up the future of their country with their own hands. This is necessary in order to avoid the repeat of the Yugoslavian situation, where Slobodan Milosevic was destroying his country's future," Duve commented to reporters on the results of the meeting. [Freimut Duve had to cancel his long-scheduled visit to Minsk at the end of April, because the Lukashenko government denied a visa to Diana Moxhay, Duve's senior adviser on Belarus, who was to accompany him. Duve viewed this decision as additional evidence of the deteriorating situation regarding the media in the country and the authorities' unwillingness to cooperate with the OSCE.- Ed.]. (OSCE, Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta, May 28- June 1)

GRENADE TOSSED AT RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN MINSK

On May 31, an unknown group threw a hand grenade onto the grounds of the Russian embassy in Minsk, causing slight damage to the building but no injuries, reported Interfax. The attack came as leaders of former Soviet republics were heading to the Belarusian capital for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that groups the 12 former Soviet republics, excluding the three Baltic states. Alexander Lukashenko immediately called an emergency government meeting to coordinate a police response to the attack. Vladimir Zametalin, deputy head of the presidential administration, accused the right-wing radical opposition of carrying out a terrorist act. "This is a double provocation that might have political consequences," said Fyodor Kotov, spokesman for the State Security Committee, or KGB. No arrests have been reported. Amb. Andrei Sannikov, international coordinator of Charter 97, and Ludmila Gryaznova, 13th Supreme Soviet deputy, called the blast a provocation perpetrated by the regime to intensify repressions against its political opponents and intimidate the democratic opposition. Vintsuk Vyachorka, leader of the BPF Adradzhenne, expressed doubts whether there was an explosion at all, reported Belapan. "I have not seen any footage of broken windows or shattered walls," he said. He considers the incident a part of candidate Lukashenko's presidential campaign in its worst form," adding that it reminds him an (alleged) attempt on Lukashenko's life carried out near Lyozno, Brest Region, in 1994. (Interfax, Charter 97, Belapan, May 31)

MASS DETENTIONS OF YOUTH OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS PROTESTING CIS SUMMIT

On May 31, members of the Malady (Youth) Front staged a protest action titled "Belarus To Europe". Pavel Severinets, Front's leader told journalists that they want "to remind to the neighbors of the East that they have arrived in an independent European state, not a North-Western Province of Russia." At least twenty activists were arrested for distributing a special edition of Nasha Svaboda, an opposition newspaper. Ivan Tomashevich, a Malady Front activist, was detained for rollerblading with a national white-red-white flag near the CIS Secretariat headquarters and the building of presidential administration. Most protesters were released shortly. (Belapan, June 1)

REGIONAL MALADY FRONT LEADER RECEIVES HEAVY FINE

On May 28, Vadim Saranchoukov, chair of the Grodno branch of the Malady Front, was charged with "repeated participation in mass actions that violated public order" under Art. 167, par. 1, part 2, of the Administrative Offenses Code and fined 150 minimal wages (about $640), reported Viasna Human Rights Center. Saranchoukov was arrested on May 1, during Labor Day demonstration [the International Day of the Solidarity of Workers in the Soviet era], organized by "Your Choice," a coalition of Grodno-based youth democratic NGOs, which resulted in mass arrests of opposition activists and journalists from independent media (see Belarus Update Vol. 4, No. 18). (Viasna Human Rights Center, May 28)

WORKER JAILED FOR COLLECTING SIGNATURES UNDER LETTER TO DICTATOR

Alexander Vasilyev, a worker from Pinsk, Brest Region, was sentenced to 10 days in jail on charges of organizing an unauthorized picket under Art. 167 of the Administrative Offenses Code for collecting signatures under an open letter to Lukashenko, which asks the Belarusian leader to provide further explanations to his statement made on May 18 during the Second All-Belarusian People's Assembly, that "the parents should work harder to feed their kids," reported Radio Racyja. Before going on trial, Vasilyev has already been detained six times for collecting signatures. Two weeks ago, he was fined 20 minimum wages (about $85) for the same offense. [The Lukashenko's policy of "market socialism" has resulted in high inflation and unemployment rate, and low average monthly wages. The government's commitment to a largely planned economy has created an atmosphere hostile to private enterprise and inhibited domestic and foreign investment. While then nation is mired in misery and widespread poverty, the authorities keep talking about "following a positive path of gradually adding value through working really hard -- or return to political adventurism, social cataclysms and the ultimate poverty of the common people."- Ed.] (Radio Racyja, May 29)

