INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

BELARUS UPDATE
Edited by Victor Cole

Vol. 5, No. 8
February 2002

IN THIS ISSUE:

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS-

- Activists Sentenced To Prison, Fined
- U.S. Congressmen Visit Belarus, Warn Of Illegal Weapons Sales
- U.S. Envoy Slams Arms Sales, Human Rights Violations In Belarus
- Lukashenko And Officials Deny Illegal Arms Trading
- Belarusian Officials Criticize OSCE's Cold-Shoulder Approach
- Pahonia Journalists Accused Of Defaming President
- Belarusian Student Association Attacked
- Another NGO Faces Liquidation
- Wives Of Disappeared Belarusians Address U.S. President
- Judges To Pledge Allegiance To Lukashenko

ACTIVISTS SENTENCED TO PRISON, FINED

On February 18-20, the Sovetsky District Court of Minsk heard cases of the opposition activists who took to the streets in the sixth annual St. Valentine's Day protest called "Belarus Into Europe!" organized by the Malady Front on February 14 in Minsk.

Sergei Gerasimovich was accused of "participating in mass actions violation public order" under Art. 167 of the Administrative Offences Code and fined 40 minimum monthly wages (about $240). Dmitry Dashkevich and Andrei Kozlov were charged with the same offence and fined 35 minimum wages (about $210) and 25 minimal wages (about $150), respectively. Vasily Parfenkov, was sentenced to 10 days in jail on the grounds that he violated the same article of the Administrative Offences Code twice within 12 months.

Pavel Severinets, chair of the Malady Front opposition movement and a deputy chair of the Belarusian Popular Front Adradzhenne, was found guilty of violating Art. 167, part 2 of the Administrative Offences Code and ordered to pay 300 minimum monthly wages in fines ($1,800). Severinets was unfazed by the sentence, saying that the heavy fine, particularly harsh in a country where an average salary barely tops $100 a month, was merely evidence of "the powerless fury of the authorities." "They are afraid of the young people, they don't know what to do. But they will not stop our campaign by fines and arrests, it will continue," Severinets vowed after the sentence was announced.

In a complaint filed with the Viasna Human Rights Center, Dmitry Dashkevich wrote: "I was detained along with Stas Ivashkevich near the Polytechnic Academy on Skaryna Avenue. A police colonel, who refused to identify himself, hit me several times. At the Sovetsky District Internal Affairs Directorate I was handcuffed to the radiator and the same colonel kicked me in the face, deliberately stepped on my feet, insulted me, and threatened with physical reprisal. He also hit Ivashkevich on the face. After about seven hours in detention, we were taken to the Okrestina Detention Center, where we spent the night along with other activists. At 11:30 a.m. next day, we were taken to the court. All this time we were not offered any food." (Belapan/Charter 97/Viasna Human Rights Center, February 29-21)

U.S. CONGRESSMEN VISIT BELARUS, WARN OF ILLEGAL WEAPONS SALES

On February 16, a delegation of the U.S. Congress, including Jim Saxton (R-NJ), Ronald Lewis (R-KY), and Bernard Sanders (Independent-VT), visited Minsk to "renew the relationship between the United States and Belarus." Rep. Saxton is chair of the House Special Oversight Panel on Terrorism.

Officials from the State Department and U.S. Embassy explained that the main objective of the visit was to discuss with the Belarusian authorities reports about the arms sales to countries supporting terrorism. The delegation met with senior Belarusian officials, including Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvostov; Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev; KGB Chairman Vladimir Yerin; Gennady Nevyglas, National Security Council Secretary; Alexander Shpilevsky, chair of the State Customs Committee. The delegation urged the Belarusian leaders to make the country's system of arms sales and military training as transparent as possible, promising that such a move would help improve relations between Belarus and the U.S. No opposition politicians, human rights advocates, or independent journalists were invited to the reception following the meeting with the Lukashenko officials.

