INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

BELARUS UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 5, No. 2
January 2001

IN THIS ISSUE:

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS-

- Sweeping Stalin-Style Purges Underway In Belarus
- Two Protesters Sentenced To 15 Days In Jail; Nine Others Fined
- Zubr Activists Demand Investigation Into Friend's Death
- Wives Of Disappeared Belarusians Address Polish President
- Europeans Demand Investigation Into Political Disappearances
- Belarusian Foreign Minister: OSCE AMG Should Rethink Its Priorities
- Mogilev-Based NGO Fined For Violation Of Decree #8
- U.S. Consider Belarus Unworthy Of Normal Trade Relations
- Authorities Deny Air Time To Catholic Radio Program

SWEEPING STALIN-STYLE PURGES UNDERWAY IN BELARUS

On January 8, Mikhail Leonov, 48-year-old head of the Minsk Tractor Factory, was arrested on charges of abuse of office, large-scale embezzlement, and unlawful entrepreneurial activities. This was the third case to be brought against an industrial chieftain in recent weeks. If found guilty, Leonov faces up to eight years in prison and confiscation of property. Leonov was removed from his post, and his office, apartment on Storozhevskaya Street, and company car were searched, said Alexei Taranov, spokesman for the Prosecutor General's Office. Taranov did not specify the circumstances of Leonov's detention and declined to comment on reports that Leonov was arrested on a Russia-bound train with a forged passport in his pocket..

Nikolai Shalima, Leonov's attorney, petitioned Victor Sheiman, Prosecutor General,
to release his client from custody after signing a written pledge not to flee, basing his petition on the fact that Leonov needs urgent medical treatment. According to Alexei Taranov, Leonov's medical examination indicated that he is healthy, and therefore will remain in custody. Shalima also told reporters that according to the arrest warrant, Leonov allegedly signed a deal with Rivertekh, a Russian company, in 1998. The deal resulted in $120,000 in losses. Also in 1998, a contract made with G.R.O. TRADING LLC, an American company, allegedly lead to $1m loss. The Leonov's attorney dismissed these allegations as totally groundless.

According to Belarusskaya Delovaya Gazeta, Leonov has been under constant state surveillance for the past several months. The arrest comes after a two-month audit of the factory. Leonov has never shied away from criticizing Alexander Lukashenko for maintaining a Soviet-style command economy, eschewing privatization and free market reforms. He has been heading the Minsk Tractor Factory since 1995.

Rumors about Leonov's possible arrest started circulating in early November 2001. "This arrest is not a surprise for me... Lukashenko has repeatedly said that Leonov's fate was hanging by a thread," commented Alexander Bukhvostov, head of the Union of Industrial and Agricultural Machinery Constructors.

"A high-profile criminal prosecution campaign launched by Lukashenko is aimed at intimidating management at all levels," commented Stanislav Bogdankevich, former head of the Belarusian National Bank and a prominent opposition leader. "Last year, he pledged to put to prison 15 chieftains of the Belarusian enterprises. And now, it looks like he is keeping his word," Bogdankevich continued, adding that the purges are definitely encouraged by the head of state.

Vasily Shlyndikov, president of the Association for Economic Development and deputy chair of the opposition United Civic Party, believes that Leonov fell victim to a struggle of the clans. "It seems to me that the clan forming around Sheiman, is driving out the Myasnikovich-Yermoshin clan [referring to the presidential aide for special assignments and the former Prime Minister, respectively--ED], leaving it without financial support," explained Shlyndikov.

On January 10, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note to the Russian Embassy in Minsk in connection with a news report about the Leonov's arrest aired by NTV, the Russian private television network. The note said that "the appearance of such news report hurts the Belarusian-Russian relationships based on the principles of trust and constructive cooperation." Pavel Selin, NTV director in Belarus, was invited to the Ministry and asked to apologize for "insulting the Belarusian nation, the country's president, and the Russia-Belarus Union." When Selin refused to offer an apology, the Belarusian authorities threatened to withdraw his accreditation.

Pyotr Marchenko, an NTV news anchor, said that the channel may broadcast a report with the Minsk's side of the story, but will not apologize in any way. Meanwhile, the Belarusian state TV reported that Pavel Selin did apologize to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. "If my visit to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry was interpreted by the Belarusian TV journalists as apologies, they have no professional conscience," commented Selin.

The authorities recently arrested Leonid Kalugin, head of the Minsk Refrigerator Factory and one of the presidential candidates, on charges similar to Leonov's [abuse of office, unlawful entrepreneurial activities, forgery of financial documents, and failure to repatriate revenues]. He remains in custody as the investigation continues.

