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INTERNATIONAL
LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
BELARUS
UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole
Vol.
4, No. 34
August 2001
***VISIT www.belarusupdate.org for news and views on
the election and accompanying human rights concerns.
Be sure to click on the "Russian" pages for
frequent updates.***
IN THIS ISSUE:
-
Lukashenko promises financial prosperity, human rights
watchdog
- OSCE/ODIHR election observer's mission begins
- Democratic forces back single opposition candidate
- Domash withdraws his candidacy in favor of Goncharik
- U.S.: Belarusian authorities are not committed to
holding free vote
- U.S.: Congress to send observers to monitor Belarusian
poll
- Finland MP to lead OSCE observation of Belarus's elections
- Regime denies visas to independent election observers
- Attacks on independent observation network continue
- IHF blasts Belarusian election campaign as unfair
- BHC: KGB, police campaign for Lukashenko
- Single candidate's meeting with voters interrupted
by police
- Goncharik's team members attacked, get in road accidents
- Authorities seize copies of independent newspaper
- Chronicle of arrests of opposition activists
- More news on disappearances
-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS NEWS-
LUKASHENKO
PROMISES FINANCIAL PROSPERITY, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHDOG
In
a campaign manifesto published on August 21 in Sovetskaya
Belarusiya, the main government newspaper, Alexander
Lukashenko promised to appoint a human rights ombudsman
as soon as he is re-elected, insisting that Belarusians
would be free to speak their minds, despite a sustained
crackdown on dissent under his rule. "Everyone
has the right to one's own opinion, and one will also
have the right to express it freely and without limits.
Any attempt by state officials to 'shut the mouth' of
the ordinary citizen will be nipped in the bud,"
said Lukashenko, whose administration continues to suppress
independent media, and police routinely club and arrest
opposition protesters. He also promised to raise average
salaries up to $250 a month in the next five years,
to equip every public school with computers and internet
access and to improve regulatory climate to stimulate
private businesses. He assured voters that their standard
of living would rise "to the level of economically
developed European nations" thanks to "gradual,
evolutionary movement" toward economic reforms.
With respect to foreign policy, Lukashenko said he would
primarily focus on relations with former Soviet republics.
"I carry in my hands this still not fully mature
living being - our Belarus, which is like a gentle and
fragile girl, our blue-eyed Belarus," Lukashenko
said in the campaign statement, which was accompanied
by a photo of him hugging a blonde toddler girl and
carnations.
Vladimir
Goncharik, chair of the Federation of Trade Unions of
Belarus and Lukashenko's main challenger in the Sept.
9 vote, promised in his platform to solve the disappearances
of several prominent people, ban police surveillance,
expand rights of parliament, and rehabilitate those
falsely convicted under Lukashenko. He promised to "end
Belarus' isolation and ... look for friends instead
of enemies." (Sovetskaya Belarusiya, August 21)
OSCE/ODIHR ELECTION OBSERVERS' MISSION BEGINS
The
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(OSCE/ODIHR) has deployed a mission to monitor the presidential
elections in Belarus. The mission, led by Hrair Balian,
head of the ODIHR Election Section, has established
its headquarters in Minsk with a team of 29 election
experts, who came from 20 countries throughout the OSCE
region, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany,
Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands,
Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland,
Tajikistan, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, England, and the US.
The mission will assess compliance of the election process
with the commitments outlined in the OSCE 1990 Copenhagen
document and subsequent agreements, as well as with
relevant Belarusian legislation. In addition, observers
will monitor the election campaign already underway,
including the balance of coverage across a diverse range
of media outlets. The scope of the mission will be limited,
however, by the late invitation issued on August 15,
and by the subsequent delays in issuing entry visas.
About 150 international short-term observers have been
requested to arrive shortly before polling day. In addition,
more than 50 parliamentarians from around the OSCE region
are expected. They will observe the Election Day procedures,
including voting and the counting of ballots. On the
day after the election, jointly with other European
institutions, the mission will issue a statement of
preliminary findings and conclusions. The ODIHR will
issue a comprehensive final report approximately one
month after the completion of the electoral process.
(OSCE, August 21)
DEMOCRATIC FORCES BACK SINGLE OPPOSITION CANDIDATE
On
August 18, the fifth congress of the Belarusian Democratic
Forces, which brought together 867 delegates representing
most of the Belarusian opposition parties and unions,
unanimously backed Vladimir Goncharik to stand as single
opposition candidate against the incumbent Belarusian
president in the next month's presidential election.
"The move to support a single candidate is a historic
event that offers hope of success in the elections and
for the return of Belarus on the way of democratic development,"
commented Yury Khadyka, deputy chair of the BPF Adradzhenne
and head of the Organizing Committee of the Congress
of Democratic Forces.