Rep. James Saxton released a statement at a news conference before departure at the Minsk National Airport:

"Today, Congressman Sanders, Lewis, and I visited Belarus to share our deep concern about repeated reports from a variety of credible sources, including news media and official sources, that Belarus is involved in the sale of arms to states or groups that support terrorism and possibly in the military training of individuals associated with these states or groups. Today, we met with Foreign Minister Khvostov, Defense Minister Maltsev and State Secretary of the Presidential Security Council Nevyglas to discuss this issue. We told these respected Belarusian officials that we as representatives of U.S. Congress take all reports about arms sales or support to nations or groups that support terrorism very seriously. Since Belarus is among the top arms traders in the world, we encouraged these officials to take steps to ensure that Belarus make its system of arms sales and military training, and its financing, transparent to ensure that weapons sold are not delivered or diverted to terrorists. Belarusian officials expressed a strong desire to cooperate in instituting an international system of verification. The system of verification will be a major step in renewing the relationship between the United States and Belarus. Thank you."

Western press reports in recent months accused Lukashenko of selling off old Soviet equipment to illegal regimes such as Angola's UNITA resistance, anti-Russian fighters in Chechnya, and have raised the specter of sales even to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network. Minsk has denied reports in the Western media that it has sold arms to extremist groups, notably in the Middle East. The Belarusian government, which is friendly with other isolated states such as Libya and Iraq, has insisted that its military cooperation with other countries does not violate U.N. regulations.

The United Nations Security Council recently discussed the press reports saying that the Belarusian authorities have held training courses for the Iraqi officers, which is a clear breach of the UN-imposed sanctions on Iraq, reported RFE/RL. The Council is to get back to this issue after receiving clarifications from the Belarusian government. (Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy/ RFE/RL, February 16-17)

FRIENDS OF BELARUS TELL LAWMAKERS "DON'T VALIDATE TYRANTS"

Several days before the trip of three U.S. congressmen to Belarus, human rights advocates and Belarusian and other East European diaspora in an informal network of "friends of Belarus" called the offices of Rep. Jim Saxton in Washington and Mount Holly, New Jersey, and other Congressional offices, urging that he and his colleagues not proceed with rumored plans to meet with Belarusian leader Lukashenko himself during their trip to Belarus, and to meet with lower-level officials and also meet with the opposition to hear independent voices. Since U.S. policy of "selective engagement" has generally meant not meeting with the highest officials, activists were alarmed at the implications for a sudden upgrading of relations with Belarus. "Ever since President Bill Clinton was Shanghaied in Istanbul by Lukashenko, the problem of consciously or unconsciously validating tyrants merely by meeting with them has been a recurring one," said Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, executive director of the League, in an interview with Belarus Update. "After such meetings, the regime's propaganda mills are turned on full blast to cast such encounters in an entirely favorable light. If the presidential elections were not recognized as democratic by OSCE, then you have to follow through by not rewarding bad behavior with such high-level meetings, even if they are ostensibly serving as 'back-channels' to talk about the sale of arms to rogue regimes," Fitzpatrick added. "If meetings with middle-level Belarusian officialdom must be held, then alternative meetings with opposition and human rights groups should be mandatory to make the point that civil society is also recognized."
The League and other human rights groups strongly urged congressional aides to organize side meetings with the opposition, wives of the disappeared, and human rights activists in order to hear alternative information and send a signal that the brave efforts of civil society to roll back tyranny are recognized. But the Congressional delegation only met with Belarusian and U.S. Embassy officials.

US ENVOY SLAMS ARMS SALES, HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN BELARUS

Steven Pifer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, visited Belarus on February 22 on the heels of the Congressional trip, adding human rights violations in Belarus to Washington's list of concerns, which has so far focused primarily on Belarus' arms sales to rogue states. Pifer held talks with governmental officials, independent journalists, NGOs, and relatives of the disappeared and imprisoned. He called on the country's leaders to address "repeated reports from a variety of credible sources that Belarus is involved in arms transfer to states or groups that support terrorism and in military training" of officers in these states.
One report claimed that Belarus had trained the Iraqi military to operate S-300 air defense systems last fall, Pifer said, adding that he could give no further examples or specific details in order to protect his sources. The U.S. diplomat said he raised the issues during his meeting with Leonid Maltsev, Belarus's Defense Minister, and offered U.S. aid in implementing a system that would exercise tight control over arms exports.