Last December, Viktor Rakhmanko, head of the country's railways, was charged with fiscal fraud and abuse of power.

In an effort to intimidate management at all levels, the Belarusian authorities also arrested Vladimir Aleinikov, director of Tractor stadium in Minsk, for allegedly accepting a bribe from an entrepreneur.

Nikolai Busel, former director of the Borisov Motor and Tractor Plant, is facing criminal charges of large-scale embezzlement and abuse of power.

Alexander Serebryannikov, director of the Zhadonovichi outdoor automarket, and Anatoly Protosenya, director of the Mogilev-based Zadneprovsky market, were arrested on bribery charges.

In early January 2002, Anatoly Kirikov, director of the Gomel Radio Factory, was accused of abuse of office (Art. 424, par, 3, of the Penal Code) and placed in a detention center.

Local activists believe that the wave of economic arrests are indicative of Lukashenko's desire to settle scores after the elections with critics of political and economic policies. The League has called for an impartial investigation of these cases, which follow a pattern of failure to ensure due process and abuse of the law in non-market economies.

Human rights protesters in Minsk have pointed out that with the wave of Stalin-like arrests, bearing all the marks of a "purge," the Lukashenko government appears to have forgotten the lessons of the past. Late last year, the authorities went ahead with expanding the Minsk Beltway over the mass grave in Kurapaty, a place where thousands of political prisoners were executed and buried during Stalin's terror in the 1930s. Numerous protesters faced stiff penalties for trying to protest at the site. (Belapan/ Itar-Tass/ Interfax/ Nasha Svaboda, Belarus Update, January 8-11)

TWO PROTESTERS SENTENCED TO 15 DAYS IN JAIL; NINE OTHERS FINED

On January 5, Judge Oleg Mironyuk of the Leninski District Court of Brest sentenced Vladimir Maley, a human rights advocate of the Viasna Human Rights Center, and Gennady Samoilenko, an activist of the local branch of the United Civic Party, to 15 days imprisonment for holding an unauthorized action "Chain of People Who Care" on December 10 to mark the 53rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Maley and Samoilenko were charged with violation of Art. 166 (disobedience to the police) and Art. 167, par. 1, (participation in mass actions violating public order) of the Belarusian Administrative Offenses Code. They were placed in the facility for temporary detentions of the Leninski District Internal Affairs Directorate of Brest. Next day, the activists were interrogated by an employee of the KGB's Fourth Department.

Nine other protesters, including Elizabeth Karpuk, Mikhail Mikalayuk, Nikolai Kazimirchik, Raisa Antonyuk, Paulina Panasyuk, ?aria Klimovich, Sergei Kozlov, Vasily Barbolin, and Sergei Aleksievich, were fined 20 minimum monthly wages (about $125) each under Art. 167, par. 1, of the Administrative Offenses Code.

After the judge announced the ruling, Raisa Antonyuk petitioned the court to substitute the fine with the 15 days of administrative detention because she lives on a small pension that is not even enough to pay her bills. The court declined. Seven other activists, also pensioners, complained that they would have serious difficulties paying their fines. Under Art. 268 of the Belarusian Administrative Offenses Code, all imposed fines should be paid within two weeks after the sentence. If the fined person is a retiree, the fine will be gradually deducted from his pension. If an individual fails to pay the fine and does not receive any salary or pension, he may face a confiscation of property. (Belapan, January 5)

TWO MORE DETAINEES REPORT POLICE BRUTALITY

On January 10, the Leninsky District Court of Minsk continued hearing the criminal case against Alexander Chigir, the youngest son of Mikhail Chigir, former prime minister and opposition leader and also a prospective presidential candidates united in a coalition against Lukashenko last year. Alexander, 25, a college graduate and car salesman for the past five years, was charged under Art. 205 par. 4 of the Belarusian Penal Code (large-scale larceny committed by a group) with setting up a car theft ring. He was arrested along with Sergei Koleda and Vasily Bykov [no relation to the famous Belarusian writer of the same name--Ed] at a car market on February 10, 2001, a day after his father declared his decision to run for president in the controversial September 9 elections. Bykov was released four days later with no charges pressed. Kolyada spent about two months in prison. He testified in courtroom that during the arrest he and Alexander Chigir were beaten at the police station. The beating continued at the Moskovsky District Internal Affairs Directorate, or police lock-up.