Goncharik told the meeting that "Belarus can and
must become a real democratic state with beautiful cities,
normal roads, modern agriculture and, the main thing,
with people who are provided for by the state and who
believe in tomorrow." (Nasha Svaboda, August 22)
DOMASH
WITHDRAWS HIS CANDIDACY IN FAVOR OF GONCHARIK
On August 22, presidential candidate Semyon Domash announced
that he was leaving the race to give his support to
Vladimir Goncharik. The Central Election Commission
confirmed that Domash requested to be removed from the
list of candidates in the Sept. 9 election and said
officials would be meeting within days to formally accept
the withdrawal. "From today, I am Goncharik's first
deputy," Domash told reporters. "If he wins,
I will be named Prime Minister."
For his part Goncharik said: "I am very grateful
to Semyon Domash who took this decision with the sole
aim of an opposition victory." Domash's move was
widely expected after his repeated promises to withdraw
in favor of Goncharik. The day before the announcement,
he used a television broadcast slot assigned to him
as a candidate to openly campaign for Goncharik. In
addition to Goncharik, nationalist leader Sergei Gaidukevich
is also challenging Lukashenko.
(Interfax, August 22)
U.S.: BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES ARE NOT COMMITTED TO HOLDING
FREE VOTE
On
August 23, David T. Johnson, U.S. Ambassador to the
OSCE, told the Permanent Council of the OSCE that actions
by the government of Belarus undermine the confidence
of the international community that the upcoming elections
will be free, fair, and open.
"Unimpeded
access to the media, the ability of domestic and international
observers to do their work, and a political environment
free from intimidation are essential components of a
free and
transparent electoral process," Amb. Johnson said.
"The Belarusian Government's crackdown on the independent
press, the domestic observation effort, and its own
civil society call into question its intention to meet
those standards," he added.
Amb.
Johnson criticized raids on newspapers and printing
companies and the offices of the independent observation
network as well as raids on the offices of NGOs as a
part of the nationwide crackdown on the media and the
opposition. The Belarusian authorities have seized computers
and printing equipment, frozen the assets of media companies,
and arrested NGO staff members and members of Zubr,
the youth opposition movement.
"Domestic
and international respect for and relations with the
government that emerges from the presidential election
will primarily derive from its legitimacy," Johnson
said. "We thus urge Belarus to take all the necessary
steps to meet international standards that will enable
it to turn a new page in its relations with the international
community." A full transcript of Amb. Johnson's
statement can be found at: http://www.usia.gov
U.S. CONGRESS TO SEND OBSERVERS TO MONITOR BELARUSIAN
POLL
The
U.S. Congress will send a delegation to monitor the
upcoming presidential elections in Belarus, Rep. Peter
Deutsch (D-FL) told reporters in Minsk. "The conduct
of free, fair and transparent elections in Belarus is
very important to the U.S. Congress, as transparency
in any election is critical for the result to be recognized
by everyone," Deutsch said. "If the election
is not free and fair, I fear that the relations between
the US and Belarus will only get worse. I sincerely
hope that this will not be the case," he added.
During his weeklong trip to Belarus, Rep. Deutsch met
Mikhail Khvostov, Belarusian Foreign Minister, as well
as Lukashenko's leading opponent, Vladimir Goncharik,
and other members of Belarusian opposition. The U.S.
delegation would be joining 150 OSCE observers, some
of whom had already arrived in Belarus, Deutsch said,
adding that he himself would be a part of the U.S. mission.
(Interfax, August 23)
FINLAND MP TO LEAD OSCE OBSERVATION OF BELARUS'S ELECTIONS
Kimmo
Kiljunen (Finland MP), OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President,
will lead the OSCE observers for the presidential elections
in Belarus. Kiljunen will act as the Special Representative
of Mircea Dan Geoana, Romanian Foreign Minister and
the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, leading the mission and
delivering the preliminary post election statement on
September 10. The election observation mission includes
40 OSCE PA parliamentarians from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Kyrgyzstan,
Romania, Spain, Sweden, Russia, Turkey and England as
well as parliamentarians from the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament.
The mission is a joint effort between the OSCE/ODIHR
and the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE. The Parliamentary
Assembly will also co-ordinate its activities with the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and
the European Parliament which will function as a parliamentary
troika and provide the political leadership of the election
observation mission. The mission will assess the conduct
of the elections, the political campaign and the role
of the media. (OSCE, August 23)
REGIME DENIES VISAS TO INDEPENDENT ELECTION OBSERVERS
On
August 23, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry confirmed
that two election observers from the OSCE - one British
citizen and one U.S. - had been denied visas, but said
it had nothing to do with their work in the organization.
