INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

BELARUS UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 5, No. 6
February 2002

IN THIS ISSUE:

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS-
-Belarusian Media Delegation Visits U.S.
-Independent Journalist Interrogated In Grodno
-Independent Journalist Warned By Prosecutor Office
-US Embassy: No Change Of Policy Toward Belarus
-Another Crack Down On Independent Researchers
-Political Parties Are Forced To Disclose Members
-Opposition Communist Party Faces Eviction
-Court Refuses To Investigate Death Of Zubr Activist
-OSCE: Belarus Must Do More To Improve Relations With Europe
-Lukashenko: Belarus Open For Cooperation With Europe
-Developments On Anticorruption Drive
-Andrei Klimov: Four Years Behind Bars
-Authorities Refuse To Rent Property To Evangelical Church
-Food Shortages In Prisons Lead To Amnesty
-Belarus, Ukraine Slam UN Report On Chernobyl
-Belarus, North Korea To Intensify Cooperation

BELARUSIAN MEDIA DELEGATION VISITS U.S.

From February 3-10, 2002, a Belarusian media delegation visited the U.S. at
the League's invitation. The group included Mikalai Markevich,
editor-in-chief of Pahonia, an independent newspaper published in Grodno
closed by Belarusian authorities in November 2001 whose reporters are now
indicted on criminal libel charges; Iosif Siaredzich, editor-in-chief of
Narodnaya Volya, an independent newspaper published in Minsk, currently
threatened with a criminal libel suit for critical coverage of the
elections; Andrei Bastunets, media lawyer and vice president of the
Belarusian Association of Journalists, who has been stripped of his law
license for his effort to protect the media against government lawsuits; and
Viachaslau Khadasousky, editor-in-chief of Belarusky Rynok, the first
independent paper to cover business and economic developments in Belarus.

The group discussed the latest media crackdown and post-election analysis in
Belarus with professors and students at a round table organized by the
Harriman Institute at Columbia University. The media delegation also met
with human rights groups, journalists, lawyers, UN staff, and the Belarusian
diaspora at a League-sponsored luncheon in New York City. In Washington,
the group was greeted at the National Press Club by the director and given a
tour of the facilities and then later held a briefing for Congressional
staffers at the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe at the
U.S. Congress, and met with officials responsible for European affairs and
human rights at the State Department. The Belarusian journalists also took
part in a luncheon round-table with scholars and human rights advocates at
the Coalition for International Justice of the American Bar Association, and
met with Belarusian emigres, democracy assistance programs and foundation
representatives at a briefing hosted by the National Endowment for
Democracy. The group finished up their visit with a meeting at the
International Center for Journalists.

In discussions with the journalists' group, a number of key points emerged:

--In addition to the routine repression of the media through hostile tax
audits, refusal to provide access to state printing plants, and barring of
state enterprises' advertising in the independent media, the Lukashenko
regime has moved to a new level of persecution of the media by launching
criminal libel suits, which had previously not been used against regime critics. Last year, after the statutes were added to the criminal code, dozens of cases were initiated but did not reach the trial stage. Currently at least eight such active free-speech suits are pending, two against newspapers (Pahonia and Narodnaya Volya) and six against opposition activists (UCP leader Anatoly Lebedko and 5 Zubr activists), for "insult of the President" for articles in newspapers, public statements or activists' street theater actions before and after the elections. Dozens of other criminal libel cases remain under consideration against journalists and demonstrators.
--The Lukashenko government is waging a propagandistic campaign abroad,
claiming new steps at "liberalization" and "cooperation" particularly with
European institutions even as it cracks down at home with arrests and court
proceedings.
--The closing of Pahonia is a litmus test for what the West is willing to
tolerate from Lukashenko and how willing it is to follow-up after last fall's
flawed elections. While the newspaper faced confiscation of newsprint,
harassment of its reporters, freezing of its bank accounts, and an unlawful
court ruling to close it, were slow in responding with public condemnations,
and the OSCE mission, beset with its own problems,
did not comment. As a Belarusian-language-only newspaper, Pahonia is symbolic of the attempt to eradicate Belarusian language and culture throughout the land. As a
provincial paper, Pahonia's struggle is symptomatic of the harsher climate
people in the regions face in dealing with the "vertikal," or command
structure created by Lukashenko to subordinate the regions. More systematic
and outspoken protection and assistance for this and other papers is much
needed.
--The draft press law appears more liberal in some areas, i.e. an easing of
restrictions for registration of papers. But this can be misleading, because
while the requirement to obtain essentially a press license from the local
soviet may be dropped, the law will still require that only legal,
recognized entities already with the status of a registered legal entity
under Belarusian law will be able to found newspapers, and this could still
be used against independent or opposition papers. Other elements of the law
have been critiqued by BAJ and groups like Article 19, and the OSCE is
supposed to render its own analysis soon.
--Whatever the laws, the practices remain grim. Journalists continue to
face threats, intimidations, beatings, and short-term jail terms for their
work, and now face more serious prison sentences. Cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky,
who disappeared two years ago, remains missing. A trial on his abduction by
a group some believe to be related to a government-sponsored death squad is
underway, but it is closed to reporters and the hastiness of the trial
causes some observers to wonder if witnesses are being hushed.
--The playing field for independent and state media is uneven. Independent
newspapers continue to face triple the fees for distribution, and are forced
to charge higher prices at the newsstand or for subscriptions to cover
costs, because they are not subsidized. The regime issues some 3 million
newspaper copies a day in the state-controlled print media; the opposition
papers usually cannot come out every day and all together, constitute a
circulation of less than a quarter of a million. Lukashenko has
significantly increased the state budget for propaganda, and is launching a
new commercial tv channel in which the state will own 51 percent of the
shares. Meanwhile, the new draft press law envisions a ban on "foreign
financing" (as yet not defined) and the existing Decree No. 8, banning
charitable aid not cleared by a government ministry, and banning acceptance
of aid related to election monitoring, has crippled opportunities for the
alternative press to receive Western aid.
--Russia papers with large print runs like Komsomolskaya Pravda also have
greater distribution and much cheaper prices, constituting another source of
pressure on the Belarusian independent media, and yet the Russian editors
sometimes deliberately remove controversial coverage of Belarus from their
special inserts for Belarus. Sometimes Belarusian journalists can get their
materials into the Russian media as a means of bypassing censorship, but
more effort must be made to ensure that this material finds its way back
into Belarus.
--While Internet users are only a low percentage of the population, the
Belarusian media has a strategic advantage with the Internet because when a
newspaper is closed, such as Pahonia, journalists can continue to publish on
the Internet, and other sites especially in neighboring countries with far
higher Internet usage can reprint them.
--Faced with the grim situation for the independent media in Belarus, some
Western donors have debated the option of moving to milder programming with
existing commercial tv and radio stations, such as Alfa and other FM
stations. The independent journalists vigorously opposed such programming,
saying that Westerners should not be deluded about these stations' need to
remain loyal to the Lukashenko regime and be cautious in covering news. They
are mainly entertainment statements and efforts to introduce mild "democracy
lite" or social-interest programming into them, while it may appear to reach
a wider audience, only helps to legitimize the Lukashenko propaganda
machinery and undermines the brave efforts of the independent media, which
have found that these stations refuse to take "sensitive" news stories and
any commentary or interviews critical of the government. The Belarusian
visitors emphatically view the role of the fourth estate as remaining in
opposition to the government in a climate where democracy and human rights
are thwarted and active repression is underway against any regime critic.
--Journalists propose increased direct support of the alternative media and
increased print runs, continued support of radio broadcasting from abroad,
strengthening of media organizations, assistance in defense against
persecution, and frequent forceful statements by both Embassies and OSCE and
other multilateral institutions to prevent further suppression of free
speech in Belarus.