Earlier, Anton Yashin and Dmitry Yutskevich told the court that on February 20, 2001, operatives of the Moskovsky District Internal Affairs Directorate tortured them in an effort to force them to testify against Alexander Chigir. Yashin was reportedly hung up upside down by his handcuffed hands and later was placed in a windowless prison wing designated for recidivists, were he contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and hepatitis. (Viasna Human Rights Center, January 11)

ZUBR ACTIVISTS DEMAND INVESTIGATION INTO FRIEND'S DEATH

Friends of Andrei Zaitsev, a 24-year-old Zubr activist from Gomel, who committed suicide on December 20 after being repeatedly asked by the KGB to become an informer, believe that the real name of the KGB officer, who tried to recruit Andrei, is Alexander Yastremsky (or possibly spelled "Estremsky"). On an audio cassette found at Andrei's apartment after his death, Yastremsky introduces himself as Lt. Alexander Yevstigneyev. KGB officials have so far denied that there is an employee with the last name Yevstigneyev. Now, Zubr activists appealed to the Public Prosecutor's Office and the KGB leadership, requesting investigation into Yastremsky's activities. Yuri and Larisa Zaitsev, Andrei's parents, filed a complaint with Vladimir Podsekin, Prosecutor of the Sovetsky District of Gomel, demanding investigation into the circumstances of their son's death. Vladimir Gavrilchik, Deputy Regional Public Prosecutor, ordered Anatoly Tsekun, local KGB head, to investigate the issue. Earlier, Larisa Zaitsev, the activist's mother, submitted to the Prosecutor the audio cassette of a phone conversation between her son and Yevstigneyev (or Yastremsky), as well as a copy of Andrei's letter to the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), detailing his recruitment by the KGB and a request for protection.

In an interview to a local TV channel, Podsekin claimed that Zaitsev had been mentally unstable since 1988 and had allegedly made several suicidal attempts while serving in the army. He also insinuated that the activist's condition was aggravated after he was charged with having sex with a minor. Last spring, the Sovetsky District Court of Gomel sentenced Zaitsev to three month's imprisonment on trumped-up charges of having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girlfriend under Art. 168 of the Penal Code. In August 2001, when a medical examination revealed that the girl was still a virgin, the charges against the activist were dropped, but in late October the case was re-opened. (Viasna Human Rights Center/ Radio Racija, January 11)

WIVES OF DISAPPEARED BELARUSIANS ADDRESS POLISH PRESIDENT

On January 10, Mariush Mashkevich, the Polish Ambassador in Minsk, received the wives of the victims of the Lukashenko regime. The wives, including Ludmila Karpenko, wife of Gennady Karpenko, Deputy Chair of the 13th Supreme Soviet, who died under mysterious circumstances on April 6, 1999, Irina Krasovskaya, wife of businessman Anatoly Krasovsky, who was a close friend of Victor Gonchar, 13th Supreme Soviet Deputy Chair, both of whom disappeared on September 16, 1999, Svetlana Zavadskaya, wife of Dmitry Zavadsky, a Belarusian cameraman for the Russian public television station ORT, who disappeared on July 7, 2000, and Tatiana Klimova, wife of Andrei Klimov, 13th Supreme Soviet Deputy, who has been imprisoned since February 1998, delivered a letter to Polish president Alexander Kvasnevsky, urging him to raise the issue of the political disappearances in Belarus during a forthcoming meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Amb. Mashkevich promised to hand over the letter to his president. (Charter 97, January 11)

EUROPEANS DEMAND INVESTIGATION INTO POLITICAL DISAPPEARANCES

In an open letter to Alexander Lukashenko, Jan Marinus Wiersma, chair of the Belarus Sub-Committee of the Political Commission of the European Parliament, as well as Elizabeth Schroedter and Lennart Sacredeus, his deputies, expressed deep concern over the disappearances of a number of prominent figures in 1999 and 2000 and once again urged the Belarusian leader to encourage an independent and transparent investigation. "It has recently been alleged that the authorities were involved in these deaths and we understand that they have declined all offers of independent assistance in investigating them," the parliamentarians wrote in the letter [referring to the information about the death squad]. "We consider that it is essential to establish an independent and transparent investigation to resolve these matters. Only this way can Belarus begin to gain some credibility and recognition leading toward the creation of a free and open society governed by the rule of law," they said. The parliamentarians is to continue to address this subject within the framework of the Troika of the European Parliament and the parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe and the OSCE. (EP, January 7)

FOREIGN MINISTER: OSCE AMG SHOULD RETHINK ITS PRIORITIES

In a recent interview to the Interfax news agency, Mikhail Khvostov, Belarusian Foreign Minister, suggested that the OSCE AMG should focus its activities on issues of economic development, international security and cooperation rather than human rights violations. "Without doubt, the human rights is a very important issue on the agenda of any organization. But, it is time for the OSCE to reexamine its priorities," the Lukashenko official said. "Obviously, the OSCE is still looking for its sphere of responsibility in the region and often duplicates the activities of NATO, the Council of Europe, and the European Union," Khvostov continued. "None of the OSCE groups must be faced with tasks aimed at overthrowing the existing government," the Minister warned. He reiterated the Lukashenko government's concern that the OSCE AMG's activities in Belarus are not consistent with the mission's mandate and called for its revision.