"They were refused visas because Belarus like any
other country has a list of people who aren't allowed
to cross its border," commented Pavel Latushko,
Foreign Ministry spokesman. (Interfax, August 24)
ATTACKS ON INDEPENDENT OBSERVATION NETWORK CONTINUE
On
August 21, about twenty officers of the Frunzensky District
Department of the State Committee for Financial Investigation
raided the headquarters of the Belarusian Voters' Club,
a non-governmental organization which has been authorized
by the OSCE to train independent observers to monitor
the election, and seized office equipment owned by the
OSCE AMG in Minsk. The law-enforcers searched Vladimir
Gudeev, the organization's head, forcefully took the
keys from the office, locked the door, and did not allow
reporters and OSCE representatives to enter the premises.
Gudeev was summoned the next day to the Department for
interrogation. It was the third raid within one week.
After August 17's visit, the Committee representatives
said they need to check the owners of the organization's
equipment and its financial reports. On August 20, they
confiscated all technical documentation found in the
office. "Such illegal actions…are aimed at
exerting pressure on NGOs and the independent media
and at creating obstacles to the work of support groups
of the presidential candidates who challenge the incumbent
president," said the Belarusian Helsinki Committee
in a statement. "The BHC has good reason to believe
that the removal of computers from the offices of non-governmental
organizations is the first stage of the destruction
of the public control system." "It is a flagrant
violation of people's rights and freedoms, which entails
non-recognition of the election results."
(Nasha Svaboda, August 22)
IHF BLASTS BELARUSIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN AS UNFAIR
On
August 21, after observing the presidential campaign
during his visit to Belarus, Aaron Rhodes, executive
director of the International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights, said "this is not a normal election
campaign, but an effort to prevent a fair election."
"It is clear to us that the actions of the government
are not ensuring free and fair elections; instead they
are protecting bureaucratic mechanisms giving the government
the power to determine the results," Rhodes told
reporters in Minsk. "I will take the liberty to
comment that the president of Belarus is simply afraid
of democracy," he added.
Rhodes
recalled Lukashenko's July 31 speech, in which he made
clear that the "governmental apparatus" was
expected to ensure his re-election. "The statement
was a violation of law and international norms,"
commented the IHF's executive director. He warned that
the Belarusian authorities could easily use the early
voting procedure to falsify the election results. "The
early voting is not by itself a violation of international
standards," Rhodes said. "But under the current
system, there is no transparency and there is no way
to control the process," he added.
The
IHF's executive director said that observers were receiving
reports on the printing of more ballots than there are
voters in districts. "These reports give rise to
suspicion that there will be efforts to replace "undesirable"
ballots, Rhodes said, adding that the election commissions
in Belarus have not been formed "to reflect political
pluralism" and are headed by Lukashenko loyalists.
Rhodes referred to the results of a survey conducted
by the Novak Sociological Laboratory, a polling agency,
which revealed that over the last three weeks, the Belarusian
state TV has given Lukashenko's campaign four hours
of coverage, while the other campaigns have received
a total of 26 minutes.
The
IHF executive director also noted that his team's conclusions
were based on the documents provided by the Belarusian
Helsinki Committee (BHC) and other Belarusian NGOs cooperating
with the BHC. Rhodes said that the IHF experts attempted
to arrange a meeting with Lydia Yermoshina, chair of
the Central Commission for Elections and National Referenda,
but she did not found an opportunity to meet them. (Belapan/Nasha
Svaboda, August 21)
BHC: KGB, POLICE CAMPAIGN FOR LUKASHENKO
On
August 21, Tatyana Protko, chair of the Belarusian Helsinki
Committee, accused the Lukashenko regime of involving
secret services in the election process. She told journalists
that the local authorities have formed groups to campaign
for the incumbent Belarusian president, which include
officers of the local police and the Committee for State
Security (KGB). She called it "a dangerous trend"
and a flagrant violation of the Law on the Committee
for State Security, the Constitution and electoral legislation.
The
BHC also accused the authorities of planning large-scale
falsifications during the elections. The organization
received information that the regime ordered the printing
of more ballots than there are registered voters and
attempts will be made to replace ballots that were not
cast for Lukashenko. According to the BHC, officials
speaking on the condition of anonymity told human rights
activists that the election commissions have been ordered
to ensure a predetermined voter turn-over during early
voting - up to 30 percent in Minsk and up to 40 percent
in regions - and a certain percent of votes for each
candidate. The BHC urged members of the election commissions
at all levels to prevent electoral fraud, an offence
punishable by up to five years in prison. (Belapan,
August 22)
LUKASHENKO SUPPORTERS ALREADY COUNT CHICKENS
On
August 24, Mikhail Obrazov, secretary of the Nationwide
Coordination Council of Patriotic Forces, a coalition
of about 30 pro-Lukashenko political parties and NGOs,
promised to do anything possible to prevent the OSCE
and local monitors from carrying out "anti-constitutional
and illegal" activities and from "provoking
conflicts and disrupting work" of the election
commissions. The Lukashenko supporters are so sure of
his victory that they have already applied to the Minsk
City Council for a permission to hold celebrations on
September 10. (Belapan, August 24)
OPPOSITION CANDIDATE DEMANDS EQUAL ACCESS TO STATE MEDIA
Vladimir
Goncharik accused Sovetskaya Belarusiya, state-sponsored
newspaper, of violating the Belarusian Electoral Code
with dedicating its whole August 16's issue to praising
Alexander Lukashenko. On August 22, Yermoshina told
reporters that the newspaper couldn't be blamed for
devoting 99 percent of its space to the president since
it is "a norm" rather than a breach of law.