As reporters who cover both their own country and international
developments, the visitors also had a number of other useful comments about
the current scene in their homeland:

--The Belarusian economy continues to deteriorate, the promised "$100 per
month average wage" did not materialize, and impoverishment is increasing
with inflation. The wave of arrests and investigations of businessmen is not
related necessarily to any kind of political support of opposition
candidates in the elections, but rather has to do with Lukashenko's
anti-corruption campaign, which is misused to settle scores with any
potential enemies or threats to his own control over the economy. Several of
those arrested ran plants which are now being eyed hungrily by Russia's
oligarchs, and Belarusians fear that large enterprises, such as the major
tractor plant scheduled to provide Russia with an order of one million
tractors this year, could come under direct or indirect Russian ownership in
some fashion. While no actual real estate or business transactions between
Russsia's tycoons and Belarus has taken place, opinion is divided as to
whether the sell-out of Belarusian assets to Russia would erode Lukashenko's
power (as he may try to prevent the sale or will be forced to compromise)
and therefore be a positive development, or would bring Belarus further into
Russia's sphere in an increasingly authoritarian Russia and therefore hurt
Belarusian sovereignty and independence in any event.

Thus while the elections failed, and opposition to Lukashenko remains weak
and crippled by repression, Russian oligarch and Kremlin interests could
conceivably undermine Lukashenko but would not necessarily replace him with
a leader who would encourage democracy and human rights, since Russia's own
progress in these areas is reversing considerably now.

--Belarus' economy is mainly state-owned or controlled, and Russia has an
increasingly mixed economy, and therefore the Union of Belarus and Russia
may not proceed rapidly for pragmatic economic differences, although the
buy-out of Belarus could proceed without a formal Union, and the Union still
provides an ample field for endless manipulations on both the part of
Lukashenko and Putin to extend their political power and provide jobs for
their cronies.

JOURNALISTS INDICTED FOR "INSULT" OF LUKASHENKO

Mikalai Markevich, editor of Pahonia, the Grodno-based Belarusian-language
newspaper which was closed in November 2001, a recent visitor to the U.S. at
the invitation of the League, and Pawel Mazheiko, a reporter for the paper,
were indicted on criminal charges today for "insult of the president." The
charges stem from articles in the newspaper published during the election
campaign contrasting the independent united candidate with Lukashenko, and
citing concerns about the suppression of Belarusian language and culture and
the allegations of government-sponsored death squads said to be responsible
for the disappearance of four public figures since 1999.

The indictment follows a failure of Markevich's appeal with the Superior
Economic Court of Brest, which had ruled to close the paper for "criminal
activities," having made an unlawful determination that a criminal act,
namely criminal libel, had taken place before a ruling from a still-pending
court case on those charges. Before the September 9 elections, Markevich had
faced a series of punitive actions, as authorities confiscated print-runs,
seized newsprint, raided the offices and seized computers, and interrogated
journalists and their relatives.

On February 4, Mazheiko had been summoned for interrogation to the Grodno
Prosecutor Office. Oleg Kulevich, special cases investigator, was
particularly interested in the whereabouts of the paper's editor-in-chief,
Markevich, who along with three other Belarusian journalists was visiting
the US at the time at the League's invitation. The investigator told
Mazheiko to come to his office again on February 14, 2002, and warned that
both, Mazheiko and Markevich, would be charged with violation of the Law On
Press and Other Media by insulting the Belarusian president under Art. 367,
part 1 of the Belarusian Penal Code.

Markevich and Mazheiko are appealing the current indictment and could face
up to five years of imprisonment. The League calls on the OSCE and member states to speak out forcefully against the use of criminal libel in Belarus. Such punitive actions against the press have no place in a democratic society under the rule of law. The
European Court on Human Rights has ruled that free expression relating to
state leaders should be exempt from criminal prosecution. Belarusian
officials often claim that they are only "copying European standards" when
they incorporate criminal libel statutes into their penal codes. Yet
criminal libel, even where it is on the books, is not used in the CIS, and
in Europe, libel is in the administrative code in most states or is not
used. No journalist has been jailed in Russia, Ukraine or Moldova or other
neighboring countries under such statutes, and even in Central Asia, there
have been only a few cases which were eventually overturned. If Belarus
jails journalists under such statutes now, it will not only be the first
country to do so in Europe, in will be the first to do so in Eurasia this
year. Among the conditions proposed to Croatia for membership in the Council
of Europe was removal of a similar statute used at that time against the
independent paper Feral Tribune. Efforts to use such statutes in Kazakhstan
and Kyrgyzstan have been reversed due to protests from domestic and
international media groups and Western democracies.

