«Senator» Charhinets against «Novy Chas» newspaper: substance of the case, lawsuit and text of the article

On November 23, 2007 the editorial offices of newspaper Novy Chas received a court notice informing them of a civil suit filed by a member of the Council of the Republic, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations and National Security, Mr. Mikalay Charhinets. The plaintiff accuses the paper in publishing information that caused “defamation of his honor, dignity and damaged his business reputation at home and abroad.” Such information, according to him, is contained in an article printed in Novy Chas on September 24, 2007, issue #25.

Mr. Charhinets asks the court to oblige the defendants – private publishing enterprise News Times (publisher of the Novy Chas) and the author of the article – to publicly withdraw this information and pay damages in the amount of 500,000,000 Belarusian rubles by the newspaper and 100,000,000 by the author (totaling $280,000). The plaintiff also asks to “immediately freeze working capital and assets” of the enterprise News Times and the author. The court proceedings are scheduled on December 5, 2007.

This law suit is a politically motivated act directed at shutting down an independent newspaper. The lawsuit submitted by Mr. Charhinets does not contain any arguments rebutting the facts and opinions stated in the paper, only a list of quotation from the article. It is notable that despite his dismay at the article, Mr. Charhitens seriously accepted a humoristic title “senator-general” created by the journalist to describe the past and the present of the article’s subject. In his lawsuit Mr. Charhinets officially calls himself senator-general.

The political motivation of the suit is underlined by the fact that Mr. Charhinets did not undertake a single attempt to rebut the article in Novy Chas but turned to the court immediately. Novy Chas is ready and willing to offer its pages to Mr. Charhinets at any time.

Civil lawsuits filed by senior officials against independent media have become one of the instruments of general oppression of freedom of speech and elimination of independent media in Belarus. For example, newspaper Narodnaya Volya has been a subject of such charges three times in last few years. However, the amount of damages claimed by Mr. Charhinets is unprecedented, exceeding all damages ever claimed against Narodnaya Volya by 20 times. The real purposes of the suit become obvious when one considers the fact that Novy Chas resumed publication in March 2007 on the basis of weekly Zgoda, which was shut down by the authorities on March 17, 2006 on the eve of the presidential elections.

The lawsuit also illustrates the general policy toward shutting down civic society in Belarus. Thus, an independent Writers Union of Belarus was recently closed, and instead authorities formed a new, official one, chaired by Mr. Charhinets. The independent union is forced to work in complete underground. The weekly literary supplement “Belarus in Literature” printed in Novy Chas monthly has become one of the only two legal ways for writers to publish their work in Belarus.

All this is taking place against the background of the twelve conditions of the European Union to the government of Belarus and some signs of demonstration by the official Minsk toward readiness for a dialogue with the West. It is obvious, that such declarations do not go hand in hand with the actual policies of the Belarusian government. Characteristically, the delivery of the lawsuit to the paper’s offices coincided with the opening of the Belarus-Germany international forum in Minsk.

Lawsuit filed in a Minsk district court

First-of-May District Court of the City of Minsk

On September 24, 2007 newspaper Novy Chas, issue # 25(70), published an article addressed in my direction containing information not corresponding to reality that defamed by honor, dignity and business reputation.

In part, the article, entitled “General-Senator Mikalay Charhinets,” stated “Multiple rumors that Charninets the writer is a beneficiary of the called “literature slave labor” are best left without comments. I will note only that last year he became the chairman of the “correct” Writers’ Union, and that during the funeral of Vasil Bykau he was mainly noticed for provocations against national symbols.”

Also the article said that when I occupied the post of the Head of the Criminal Investigations Directorate of the Ministry of Interior of Republic of Belarus “It was during this assignment that the so called “Vitebsk Case” took place, which was to be resolved later by Mechislau Hryb. In 1984 Charhinets was sent to Afghanistan to assist the local police.” The assignment occurred right after the special session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was dedicated to the “Vitebsk Case” and which was far from giving out honors for falsified evidence and sentences to innocent people. So that assignment to Afghanistan was a lucky escape for Charhinets. Whether it was a coincidence or was designed on purpose, but he avoided the Vitebsk Case shadow being cast over him. Instead, he was to shine in the glory of an Afghan war hero. Different things are said about that war. I think that the Charhinets Afghan memoirs are also from those myths that are designed for a completely unaware audience.”