She qualified her comments with saying that it was her
private opinion but she could "testify in court,"
if necessary. Goncharik insists that the Electoral Code
guarantees all candidates equal access to the state
media and requires state media outlets to give the candidates
equal opportunity for campaigning. Charter 97 reported
that all major state newspapers, including Chyrvonaya
Zmena, Znamya Yunosti, Zvyazda, and Respublika, received
an order to reprint in color on their front pages Lukashenko's
election platform, first published by Sovetskaya Belarusiya.
(Belapan/Charter 97, August 22-23)
GONCHARIK, LUKASHENKO MAY SCORE EVEN IN ONE-ON-ONE ELECTION
According
to the latest survey of the Belarusian public opinion
conducted by Belapan in Minsk, the current head of state
and Vladimir Goncharik would each get 36% of votes if
their names were the only ones on the ballot. Seventy
nine percent of Minskers plan to come to the polling
stations. Seventeen percent of the voters would vote
against both top candidates. Twelve percent found it
difficult to choose between the two.
Provided
all four registered candidates (Alexander Lukashenko,
Vladimir Goncharik, Semyon Domash, and Sergei Gaidukevich)
were on the ballot, 35 percent of those interviewed
would vote for the current Belarusian state of head,
20 percent would vote for Goncharik. Sixteen percent
preferred Domash and seven percent chose Gaidukevich.
Fourteen percent found it difficult to make a choice.
With Domash out of the race, Lukashenko would get 36
percent, Goncharik 28 percent, and Gaidukevich 10 percent
of all votes. (Belapan, August 21)
NEW POLITICAL ASSOCIATION HOLDS ITS CONGRESS
On
August 19, "For New Belarus," a new civil-rights
movement for election of a new president, established
by Vasily Leonov, the former Minister of Agriculture,
held its first congress in Minsk. The congress elected
Leonov as its chair and a 45-member political council,
which includes Pavel Kozlovsky, former Defense Minister,
Mikhail Chigir, Former Prime Minister, and Sergey Kalyakin,
leader of the Party of Communists of Belarus, and others.
Leonov confirmed his intention to closely cooperate
with the Coordination Council of the Democratic Forces
Council without duplicating its functions.
The
next day, Leonov addressed the state officials of all
levels urging them not to commit a
crime by participating in falsification of the election
results and not to deprive their children and grandchildren
of decent future. "Now, with less than three weeks
left before the ballot you have to do only one simple
thing - comply with the Belarusian legislation,"
Leonov said, adding that crimes related to elections'
falsification have no statute of limitations and that
without falsification of the results, Lukashenko is
"doomed to defeat." (Charter 97, August 20
- Nasha Svaboda, August 22)
SINGLE CANDIDATE'S MEETING WITH VOTERS INTERRUPTED BY
POLICE
On
August 22, the Soligorsk, Minsk Region, authorities
ordered the administration of the local steel factory
to cancel Vladimir Goncharik's meeting with potential
voters. The plant's deputy director threatened workers
with dismissal if they show up at the gathering. Nonetheless,
about a hundred of the factory's employees came to meet
the candidate, who was warned that the meeting is considered
an unauthorized rally and all participants would be
punished. Outraged workers did not allow the police
to disperse the gathering. (Charter 97, August 23)
GONCHARIK'S TEAM MEMBERS ATTACKED
On
August 21, Maj.-Gen. Valery Kez, former deputy chief
of the Belarusian KGB and a member of Vladimir Goncharik's
election team, who arrived in Belarus from Moscow to
take part in the fifth congress of the Belarusian Democratic
Forces, was attacked and beaten by a group of unidentified
individuals near a construction site on Filimonov Street
in Minsk. He suffered broken ribs and severe bruising
near the right collarbone. Kez decided not "to
waste time" filling a complaint with the police
because he believes that his assailants were "wearing
the same uniform." (Charter 97, August 23)
GONCHARIK'S
AIDES GET INTO ROAD ACCIDENT
On
August 19, Vitaly Malashko, former deputy of the 13th
Supreme Soviet and the head of Goncharik's Brest region
election team, was involved in a car crash. The accident
occurred at around 2 p.m. near the city of Bereza, Brest
Region, while Vitaly Malashko and his wife Inessa were
returning from Brest to Minsk. Malashko was seriously
injured and is currently in the intensive care unit
of Bereza hospital. According to Valentina Polevikova,
Goncharik's senior aide, her deputy, Sergei Lozhkin
has a similar road accident on August 20. He crashed
after his car's tire blew up. (Nasha Svaboda, August
22)
MINSKGATE?