Pifer also addressed the country's poor human rights record, which he said had "steadily deteriorated since September presidential elections." "Unfortunately, we have seen no progress in key areas of democratization. Indeed, the human rights situation has deteriorated since September's election," Pifer told reporters, citing reports of harassment and detention of opposition leaders. "We see no progress toward democratic election reform," he added. "We see no evidence of steps to empower an independent Belarusian parliament or encourage a functioning independent media."

Pifer also lamented Belarus's isolation and deteriorating bilateral relations with the United States. "The U.S. government does not have and never did have the intention to isolate Belarus. Belarus leaders have themselves chose the path to isolation," he said. During talks with Mikhail Khvostov, Belarusian Foreign Minister, Pifer "laid out a step-by-step approach to improve those relations, but these would require real steps by the Belarusian government to promote political liberalization." "If the Belarusian government is ready for that, the United States is ready to make steps in return," he said.
(Interfax/ Belapan/Itar-Tass/ AP, February 21)

LUKASHENKO DENIES ILLEGAL ARMS TRADING

On February 19, 2002, in an interview to the Wall Street Journal, Alexander Lukashenko denied his government sold arms illegally. He maintained that Belarus sells weaponry and military equipment only to "legitimate customers," and "has never violated any international norms for trading weapons." A recent visit by a U.S. Congress delegation to Belarus and the access provided to the U.S. ambassador in Minsk to Belarusian security agencies, proved that the Belarusian government had nothing to hide, Lukashenko added. The U.S. Congressmen "are not going to have any further questions" because all the necessary materials were provided to them, he said.

Lukashenko accused the opposition of feeding misinformation about the country's arms deals to the Western media after its defeat in the 2001 presidential elections. "They [opposition leaders] needed a hot topic, they wanted to stage yet another provocation against their own country," he fumed.

According to the Belarusian leader, Belarus manufactures no weapons, but in some cases assembles major components such drive trains, software, and communications systems. An example of a legitimate Belarusian export was an optical system developed by Belarusian and French technicians for use on Russian and Ukrainian tanks and armored personnel carriers, he said.

Commenting on the U.S. president State of the Union Address, Lukashenko said that George Bush should avoid of using such terms as "axis-of-evil" in his speeches because they "do not contribute to the international stability and collaboration."

Touching upon relations with international organizations, and in particular, the situation around the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus, the Belarusian leader stressed that it should either revise its mandate and change objectives or leave the country. Lukashenko expressed confidence that there are solid grounds for normalizing relations between Belarus and the United States and the European Union. (WSJ/AVN Military News Agency/ Interfax, February 19)

DEFENSE MINISTER DENIES ARMS SALES TO ROGUE STATES

On February 18, Col.-Gen. Leonid Maltsev, Belarusian Defense Minister, dismissed reports that Belarus sells weapons to terrorists and countries that support them, and said the U.S. had no reason to be alarmed. According to Maltsev, Belarus sells arms to other nations but the exports are insignificant and comply with U.N. regulations regarding weapons sales. He refused to name any buyers.

Maltsev, who met with the U.S. Congress delegation during its one-day visit to Belarus, called the reports "total absurdity." He said two or three inspection teams from European nations visit Belarus on a regular basis to check the country's compliance with international weapons agreements and have never reported violations. "There is control, and there are confirmations of this control over Belarusian arsenals," he said.

Maltsev also insisted that Belarus has no nuclear weapons left that could be transferred to rogue states. We unconditionally fulfilled our international obligations to surrender the nuclear arsenal we inherited with the Soviet breakup, he said, even though the weapons were worth tens of billions of dollars. (Belapan/ Itar-Tass, February 18)

BELARUSIAN OFFICIALS CRITICIZE OSCE'S COLD-SHOULDER APPROACH

On February 21, 2002, before a meeting of the Standing Committee of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly with regard to the representation of Belarus in the Assembly,
Victor Gaisenok, Belarusian envoy to the OSCE, accused the Assembly and its President Adrian Severin, in particular, of pursuing a policy of double standards in its relations with Belarus and condemned the organization's leadership for mounting an unparalleled pressure on Belarus. Gaisenok said that the Belarusian government views Severin's position on Belarus as arbitrary and politically biased.