We call on the international community to stop the application of this
unjust criminal libel statute and to ensure that Pahonia and other
newspapers are restored their property and that court actions against
journalists cease. If Western institutions such as the Council of Europe
and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly cannot take vigorous action to protest
these moves against the free media, their evident willingness to entertain
motions of restoring guest status at PACE and seating the nominal parliament in OSCE PA, respectively, will seal the fate of the democratic and human rights
movements in Belarus by conferring legitimacy on non-democratic entities.

Dozens of cases are now pending for free expression since the elections; in
addition to Pahonia, at the request of the Minsk executive committee of the government to the prosecutor, Narodnaya Volya is also under investigation for
articles appearing since the elections containing both the opposition's
critical statements about unfair procedures and fraud during the balloting,
and also a reprint of articles in the German and U.S. press about allegations of arms sales to rogue states. Five members of Zubr, a youth activist movement, went on trial this week for "insult of the president" for performing street theater during the elections, wearing mustaches and suit jackets, satirizing Lukashenko. Opposition leader Anatoly Lebedko has been called in for interrogation by the prosecutor as well, and is under investigation for presidential libel for also raising questions about the arms sales. Such punitive actions by the Belarusian government to settle scores after the elections and further repress the free media should receive swift and vocal condemnation by all levels and institutions of the OSCE and Council of Europe.

INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST WARNED BY PROSECUTOR OFFICE

On February 7, Irina Makovetskaya, a reporter for Belaruskaya Delovaya
Gazeta, an independent newspaper, was given a formal reprimand by Prosecutor
Stanislav Novikov of the Minsk Prosecutor Office in connection with an
article titled "The Common Matter" published in the December 5, 2001, issue
of the newspaper. The journalist wrote that in March 2000, three innocent
young men were detained and brutally beaten by the officers of the
Tsentralny District Internal Affairs Directorate of Gomel who claimed they
had committed crimes. The medical examination revealed numerous bodily
injuries, presumably from repetitive rubber-club blows.

After realizing that the detainees were innocent, the law-enforcers refused
to admit their own mistake and forced the boys to sign the police reports
charging them with administrative offences. Later, the reports were used by
the Tsentralny District Court of Gomel to accuse the men of violating of the
Administrative Offences Code.

Pavel Kalyakin, the father of one of the victims, initiated legal
proceedings against his son's attackers. The local KGB department exerted
pressure on him, demanding that he withdraw his complaint. A closed-door
hearing did not find any wrongdoing in the law-enforcers actions. On
February 28, 2001, upon the trial's termination, Pavel Kalyakin was detained
by the KGB agents and threatened with retaliation.

Mikhail Pastukhov, a former Constitutional Court Justice and now the
director of the Media Defense Center of the Belarusian Association of
Journalists (BAJ), who provided Irina Makovetskaya with legal advice,
noticed that the official reprimand was signed by Mikhail Snegir, Deputy
Prosecutor General, even before Makovetskaya had a chance to give any
explanations. In protest, Makovetskaya refused to sign the official
reprimand and intend to appeal it in court.

Meanwhile, the authorities banned Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta from running
its commercials on Belarusian state TV and also Russian TV channels and
from posting its outdoor advertisements in Minsk. BDG editors consider these
moves "demonstration of the most negative sides of the state monopoly on
mass media." (BAJ/ Radio Racyja, February 8)

US EMBASSY: NO CHANGE OF POLICY TOWARD BELARUS

In a recent interview to Sovetskaya Belorussiya, a state-controlled
newspaper, Mikhail Khvostov, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs alleged
that "the position of the US
ambassador in Belarus Michael Kozak has changed." "A man, who has been
living in
Belarus for more than a year now, sees our country, its president, its
government and its people's lives in a different perspective now," Khvostov
said. Responding to Khvostov's remarks, the US embassy stated that the US
policy toward Belarus has not changed.
It recalled Amb. Kozak's speech delivered on November 24, 2001, in which he
said: "We have to be most unambiguous and concrete as we are telling the
Belarusian authorities and nation what we demand from them: the rule of law,
under which both peaceful political opposition and the civil society can act
the way they do in other countries - that is without fear. A system under
which any viewpoint can be expressed through media - both state and
independent ones - and not be followed by censorship or fear of repression.
Also a transparent and democratic electoral process. And, finally, the
return to the legislative and judiciary powers their sovereign authority."
(Charter 97, February 6)