Authorities have planted microphones at the campaign
headquarters of Vladimir Goncharik, the Belarusian opposition's
single democratic candidate for president, Goncharik
campaign officials told reporters in Minsk on August
21. Valentina Polevikova, a senior aide to Mr. Goncharik,
even showed an electronic bug found in her office.
In
addition, the Lukashenko government spares no effort
to limit Mr. Goncharik's contacts with the public, Ms.
Polevikova said. On August 18, according to her, authorities
even canceled a town festival in Cherven, Minsk Region,
prior to Mr. Goncharik's arrival, thus depriving him
of a large audience. (Nasha Svaboda, August 22)
GAIDUKEVICH READY TO PULL OUT OF RACE IF GONCHARIK DOES
THE SAME
On
August 23, Sergei Gaidukevich, chair of the Liberal
Democratic Party of Belarus,
told Belapan that he would withdraw from the presidential
race if Vladimir Goncharik did the same. "It is
time to put an end to this circus," Gaidukevich
said, adding that he had filed a complaint with the
Central Election Commission about biased coverage of
his campaign by the state media. He particularly complained
about excessive cuts made by governmental censors in
his prerecorded 30-minute radio address to the voters
broadcast on August 23 and the Belarusian TV assertion
that his campaign staff "does nothing." The
presidential candidate expressed readiness to provide
the state media with a detailed report on his and his
team's activities and urged the election authorities
to issue a warning to the Belarusian State Television
and Radio Company for discrediting him as a presidential
candidate. (Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta, August 23)
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES' INCOME/PROPERTY DECLARATIONS
PUBLISHED
On
August 24, Zvyazda, state-owned newspaper, published
income statements and property declarations of the three
remaining presidential candidates and their immediate
relatives.
Alexander Lukashenko earned about $3,200 last year and
has no car, making him the poorest of the three candidates.
The incumbent Belarusian president and his wife Galina,
who made about $600 last year and owns 56 stocks of
the Shklov butter factory, have a house near Shklov
but no residence in the capital. Lukashenko's elder
son earned about $930 and is listed to have no property
except a motorcycle. His mother receives less then $20
monthly pensions and has no property at all. Vladimir
Goncharik declared an income of $4,500 last year. He
has an apartment, a trailer, and a mini tractor. His
wife earned last year $310 and owns a summerhouse outside
Minsk. Sergei Gaidukevich of the Liberal Democratic
Party declared less than $500 of income, but has two
trucks, two cars, two trailers, a summerhouse, a private
apartment and some land, according to the report. (Zvyazda,
August 24)
--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS--
AUTHORITIES SEIZE COPIES OF INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
On August 22, the Belarusian authorities confiscated
August 23's issue of Narodnaya Volya, an independent
daily, which included the campaign program of Lukashenko's
leading opponent Vladimir Goncharik. "This is mad,
it is medieval," complained the daily's editor-in-
chief Iosif Seredich, promising that the newspaper "will
not shut down, and one day these people will have to
repay us." Seredich managed to snatch several issues
of the newspaper, which he handed out to reporters.
This incident is the latest in a series of attacks against
the independent media just weeks before September 9
presidential polls in which iron-willed Belarusian leader
is seeking re-election. (Charter 97, August 23)
OSCE PROTESTS SEIZURE OF INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
On
21 August, Freimut Duve, the OSCE Representative on
Freedom of the Media, wrote a letter to Mikhail Khvostov,
Belarusian Foreign Minister, expressing great concern
about the seizure of the special issue of Nasha Svaboda,
an independent newspaper, dedicated to the election
platform of Vladimir Goncharik, the single democratic
opposition candidate in the upcoming presidential elections.
On August 17, police from the Committee for Financial
Investigation entered Magic publishing house, where
Nasha Svaboda is published, seizing all 300,000 copies
of the special issue. The Committee's representative
claimed that the issue was confiscated due to the "inaccuracies
in Magic's financial accounts," without providing
an explanation as to why Nasha Svaboda was targeted.
[On August 22, the Magic publishing house was raided
again by tax police, its two printing presses were sealed,
and its bank account frozen. In addition, two press
runs of a neighboring press were seized including Vladimir
Goncharik's election commission-approved election leaflet.-Ed.].