The Lukashenko official reminded the Assembly that in accordance with the OSCE PA's Rules of Procedure "the Assembly shall be composed of members of parliament from countries which have signed the Helsinki Final Act (1975) and the Charter of Paris (1990) and are participating in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe." Gaisenok insisted that in violation of these Rules, the Belarusian National Assembly has been denied the right to participate in the OSCE Assembly since 1997. He stressed that the National Assembly is the only legally elected legislature in the country. "At the same time, the Assembly President [Severin] invited representatives of the Consultative Council of Opposition Political Parties, which represents a relatively narrow part in the spectrum of Belarus' political forces, to participate in the session as observers," said Gaisenok.

On February 7, 2002, Gaisenok continued, Alexander Voitovich, speaker of the Council of the Republic, upper chamber of the National Assembly, and Vadim Popov, speaker of the House of Representatives, lower chamber of the National Assembly, sent a letter to the OSCE president, in which they expressed interest in "full-scale participation of the Belarusian delegation in the work of the Assembly." "The letter was left unanswered as was an inquiry by the leader of our delegation addressed to the Assembly President," complained Gaisenok. "The ignoring of the appeals of the speakers of the National Assembly by the Assembly President is evidence of his unwillingness to have a dialogue with the legislative branch of the Belarusian government," he added. "We view the actions of the OSCE PA leadership as yet another attempt to put political pressure on Belarus," Gaisenok concluded.

The same day, Pavel Latushko, press-secretary of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, accused the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's leaders of taking a "non-constructive position" toward Belarus. "We are surprised by the fact that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's leadership has displayed neither tact nor readiness for a dialogue with the representatives of the Belarusian National Assembly," he said. Latushko denied rumors that Belarus was considering the suspension of its membership in the OSCE. "We will not make any emotionally charged decision on Belarus's membership in the OSCE," he said. (Belapan/ BBC, February 21)

PAHONIA'S JOURNALISTS ACCUSED OF "DEFAMING PRESIDENT"

On February 13, 2002, the Grodno Regional Prosecutor's Office indicted Mikalai Markevich, editor-in-chief of Pahonia, an independent newspaper published in Grodno closed by Belarusian authorities in November 2001, for defaming the President under Art. 367, part 2 of the Belarusian Penal Code. On February 14, Pavel Mazeika, a journalist at Pahonia, was summoned to the Prosecutor's Office and was also charged with the same offence. If found guilty, the journalists are facing up to five years in prison. They pleaded not guilty and gave a written pledge not to flee.

Oleg Kulevich, an investigator of the Grodno Regional Prosecutor's Office, claimed that three articles published in Pahonia's #36 issue defame the Belarusian President by accusing him of committing a number of serious crimes - murder, genocide, and establishing a criminal organization or taking part in its activities.

In an article titled "Going To The Elections" Pavel Mazeika wrote: "Does a person who murders his political opponents deserve public support during the elections?" The question compelled the Prosecutor's Office to conclude that the journalist was accusing Alexander Lukashenko of committing murder.

"Seven years of Lukashenko's ruling has showed that he is a sick person who wants to annihilate its own people. He kills his opponents, destroys the national heritage, and masterminds the extinction of the Belarusian nation," wrote journalist S. Krakasevich in an article titled "He Is Not Lukashenko," published in the same issue of Pahonia. The Prosecutor's Office found that the article contains an accusation of murder and genocide.

The Prosecutor's Office maintains that the following excerpt from the poem "I Promised! I Promise! I Will Promise!" charges Alexander Lukashenko with establishing a criminal organization or taking part in its activities:

"I promised my people that the mafia will be defeated…
Well, you may congratulate me
Because I decided to head it!"

In a written statement attached to the indictment, Markevich called for a halt to the criminal investigation launched against him and Pavel Mazeika.

"I consider this indictment as an act of lawlessness and tyranny, a political order from persons whose names are affiliated with the death squad and who are personally interested in harassing and muffling the independent press, and putting journalists behind bars," said Markevich in the statement. He refused to give any additional testimony.

Markevich intends to file a complaint with Vasily Litvinov, Prosecutor of the Grodno Region, requesting to close the criminal investigation launched against him and his colleague.