ANOTHER CRACKDOWN ON INDEPENDENT RESEARCHERS

Academics and journalists in Belarus fear a significant new restriction to
academic freedom and polling of public opinion especially at election time.
On January 18, the presidential administration sent out a circular to the
Belarusian State University, the National Academy of Science, and other
research institutions saying that under Lukashenko's orders, all polls and
sociological research must be licensed by the presidential administration. A
new licensing procedure, which the administration says should be introduced
"without delay," will regulate the conduct of all surveys, including opinion
polls, and will be supervised by a newly-established state commission.

Local observers believe that the new ruling is meant to exert even more
pressure on independent sociologists and can be compared with practice
before 1991, when all Soviet research institutions were controlled by the
KGB. Vetting of pollsters through an administration-controlled
state-commission could seriously jeopardize the ability of sociologists and
independent polling agencies such as NOWAK to conduct polls to establish
public opinion, so crucial to understanding the impact of electoral
campaigns.

The delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly ad hoc Working Group on
Belarus, who recently visited the country, said that the new licensing
procedure could hinder the ability of research institutions to carry out
study and present accurate information to the public. Such measures could
also further hinder the ability of civic organizations and political parties
in their efforts to reach out to the public, the delegation said.

On February 8, U.S. Amb. Michael Kozak said at an international conference
titled "Formation Of Public Opinion And Public Policy In Belarus" that "any
government's attempt, targeted at imposing control over the independent
public thought in Belarus, will be a huge step backwards from creating the
conditions for the normal functioning of the free, independent media and
open, transparent mechanism of political discussions in the country." (Nasha
Svaboda, February 7)

POLITICAL PARTIES ARE FORCED TO DIVULGE MEMBERSHIP LISTS

In accordance with a circular sent out by the Belarusian Justice Ministry,
all political parties have until February 28, 2002, to provide the
authorities with the lists of their members. The failure to give the Justice
Ministry the required information will result in a warning. As of February
5, only five parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus
(17,637 members), the United Civic Party (3,125 members), the Belarusian
Labor Party (1,077 members), the Republican Party of Labor and Justice
(1,629 members), and the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada (1,071
members) submitted to the authorities names and addresses of their
activists. (It is not known if the democratic parties turned over their full
membership lists, nor is it understood why the LDPB, a party similar to
Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, could claim so many
members-Ed.) Last year, the Ministry issued warnings to the Conservative
Christian Party of the Belarusian Popular Front, the Belarusian Green Party,
the Belarusian Labor Party, the Belarusian Popular Front Adradzhenne
("Renewal'), the Agrarian Party, the Social Democratic Party of Public
Concord, the Republican Party, the Belarusian Ecological Green Party, and
the Belarusian Social Athletic Party. These parties could face closure after
receiving two warnings within one calendar year. (Belaruskaya Delovaya
Gazeta, February 7)

OPPOSITION COMMUNIST PARTY FACES EVICTION

Sergey Kalyakin, leader of the Party of Communists of Belarus, told Belapan
on February 5 that his party was notified by the housing authorities of the
Sovetsky District of Minsk to vacate its Minsk office located in 46a Skaryna
Ave by March 1, 2002. The authorities explain their refusal to extend the
lease which expired on January 19, 2002, by a shortage of rental space for
state organizations. Kalyakin considers this unexpected request to vacate
the premises politically motivated and believes that it will be used by the
Justice Ministry to initiate closing proceedings against the party on the
grounds that it does not have a legal address. (Nasha Svaboda, February 8)