"We have learned that Nasha Svaboda has received
an official warning from the State Press Committee for
publishing in the special issue information about a
statement allegedly made by President Lukashenko during
a meeting with his executive branch. The warning contains
a threat to close down the newspaper for three months
if the Press Law is violated again. We are aware that
the information, which is the apparent basis for this
warning, was published quite widely in a variety of
media, including in Russia, approximately two weeks
ago," wrote the OSCE representative. He believes
that such a blatant violation of freedom of the media
in Belarus puts into question the commitment of the
Government to hold free and fair elections in September,
underlining that equal access to the media was essential
for such elections." "Using alleged financial
irregularities of the Magic printing house to confiscate
an entire special issue with information on one of the
candidates is what I call 'structural censorship',"
wrote Duve, adding that threatening to close down a
private newspaper for publishing a statement about the
leading politician, President Lukashenko, also does
not conform to OSCE standards. He called on the Belarusian
government to cease its "unending, problematic
treatment of the independent press in Belarus,"
and to release the Nasha Svaboda special issue. (OSCE,
August 21)
"This action-based on vague charges-is clearly
designed to hinder the work of the press during the
run-up to the presidential election," said Ann
Cooper, executive director of CPJ, a New York nonprofit
dedicated to defending the rights of journalists world-wide,
in a statement. "During election campaigns, all
ideas and views must circulate freely, not just those
of the ruling party." The full text of the statement
can be found at: http://www.cpj.org
ARTICLE 19 PROTEST AGAINST KGB's UNDERMINING MEDIA FREEDOM
On
August 17, ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free
Expression, wrote an open letter to Vasily Litvinov,
Grodno Regional Prosecutor, expressing its alarm at
the escalation of KGB activities undermining media freedom
in Grodno, particularly in relation to Pahonya, the
non-state Grodno-based newspaper. In May 2001, all Pahonya's
employees were summoned at least once to the anti-terrorism
unit of the local KGB office for questioning in connection
with an article entitled "Integrationists will
not come to Grodno" published in the newspaper's
May 10's issue. This article included a statement by
a before unknown organization - the Council of Commanders
of Belarusian National Self-Defense - which contained
threats against members of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Russia-Belarus Union, due to meet in Grodno later
that month. During the interrogation, KGB agents questioned
the journalists on the source of the above statement,
as well as on the structure and operation of the newspaper.
On August 7, a KGB officer summoned Pahonya's journalist
Pavel Mazeika to his unit for an interrogation, during
which the agent allegedly tried to recruit the journalist.
The agent also allegedly said that 'although the closure
of a newspaper does not lie within the competence of
the KGB, there are other relevant bodies which can do
that'. Moreover, on August 8, Nikolai Markevich, Pahonya's
editor-in-chief, was summoned to the regional Deputy
Prosecutor's office and informed that the newspaper
was to be closed.
"At
minimum, the KGB activities are in clear breach of Article
48 of the Law on Press, which forbids 'encroaching upon
freedom of information by means of interference in the
activities or violation of professional independence'
of a newspaper or journalists," wrote Federica
Prina, the organization's Europe Program Officer in
the letter. "They also run counter to Belarus'
international obligations under Article 19 of the ICCPR,
establishing everyone's right to freedom of expression,
including the 'freedom to seek, receive and impart information
and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either
orally, in writing or in print'."
"The
measures adopted by the KGB are clearly disproportionate
and intimidatory. International practice is strongly
supportive, with few and narrowly defined exceptions,
of the right to publish materials even if they shock,
offend or disturb the reader. The interference by the
KGB in the work of the independent media throughout
Belarus creates an atmosphere of intense intimidation,
preventing the media from fulfilling the function of
conveying society's different viewpoints, and serves
to repress independent voices," Prina wrote. The
organization strongly urged the Lukashenko government
to immediately to cease all forms of intimidation against
journalists, and actively to foster conditions in which
the independent media may flourish. (ARTICLE 19, August
17)
OPPOSITION YOUTH FIGHT SLOGAN WAR AGAINST LUKASHENKO
"Bison
to Belarus is what the bear is to Russia and the eagle
is to the United States. Zubr's overriding goal is to
show Belarus's legendarily passive population by vivid
example that it is possible to challenge authority,"
wrote Michael Wines in August 17's issue of the New
York Times. The gamble is that Zubr can awaken enough
people, and rattle enough of Lukashenko's enforcers,
to make it impossible for his regime to rig the results
of the forthcoming elections. "Most of the population
is against the present regime, but they think the regime
will win anyway," believes Dmitry Borodko, head
of the Borisov office of the Viasna Human Rights Center
and coordinator of Zubr in the Minsk Region. "People
just don't see signs of struggle. But if they see someone
struggle against Lukashenko, they will begin to believe."
In
an attempt to outwit the police, Zubrs has adopted hit-and-run
tactics, emerging from secret headquarters for a swift
sticker-sticking raid before melting into crowds in
the streets.
"The
sticker may be small, and there is not much written
on it, but it says what it says clearly, and anyone
who sees it will stop and think," said Ludmila
Gryaznova, 13th Supreme Soviet deputy. "Young activists
in this campaign have often been arrested and tried.