In addition, the article says that “For the first two years [after coming to power] president Lukashenka did almost nothing to promote Charhinets, even though the latter often publicly demonstrated his support.”

The author of the article has given me the role of “an announcer in the political show and a propagandist of ideas for somebody else.”

The article also says that “If there is one sphere where Mikalay Ivanavich reached certain peaks, it is the PR. Bureaucratic appointments have one unquestionable benefit: besides a good pay, they give an opportunity to see the world.”

And in conclusion of the article, the author discussed my awards, as the best politician of 2005 “allegedly by the Cambridge University. It turned out that it was not by the renown university at all, but by some biography firm based in the town of Cambridge, known to hardly anyone” and the Union State award. “Such all inclusiveness Charhinets explains by his certain predisposition to vanity. As for me, I want to add that the level of all that creative output is actually quite low. I think that it was vanity that was driving Charhinets when he gladly agreed to head the election committee of Lukashenka. Mikalay Ivanavich knew well how “the victory” would be manufactured.”

All these notions were published in the newspaper “Novy Chas” with the use of public media.

These circumstances related to my professional activity defame my honor, dignity and business reputation as not corresponding to reality.

According to article 153 and 209 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus, and clarifications by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus as of December 23, 1999 #15 “On practice of court review of civil cases on defamation of honor, dignity and business reputation” the person about whom untrue information defaming his honor, dignity and business reputation was disseminated has the right to protect his rights and interest in the court, regardless of the time when such information was disseminated.

As a well known writer, politicians, general-senator, I am known not only to many citizens and journalists of our state but also residents and representations of media in many countries.

I would like to note that besides that the information defames my honor, dignity and business reputation, the publishing enterprise News Times and the author Alexander Tamkovich are disseminating information not corresponding to reality in the public opinion, opinion of individual citizens and judicial persons from the standpoint of observance of norms of law and morals .

Based on the above and according to the art. 153, 209 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus, and clarifications by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus as of December 23, 1999 #15 “On practice of court review of civil cases on defamation of honor, dignity and business reputation,” articles 6, 7, 56, 61 of the Procedural Code of the Republic of Belarus, -

I hereby ask to:

Oblige the Private publishing enterprise News Times and author of the article Alexander Tamkovich to refute the information defaming the honor, dignity and business reputation of general-senator Cherginets Nikolay Ivanovich, published in newspaper Novy Chas #25 (70) as of September 29, 2007, related to his position as a writer and politician, as well as unlawful, ungrounded, artificial and not corresponding to reality information about means of earning income and purposes and motives of international travel, as well as service in Afghanistan.

Charge the defendants with the amount of compensation in favor of Cherginets Nikolay Ivanovich for the moral damages imposed by dissemination of information defaming his honor, dignity and business reputation, in the amount: from the private publishing enterprise News Times 500,000,000 Belarusian Rubles, and from author of the article Alexander Tamkovich 100,000,000 Belarusian Rubles.

Secure the lawsuit by arresting the working capital and property of the private publishing enterprise News Times and author of the article Alexander Tamkovich in the amount declared as a compensation for the morale damages.

October 26, 2007 N. I. Cherginets

Modern History in Personalities

Senator-General Mikalay Charhinets

By Alexander Tamkovich

Every time I see this man I recall an aphorism by the famous comedian Mikhail Zhvanetsky: “Is he the only one talking about his fame or is somebody else too?” And this impression is not just the opinion of an “unfair” journalist.

According to an official biography, Mikalay Charhinets has written more than forty works of literature as well as several film scripts and plays, and yet the Encyclopedia of Belarusian History does not contain his name. To understand why, I ask readers to name three of the writer’s best works. It is doubtful that even the leaders of BRSM would be able to do so.