COURT REFUSES TO INVESTIGATE DEATH OF ZUBR ACTIVIST

The Sovetsky District Court of Gomel rejected a complaint filed Yuri
Zaitsev, father of Andrei Zaitsev, a 24-year-old Zubr activist, who
committed suicide on December 20, 2001. Friends and family say he was
repeatedly asked by KGB to become an informer and had resisted. Yuri Zaitsev
tried to appeal the refusal he received from Vladimir Podsekin, Prosecutor
of the Sovetsky District of Gomel, to open an investigation into the
circumstances of his son's death. The father believes that the name of the
KGB officer, who tried to recruit Andrei, is Alexander Yastremsky (or
possibly spelled "Estremsky"--Ed). On an audio cassette found at the Zubr
activist's apartment after his death, Yastremsky introduces himself as "Lt.
Alexander Yevstigneyev". KGB officials deny that there is an employee with
that last name. Andrei also left behind a copy of a letter he had sent to
the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, detailing his recruitment by the KGB and
a request for protection. (Viasna Human Rights Center, February 8)

OSCE: BELARUS MUST DO MORE TO IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH EUROPE

On February 5, a delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly ad hoc
Working Group on Belarus, told journalists in Minsk that the Belarusian
government must do more if it wants normal relations with Europe. Uta Zapf
(MP, Germany), head of the delegation, Urban Ahlin (MP, Sweden), and Helena
Demakova (MP, Latvia) visited the country on February 3-5 to try to restart
a dialogue with Belarusian authorities and other political and social forces
in the country on the continued basis of the four criteria established
during the pre-election period. In doing so, the delegation aimed to assist
Belarus in overcoming its isolation and in enhancing the democratization
process in the country.

The visit also served as an opportunity to assess the situation in the
country in light of the upcoming decision of the February 21, 2002, meeting
of the Standing Committee of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly with regard to
the representation of Belarus in the Assembly. The delegation's finding will
serve as a basis for the Standing Committee's decision.

During meetings with parliamentary and governmental officials, the
delegation expressed concern that the OSCE AMG remained without a head of
group since the departure of Amb. Wieck in December, and that the Belarusian
authorities wish to change the mandate of the mission. The delegation urged
the country's authorities to accept the proposed new head of the group to
allow the AMG to continue working on the basis of the original 1997 mandate
and the relevant article of the Istanbul Summit Declaration, and to discuss
the future work of the AMG in Belarus once the new head has taken up his
duties in the country. "The inability to quickly resolve this issue in a
positive way could become an obstacle to a deepening of cooperation between
Belarus and the various European structures," the delegation said in a
statement. [On February 7, Pavel Latushko, a spokesman for the Belarusian
Foreign Ministry, told a press conference in Minsk that the OSCE AMG cannot
pursue political goals in Belarus and that the Belarusian government would
insist on revising the OSCE AMG's mandate before approving Dr. Ebergard
Haiken's, former Germany's ambassador to Ukraine, appointment as a new head
of the group.-Ed.]. The OSCE delegation also expressed concern at a recent
comment by Mikhail Khvostov, Belarusian Foreign Minister, dismissing the AMG
as virtually worthless.

The delegation expressed "cautious optimism" with regard to steps being
taken to move ahead with legislation related to the four criteria. In
particular, the delegation said it was pleased to learn that a draft media
law was in the final stages of preparation, that this draft law would be
further discussed publicly with relevant civic organizations and that it
would also be sent to the relevant bodies of the OSCE and the Council of
Europe for expert analysis before being considered by the National Assembly.

The delegation also took note of the continued work on the electoral code
within the framework of the recommendations of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary
Assembly as well as some proposed legislation aimed to expand the powers of
the parliament. It expressed hope that these efforts will ultimately result
in legislation, which meets international standards and the proper
implementation of which will contribute to the democratization process in
Belarus.

Uta Zapf pointed out that the international organizations would continue to
raise the issue of political disappearances in Belarus until they receive a
clear answer to a question: "Who stands behind the abductions of prominent
opposition politicians in Belarus?" She once again urged the appropriate
Belarusian authorities to reinvigorate the investigations into the cases of
disappeared opposition leaders and to follow through on public statements
regarding the possible release of Andrei Klimov in the near future. [On
February 4, the wives of several prominent victims of the Lukashenko regime
appealed to Adrian Severin, chair of the OSCE PA Ad Hoc Working Group on
Belarus, urging him to support their demand for an independent investigation
into political disappearances.-Ed.].