I can name hundreds of such cases. That means the authorities
are afraid of it, and that such methods are necessary
and important," Gryaznova added.
Some
local observers remain skeptical whether Zubr's street
theater and graffiti will backfire in a conservative
population. For example, as some note, they could get
into serious trouble for defacing property. That many
Belarusians give the opposition a shot at beating Lukashenko
is testament to the president's deep-seated and apparently
spreading unpopularity. The full text of the article
can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/19/international/europe/19BELA.html?searchpv=day02
CHRONICLE OF ARRESTS OF OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS
On August 17, at approximately 7:00 p.m., several dozen
members of the United Civic Party, the Malady Front,
and the BPF Adradzhenne, staged an unauthorized picket
under the slogan "We Want to Know the Truth"
in downtown Soligorsk, a small coal mining town in the
Minsk Region, reported Viasna Human Rights Center. The
activists wearing T-shirts with portraits of disappeared
politicians, formed a human chain calling on the regime
to release information about vanished opposition leaders
and journalists Dmitry Zavadsky. Within about 25 minutes,
the police arrived and arrested 12 demonstrators, including
Larisa Nasanovich, Boris Korotkikh, Venera Peteneva.
Lubov Kovalchuk, Sergei Cherkasov, Mikhail Kuropenko,
Nina Yarmolinskaya, Nikolai Bobrikov, Yury Pikula (minor),
Evgeny Sulatanov (minor), Alexsey Stalybko (minor),
Leonid Markhotko, reporter of Chelovek (The Man) magazine.
(Viasna Human Rights Center, August 20)
On August 22, twelve Zubr members wearing T-shirts "Time
to Clean Out!" were detained by the police during
a meeting with Ludmila Shipai, deputy head of the Sovetsky
District Executive Committee of Minsk. The policemen
forced the activists to leave the premises and brought
them to the Sovetsky District Internal Affairs Directorate.
All, except Igor Suld, were set free after about five
hours of detention. Suld was taken to the Okrestina
detention center after the law-enforcers found out that
number of his pager was put on walls of the buildings
all over the town. He spent the night in custody. http://www.zubr-belarus.com/
On
August 20, Dmitry Karpenko and his friend, both Zubr
activists, were arrested in the village of Golubitsa,
Gomel Region, for pasting stickers "Time to Clean
Out!" The detainees spent the night at the police
station, where Karpenko was charged with "illegal
distribution of the printed materials of an unregistered
outlet" under Art. 172, par. 2, of the Belarusian
Administrative Code, which is punishable by fine up
to five minimal wages. http://www.zubr-belarus.com/
CAN WEST TIP BALANCE IN FAVOR OF DEMOCRACY AGAINST DICTATORSHIP?
The
United States must redouble its public diplomacy to
help civic and opposition forces mobilize against Europe's
last dictator in Belarus, wrote Ken Adelman, former
arms control director in the Reagan administration;
Max Kampelman, ex-head of the U.S. delegation to the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and
Mark Palmer, former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, in the
Washington Times. Kampelman and Palmer are also members
of the Executive Advisory Committee of the Washington-based
Democratization Policy Institute.
"The United States, EU, and other democracies have
a responsibility to insist on and work toward a fairly
contested election. Because the playing field is so
skewed in Lukashenko's favor, democracies should take
their lead from Belarusian democratic opposition and
civic forces to determine how best to help them,"
they wrote.
"Lukashenko
is desperate for Kremlin support, though he appears
uncertain how much longer Moscow can tolerate such raw
dictatorship. Washington and Brussels should ensure
that continued Russian support for Lukashenko exacts
a serious political cost," the authors continued.
"Democracy in Belarus, like the brutal war in Chechnya,
is not a serious component in the U.S. relationship
with Moscow, and the opposition has little visibility
in the Western media, unlike its Serbian counterparts.
Mr. Lukashenko wants to keep it that way, but his ability
to intimidate a population with little left to lose
is crumbling." The authors believe that as in Belarus,
it is also "time to choose" in Washington
and Brussels. "With support and pressure, the United
States and its allies can help decisively tip the balance
in favor of the Belarusian people against their anachronistic
regime. Belarus will be a decisive battleground against
unabashed dictatorship in the long, costly struggle
for a democratic Europe whole and free," they concluded.
Read the article at: http://charter97.org/e/index.phtml?sid=0&did=23&eid=08&aid=2001&nid=18
MORE
NEWS ON DISAPPEARANCES
The
League has received the following information from the
Nasha Svaboda, independent newspaper. A few days ago,
a stranger visited the newspaper office. He brought
a videotape and left as unexpectedly as he came. The
videotape features a person revealing the details of
disappearances of Victor Hanchar and Anatol Krasovski
in 1999. The face of the person can't be seen and his
voice has obviously been changed as well. The newspaper
has published the full text of the sensational testimony:
"I,
former serviceman of the special unit of interior forces,
want to tell the following. I served in the ranks in
the military garrison 3214 of the Belarusian army. Afterwards,
I did my service in SOBR at the Behomel base. There,
in September 1999 I had a chance to eyewitness the events,
which, I consider a direct link to the vanishing of
the politicians Hanchar and Krasovsky during that period
of time. Back then I was afraid to speak out, because
those, who committed these crimes, are ready for anything.