Speaking at the Eighth OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Vienna, Igor Ivanov, Russian Foreign Minister, harshly criticized negative tendencies emerging in the OSCE's activities in the eastern part of the Euro-Atlantic space. The Russian Foreign Minister accused the OSCE of pursuing a policy of double standards in its relations with Belarus and condemned the organizations leadership for mounting unprecedented pressure on Belarus.

Amb. Hans-Georg Wieck, who headed the OSCE AMG in Belarus for the past four years, left the post on December 31, 2001. The RFE/RL reported that a source in the German Foreign Ministry told its journalist that the new OSCE AMG head in Belarus will be appointed by late March. Currently, Ebergard Haiken is considered the most likely candidate for the position. However, his appointment is rumored to be opposed by official Minsk. Mikhail Khvostov has recently been invited to take part in a series of meetings with officials from the German Foreign Ministry and representatives of the European democratic institutions. (Interfax, RFE/RL, January 7 - 10)

MOGILEV-BASED NGO FINED FOR VIOLATION OF DECREE #8

On January 3, the Tsentralny District Court of Mogilev fined the local branch of the Lev Sapiega Foundation 100 minimal wages (about $700) for an alleged violation of presidential Decree #8 "Several Measures on Improving Distribution and Use of Foreign Humanitarian Aid." The decree bans foreign donations to NGOs that are involved in any political activities or election monitoring. On September 6, 2001, three days prior to the presidential elections, local KGB officers confiscated the organization's office equipment and found in the database information related to the election campaign of opposition candidates. The court later upheld the legality of the confiscation. (Viasna Human Rights Center, January 7)

-INTERNATIONAL NEWS-

BELARUS CONSIDERED UNWORTHY OF NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS

On January 6, an article published in The Washington Post revealed that the Bush administration wants Congress to lift trade restrictions imposed during Communist times from eight former Soviet republics, namely, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Russia's trade status has already been upgraded. The newspaper pointed out that the only country left off the list is autocratic Belarus, which has a miserable human rights record and has offered no assistance to the anti-terrorism coalition. A central motivation in the cases of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, according to administration officials familiar with the effort, is to reward countries helpful in the war on terrorism. Two months ago, as the Bush administration made plans to end trade restrictions on a number of former Soviet republics, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were excluded because of their dismal human rights records. But since September 11, their cooperation in the war on terrorism has "made a difference." According to the newspaper, administration officials said that the United States will make clear that improvement on human rights will be considered central to the continuation of good relations. The full article can be found this week at http://www.washingtonpost.com/cgi-bin/search99.pl

- RELIGIOUS FREEDOM -

AUTHORITIES DENY AIR TIME TO CATHOLIC RADIO PROGRAM

On January 6, in keeping with Alexander Lukashenko's recent order to "improve the coverage of political and socio-economic situation in the country," and allegedly responding to the letters of "unsatisfied listeners," the authorities closed Golas Dushi (Soul's Voice), a religious program prepared for eight years by Vladimir Zavalnyuk, Roman Catholic priest. The program broadcast by the main channel of the Belarusian state Radio in all six Belarusian Regions. This follows a disturbing pattern of government's continuous effort to enforce a 1995 Cabinet of Ministers decree that restricts the activities of religious workers in an attempt to protect Russian Orthodoxy and curtail the growth of "non-traditional" [evangelical] religions.

According to the State Committee on Religious and National Affairs (SCRNA), approximately 15 to 20 percent of the Belarusian population are either Catholics or identify themselves with the Roman Catholic Church, thus making it the second largest religious grouping after the Russian Orthodox. Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek, Archbishop of the Minsk-Mogilev Archdiocese, heads the approximately 400 Roman Catholic parishes. Although Roman Catholic parishes can be found throughout the country, most Roman Catholics reside in areas located in the west and north, near the border with Poland and Lithuania. Sensitive to the dangers of the Roman Catholic Church being viewed as a "foreign" church or as a political threat, Cardinal Swiatek, who himself spent 10 years in a Soviet labor camp, has tried to keep the Church out of the country's internal political problems. (Nasha Svaboda, January 9)

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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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