Uta Zapf declined to forecast whether her visit to Minsk would bring Belarus
any closer to regaining its membership in the OSCE PA. The League notes that
in January 2001, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE)
expressed profound concerns that Belarus continues to fall short of the
Council's standards with respect to free and fair election, rule of law, and
human rights. For those reasons, the Assembly had decided not to restore
guest status to Belarus, which was granted on September 16, 1992, as the
first step to the country's admission to the COE. Following the
controversial November 1996 referendum on constitutional changes in Belarus,
PACE suspended the guest status in January 1997, but is revisiting the
question of reissuing the guest status this year. (Belapan, ILHR, February
5)

LUKASHENKO: BELARUS OPEN FOR COOPERATION WITH EUROPE

On February 6, Alexander Lukashenko, said that Belarus is open for
cooperation with other European countries. "You know our principled
position. If the Europeans wish to cooperate with Belarus, we are open to
such cooperation," Lukashenko said. "We cannot force anyone. But last year
has shown that the policy of ignoring Belarus or trying to remove it from
European affairs is counterproductive, has no prospects and cannot lead to
anything useful. Belarus is Europe's geographic center and nobody will be
able to ignore it," the Belarusian leader said. Lukashenko made his comments
as he accepted the credentials of the ambassadors of Bolivia and Saudi
Arabia as well as Norbert Jousten, a representative of the European
Parliament group for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. Jousten stressed that
the European Union believes that Belarus is part of Europe and the
integration process which is going on in Europe should also cover Belarus.
"We are hoping that political conditions can be improved so that this
cooperation can really develop," he added. (Belapan, February 7)

DEVELOPMENTS ON ANTICORRUPTION DRIVE IN BELARUS

Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree formally appointing Vasily Gapeev
as a new chief of the Belarusian Railways. His predecessor, Viktor
Rakhmanko, was arrested on November 25, 2001, and charged with fiscal fraud
and abuse of power. On February 5, during a meeting with the Belarusian
president, Gapeev promised to carry out a "major audit" of the Belarusian
Railways. According to him, citizens of other countries control about 10
percent of cargo operations in Belarus. Lukashenko demanded "all
non-residents out of the country by the end of the first quarter of the year
2002." "All shipments must be controlled by the state, not by some foreign
crooks," the Belarusian leader stressed. The same day, the Belarusian state
TV reported that as a result of the multiple machinations conducted by
Rakhmanko and his accomplices, the state lost $44 million. The authorities
instituted criminal proceedings against eight former railroad workers, while
110 staffers will be charged with administrative offences.

In a separate development, the Brest Regional Committee on Organized Crime
and Corruption detained Trofim Gurinovich, director of the Baranovichi Dairy
Plant, and charged him with violation of Art. 430, par. 2 of the Belarusian
Penal Code (bribery). (BBC/ Belapan, February 5-6)

ANDREI KLIMOV: FOUR YEARS BEHIND BARS

February 11 marks the fourth year Andrei Klimov, a deputy of the 13th
Supreme Soviet and businessman, who was once part of the effort to dislodge
Lukashenko, was arrested. In March 2000, after more than two years in
pre-trial detention and a controversial eight-month trial, Klimov was found
guilty of large-scale embezzlement and forgery and sentenced to six years of
imprisonment. The Leninsky District Court of Minsk ruled that Klimov's
property be confiscated and barred him from assuming certain public offices
for three years after the completion of his sentence. On December 13, 1999,
the deputy was severely beaten by prison guards and then dragged into the
courtroom in torn clothes and without shoes. The ill-treatment allegedly
occurred after Klimov refused to leave his cell for the court, protesting
that he was not receiving a fair trial. The judge did not allow the
defendant to be taken to a hospital. It was later determined that Klimov
suffered significant bruising, a dislocated arm, and concussion as a result
of his ill-treatment by the guards.