In
the first military company, made up of some 100 people,
was a group of contract soldiers, who served differently
than the rest. All of them were in "purple berets".
The group was under subordination to the first company
commander, then major Pavlichenko. Approximately once
a week these people left the military site. They would
be wearing civilian clothes and having arms and masks.
As far as I remember they did so quite frequently. Nobody
of them knew what goals they were pursuing, except for
the executors themselves and, of course, their commander.
Pavlichenko was the one giving orders. His right hand
was a warrant officer Balynin, whose nickname was Balu,
but Pavlichenko would always be the one in charge. They
never took Balu with them on the missions - he's too
fat and clumsy.
They
usually rode two vehicles - BMW 525 and red Audi 200.
Audi 200 is an American version of a usual Audi 100.
The vehicles belonged to SOBR. They all were taken from
confiscated property. They had all different numberplates
at their disposal - civil, red, any sort of plates,
a whole heap of them. I oftentimes noticed plates 0221MM
and 0224MM. On their windshields there always were special
passes, which we colloquially called "untouchables".
Nobody would ever dare stop a car with such a pass -
neither traffic police nor the military watch. Later
there appeared a claret-colored minivan Ford with same
pass. All vehicles had tinted windows. Sometimes they
would drive a white Opel.
Then
in mid-September 1999 the group headed for the town
on BMW and Audi. I was later told that they captured
two people in Minsk, who stood near "Cherokee"
Jeep. They grabbed those two and, when the cars pulled
up, they threw one person into each vehicle. They told
a soldier from transportation unit Mekiyanets to get
behind Jeep's steering. Around 1 a.m. the motorcade
entered the military site.
I
heard the cars skid and stop. But they didn't park them
in the garrison at once. After the cars stopped, there
sounded two shots with a short interval. A few minutes
later both vehicles drove inside the gates. It seemed
to me, while others confirmed it later, that the Jeep
was left in the forest at a stone-throw's distance from
the site. Officers and "contractors" proceeded
for a dinner and then went to bed.
Next
day right after the breakfast we were driven at around
9.30 to dig a ditch in the neighboring forest. We were
accompanied by Pavlichenko. We dug until lunchtime,
so the ditch was a huge and deep one. At first, there
was sand, but later it changed for some stony clay.
We made this large pit and returned to the garrison.
In the evening a bunch of contract militaries loaded
aboard GAS-66 crowbars and sledgehammers and pulled
out in the direction of that pit. They were followed
by an armed personnel carrier, driven by commander of
the transportation company then lieutenant Koklin.
Jeep
was thrown into the ditch and leveled atop with turf.
Pavlichenko barred them from taking anything from the
Jeep. Someone felt like a tape-recorder but "Pavlik"
forbid him. They only spared a huge accumulator, which
they used in the transportation company as a substitution.
Before that they took off jewelry from the dead bodies
and cast it into the lake.
The operation on the apprehension of the two also attracted
warrant officer Murashko (special forces fighter well
in his forties) and "purple berets"-contractors
Yuri Budko and Novatorsky (Vladimir by name, if my memory
doesn't fail me). They also engaged in other missions.
I'm unfamiliar with the names of others but I could
visually identify them. One of them is oftentimes televised
on BT in a commercial about Special Forces veterans.
He stands there next to the banner. You may find their
shots in the booklet about our troops.
Following
the operation all group members received monetary rewards.
The bonus money was given to them by Minister Sivakov
through Pavlichenko. I know that he said: "This
money will serve you as somewhat moral comfort".
I'm also aware of the fact that when they shot down
the people, they proclaimed: "In the name of president!".
Right
now Pavlichenko is cruising around the country. He is
gathering his folks, former "purple berets"
and tells them: "We still have the last say. We
got to protect the president." He claims they got
immeasurable amount of money. But after all that turmoil
in press many don't trust him anymore and don't feel
like risking.
There's
no blood on me. But I fear for my life and that of my
family. And I urge KGB, procuracy and journalists to
find and interrogate all the people, whom I made mention
of. Interrogate also the direct participants - Budko,
Novatorsky, Mekiyanets, Koklin, Murashko, Pavlichenko.
Talk to the soldiers who stood on duty that day, ask
those who dug out the pit. They saw everything. Don't
let the issue be done away with." (Nasha Svaboda,
August 22)
************************************************************************
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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LEAGUE HAS MOVED: PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS
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