Prominent opposition politicians and journalists from Grodno put their signatures
under an open letter to Vasily Litvinov, Prosecutor of the Grodno Region, urging him to not to punish Markevich and Mazeika "for being patriots of their country" and "having active civil position." (Nasha Niva/ ILHR, February 18)

BELARUSIAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION ATTACKED

On February 15, 2002, at approximately 7:00 p.m., the office of Zadzinochanne Belaruskih Studentov (The Belarusian Student Association) located on 4-2 Dorosevicha Street in Minsk, was burglarized. The members of the youth group, recently banned by the authorities, were holding a meeting when two unidentified men, evidently intoxicated, with knives and a wrench, broke into the office. One of the burglars was wearing a mask and gloves. The second attacker did not hide his face and bragged that he had fought in Chechnya and slaughtered hundreds of people there. The intruders cut the phone line, ordered everybody to lie down on the floor, and tied up some of the people. The students said their assailants acted brazenly, took their time, and had a good knowledge of the computer equipment. The intruders seized a computer, loud-speakers, a modem, and Olga Kuzmich's coat. The activists filed a complaint with the local police. (Viasna Human Rights Center, February 18)

ANOTHER NGO FACES LIQUIDATION

The Department of Justice of the Brest Regional Executive Committee petitioned the court with a request to liquidate Vezha [Tower], a Brest-based information center, on the grounds that the organization received two warnings within one year. On September 13, 2001, Vezha was warned for "engaging in activities that are not listed in the organization's statute" for conducting in August-September, 2001, a sociological poll ahead of the presidential elections and allowing Dzedzich, an unregistered citizen's initiative group, to act on behalf of Vezha. The warning was upheld by both the Brest Region Court and the Belarusian Supreme Court.

On October 5, 2001, the organization was warned for the second time. This time, the reason for persecution was the "use of an unregistered name." The Brest Regional Executive Committee disliked Vezha's use of the word "Berasteisky" in its letterhead, which is the Belarusian equivalent of the Russian adjective "Brestsky." The organization is currently preparing its defense in court. (Charter 97, February 22)

WIVES OF DISAPPEARED BELARUSIANS ADDRESS U.S. PRESIDENT

On February 21, the wives of several prominent victims of the Lukashenko regime sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to raise the issue of political disappearances in Belarus at a U.S.-Russia summit with President Putin in Moscow, which is scheduled for May 2002. Ludmila Karpenko, widow of Gennady Karpenko, Deputy Chair of the 13th Supreme Soviet, who died under mysterious circumstances on April 6, 1999; Zinaida Gonchar, wife of Victor Gonchar, a 13th Supreme Soviet deputy chair and a high profile antigovernment politician, who disappeared on September 16, 1999; Irina Krasovskaya, wife of businessman Anatoly Krasovsky, who disappeared along with Gonchar; the relatives of Yuri Zakharenko, the former Minister of Internal Affairs, founder of an independent officers' organization critical of the Lukashenko government, who disappeared on May 7, 1999; 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, wrote that just as bereaved U.S. relatives of the dead of September 11 were victims of terrorism, they too were victims of terror in Belarus where "under the rule of the last dictator in Europe, opponents to the regime simply disappear."

"The issue of these disappearances and political repressions is extremely important for Belarus, and they are the biggest reason why the country needs democratic change," the wives said. Calling on Bush to raise the issue in Moscow and pass on their letter to Putin, the wives noted that "the Belarusian authorities depend on Russia's support, and Putin is capable of bringing pressure on them."

A week earlier, the women appealed to the Lithuanian Parliament asking the lawmakers of the neighboring country to establish an independent international commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and probable deaths of their relatives. "We have exhausted the possibilities to learn the truth about the faith of our husbands," they wrote. (Belapan/The Baltic Times, February 21)

JUDGES TO PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO PRESIDENT

On February 20, 2002, prior to the Second Nationwide Congress of Judges, Lukashenko signed a decree which will "increase the efficiency of courts and judges" in Belarus. In accordance with decree, the judges of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Economic Court will be ordered to pledge their allegiance to the Belarusian president. Under Lukashenko, judges are pressured to submit to government will, particularly in political cases. "Telephone justice," the Soviet-era practice of executive and local authorities dictating court decisions, is widely reported to continue. (BBC, February 20)

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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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