CRACKDOWN ON POLITICAL DISSENT ON CAMPUSES CONTINUES

The Lukashenko regime continues to harass outspoken students engaged in antigovernment activities. Vadim Makeev, a senior at the Pinsk branch of the Institute of Management and Commerce, was expelled for daring to come to school on September 26, 2000, in the Belarusian national shirt. Valery Savinov, rector of the Institute, called the boy to his office and ordered him to take it off. On September 30, Makeev was reprimanded and on October 13 expelled for "violating the institute regulations." Provost Vasily Yanchuk explained to Makeev that it was the punishment for calling on the students to monitor the parliamentary elections. Only after independent journalists and local human rights NGOs stood up for the boy, he was allowed to continue his studies. However, in April 2001, following Makeev's arrest on March 7, 2001, for pasting the opposition stickers, he was expelled once again, this time "for systematic nonattendance," reported Viasna Human Rights Center. In accordance with the Institute's regulations, a student can be expelled if he has missed 30 classes. Makeev insists that he missed only 24 and that the administration falsified the group register of attendance. He filled a complaint with the Pervomaisky District Court of Minsk demanding from the Institute administration to allow him to attend classes. On May 22, two of his former classmates and a lecturer testified in the court and confirmed that some signatures in the register are not authentic. The judge asked the institute for additional clarifications and postponed the trial until June 10. [If Makeev loses the case, he may be drafted. - Ed.] (Viasna Human Rights Center, May 28)

LOCAL OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS REMIND COMPATRIOTS ABOUT REGIME'S CRIMES

Activists of Zubr, a nation-wide youth opposition movement, organized two an unauthorized actions in Molodechno, Minks Region, protesting against political disappearances in the country, to demand a thorough investigation into the disappearance of Dmitry Zavadsky, and to account for the whereabouts of Yuri Zakharenko, the former Minister of Internal Affairs, founder of an independent officers' organization critical of the Lukashenko government, who disappeared on May 7, 1999, and of Victor Gonchar, a 13th Supreme Soviet deputy chair and a high profile antigovernment politician, who disappeared along with his business associate, Anatoly Krasovsky, on September 16, 1999. The activists formed a human chain on both sides of a road leading to the local outdoor market place, holding the portraits of the disappeared politicians and passing out a special issue of Nasha Svaboda, an independent newspaper. According to a recent survey, only about 50 percent of Belarusians heard about the abductions of prominent opposition leaders in the country. Seventy percent of those who knows believe that the regime should bear the responsibility for the crimes. No incidents with the police were reported. http://www.zubr-belarus.com/

DELEGATION OF FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS WILL NOT GO TO GENEVA

The Official Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB), formerly the Belarusian branch of the Soviet Union's All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, which consists of approximately 4.5 million workers (including retirees) and is by far the largest trade union organization, will not take part in a session of the International Labor Organization, which is to open in Geneva on June 3 and to discuss violations of workers' rights by the Lukashenko regime, because the regime refused to cover expenses associated with the participation. (Nasha Svaboda, June 1)

-AT HOME IN BELARUS-

REGIME SEEKS TO BOOST POLITICAL, TRADE TIES WITH YUGOSLAVIA

It seems that the bonds of friendship do not last long among dictators. Alexander Lukashenko, who had shown firm support for Belgrade in the past, condemning the 1999 NATO air strikes and even offering to let Yugoslavia join the embryonic union between Russia and Belarus, now hurries to forget his ex-comrade Slobodan Milosevic, former Yugoslav dictator, who was forced to concede defeat in the September 2000's Yugoslavian presidential polls as a result of massive street protests. On May 29, Mikhail Khvostov, Belarusian Foreign Minister, said after talks with Zoran Novakovic, Yugoslavia's Deputy Foreign Minister, that Belarus would like to step up its political and economic cooperation with Yugoslavia, reported Interfax. "We consider Yugoslavia to be a key factor of security and stability in the Balkans," Khvostov said, adding that Belarus also called for preservation of Yugoslavia's territorial integrity. Khvostov also asked Novakovic to relay Belarusian Premier Vladimir Yermoshin's invitation for his Yugoslav counterpart Zoran Zizic to visit the country. (Interfax, May 30)

-RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN BELARUS-

ASSOCIATION OF BELARUSIAN JEWRY CHARGES REGIME WITH ANTI-SEMITISM

The World Association of Belarusian Jewry issued a statement charging the Belarusian authorities with placing anti-Semitism and xenophobia on the list of the state's first priorities. Societal anti-Semitism persists, and the Lukashenko regime has done little to counter the spread of anti-Semitic literature, the organization said, adding that the government had refused to establish Jewish schools, help maintain Jewish cemeteries and historic monuments, or create memorials to Belarusian Holocaust victims. Many persons in the Jewish community remain concerned that the Lukashenko regime plans to promote greater unity with Russia may be accompanied by political appeals to groups in Russia that tolerate or promote anti-Semitism. For example, Lukashenko's calls for "Slavic solidarity" are well received and supported by anti-Semitic, neo-Fascist organizations in Russia such as the Russian National Unity, which has an active branch in Belarus. (Radio Racyja, May 29)

-CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS-

June 7- the United Civic Party to hold a series of pickets within in Minsk and thirty other Belarusian cities to protest against political disappearances in Belarus.

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For daily updates, visit our partners website, Charter 97, www.charter97.org with news in Belarusian, Russian, and English.

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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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