The international community considers Klimov a prisoner of conscience, who
shares the fate of other politicians who have dared to challenge the
authority of Alexander Lukashenko. The OSCE and its individual members among
the Western democracies, including the U.S., have repeatedly demanded the
deputy's immediate and unconditional release. Klimov was among the members
of the 13th Supreme Soviet who did not recognize the results of the November
1996 referendum and put his signature on an impeachment motion against
Lukashenko. Shortly before his arrest, he drew up a report recording
violations of laws and the Constitution by the Belarusian authoritarian
ruler.

Marking the forth anniversary of Klimov's arrest, the activists of the
United Civic Party held an unauthorized action "Chain of People Who Care"
near the prison on Kalvariyskaya street in Minsk where the deputy is serving
his term. (Viasna Human Rights Center/ ILHR, February 10)

-RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN BELARUS-

AUTHORITIES REFUSE TO RENT PROPERTY TO EVANGELICAL CHURCH

The local authorities in Baranovichi refused to accommodate the Church of
Evangelical Baptist Christians with a place to hold an annual charitable
event. The church, which received humanitarian aid from abroad, planned to
host a party for handicapped children and distribute all aid among them.
Last year, the church managed to rent the Palace of Officers.

The League notes that the authorities continue to protect Russian Orthodoxy
and curtail the growth of evangelical religions. Some of them have been
repeatedly denied registration by the regime. Without registration, many of
these groups find it difficult, if not impossible, to rent or purchase
property to conduct religious services and other activities. (Viasna Human
Rights Center, February 7)

- AT HOME IN BELARUS-

FOOD SHORTAGES IN PRISONS LEAD TO AMNESTY

Dmitry Partov, an official of the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs,
told Deutsche Presse-Agentur on February 8 that over 4,500 so-called
"hardened criminals" were recently released from the country's correction
institutions as part of a mandatory amnesty program initiated early this
year. The criminals, in most cases thieves or burglars but in some instances
also rapists and murderers, received amnesty because the prison system did
not have enough food to feed them, Partov said. Persons released were likely
to commit repeat crimes because of lack of skills and the generally poor
condition of the Belarusian economy, but there is little the government can
do about it, the official conceded. Apparently, the Belarusian authorities
consider the opposition activists a more serious threat to society then
rapists and murderers and will always find place for them in jails.
(Deutsche Presse-Agentur, February 8)

-BROTHER SLAVS-

BELARUS, UKRAINE SLAM UN REPORT ON CHERNOBYL

On February 7, Ukrainian activists and Belarusian officials denounced a
United Nation report which contains calls to reduce state and foreign aid
for millions of people affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Nearly 16 years after the explosion in then-Soviet Ukraine, the governments
of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine continue to provide annual subsidies to
those who helped clean up afterward or living in contaminated areas. The
study by four U.N. agencies proposed to help those in a state of "chronic
dependency" by getting them jobs, fostering small businesses and reviving
agriculture in the areas most affected by the world's worst nuclear
disaster.

"Those affected by Chernobyl are living below the poverty level," said Yury
Andreev, head of the Chernobyl Union, Ukraine's prominent activist group,
adding that the report did not correctly depict the reality. Andreev
disputed the Report's estimate that 4.5 million people were affected by the
accident, saying the figure was closer to 7.3 million. He said more than 2
million people in Ukraine alone live in still-contaminated areas, instead of
the more than 200,000 mentioned in the Report.

Slavomir Antonovich, spokesman for the Belarus's State Committee on
Chernobyl, said that his impoverished government had paid just 17% of what
was promised to Chernobyl victims and earmarked for cleanup projects last
year, leaving $220,000 unpaid. Both Andreev and Antonovich insisted that
much more money is needed to help sickened victims, and to clean up
contaminated land before agriculture can be revived. (Belapan, February 7)

- INTERNATIONAL NEWS-

BELARUS, NORTH KOREA TO INTENSIFY COOPERATION

Pek Nam Sun, North Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his Belarusian
counterpart Mikhail Khvostov exchanged written congratulations on the
occasion of the ten-year anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic
relations between the two countries. The North Korean Minister wrote that
"the friendship and cooperation between our countries will continue to
develop in the future." Khvostov, on his part, promised that the Belarusian
government will keep on creating favorable conditions to deepen the mutually
beneficial connections with North Korea in the sphere of commerce, science,
culture and education. (Belapan, February 6)

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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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