The consistent rumors that Charninets is a beneficiary of what is known as “slave labor literature” are best left without comment. I will note only that last year he became the chairman of the “correct” [state] Writers’ Union, and that during the funeral of Vasil Bykau he was mainly noticed for demonstrating against national symbols . The authorities really wanted to demean the memory of the writer, and so they did.

In order to list all positions occupied by Mikalay Ivanavich, one needs a separate article, so we shall look only at the most recent ones. At present, he is the Chairman of the Foreign Relations and National Security Committee of the Council of the National Assembly.

If one follows the logic of President Lukashenka, who has identified one of his opponents as “the bee keeper” and another as “the powder metallurgist” then Charhinets should be known as “the football player.” Unlike another devotee of that sport, [former Parliamentary Speaker] Uladzimer Kanaplyou, he took up football as a profession.

Mikalay Ivanavich was born on October 17, 1939 in Minsk and in just fifteen years became a member of the junior team and later played for the national team of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. As it is described in official documents, his first “work activity” was also related to football. It is difficult to believe, but at some point (more specifically, in 1955), Charhinets played on professional teams in Minsk, Vinnitsa (Ukraine) and Chisinau (Moldova).

Mikalay Ivanavich first worked at the Minsk Tool Works and then joined the police, where he climbed the organizational ladder to the post of the Head of the Criminal Investigations Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior. It was during this assignment that the so called “Vitebsk Case” took place, which was later resolved by Mechislau Hryb.

In 1984 Charhinets was sent to Afghanistan to assist the local police, then called the “tsarandoyah.” The assignment occurred right after a special session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was dedicated to reviewing the Vitebsk Case and which was not called to give out honors for the falsified evidence and sentences imposed on innocent people. So that assignment to Afghanistan was a lucky escape for Charhinets. Whether it was a coincidence or on purpose, he avoided the shadow of the Vitebsk Case being cast on him. Instead, he was to shine in the glory of being an Afghan War hero.

Different things are said about that war, so I shall refrain from making any comments. As they say on a popular TV program “only the facts now.” The Charhinets family lived in Kabul, which was relatively safe. Mikalay Ivanavich was followed by his wife and their daughter Olga, whose excellence at studying at the Soviet Embassy School was recognized with a gold medal from the Communist Youth Organization. According to Charhinets, his family did not want to go back. Incidentally, this was not a unique reaction. It is said that one Russian general had a live cow delivered to Kabul so that he could have some fresh milk. After a few months of production, the animal was exchanged for a new one.

On December 6, 2003, Mikalay Ivanavich told The 7 Days weekly some more details about his service in Afghanistan. They are so interesting, that I decided to quote one: “It was quite a situation in our apartment – on the kitchen balcony we had a large machine gun, on the stool by the door an automatic rifle and a hand gun and a couple of hand grenades, an automatic rifle by each window, also grenades. Loaded firearms everywhere.”

And a couple of years later, on the now fashionable online conference at Belarusian State TV, he spoke of his great respect for the former Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachov. In Afghanistan the latter commanded the 103rd Division and was with Charhinets in a number of circumstances. Once Grachov had to break through in a tank to save Charhinets from being encircled.

Believing all of this is very difficult. It leaves an impression of reading the plots from some very cheap pulp fiction.

The writer Svetlana Aleksievich once told me how, when writing her book on Afghanistan, The Zinc Boys, she included a story about one woman’s son who had been killed. And then at the infamous court trial against her, she noticed that woman among the plaintiffs. When asked why she was there, the mother replied “I don’t need the truth about my son, I need a hero.”

I think that Charhinets’ Afghan memoirs are also from those myths which are designed for an uninformed audience.

Charhinets returned to Minsk in 1987 to the post of the Head of the Transport Police. In 1993 he was appointed the Chairman of the Council of Ministers’ Committee of Social Protection of Servicemen and Veterans and Commemoration of the War Dead.

It was in that position where Mikalay Ivanavich had his moment of truth, which was the first presidential election. It must be underlined that the rapid career advancement of this mid-level bureaucrat did not begin immediately with the election of Alexander Lukashenka. For the first two years the President did almost nothing to promote Charhinets, even though the latter often publicly demonstrated his support.

1997 was, in a sense, the turning point. When Lukashenka began forming his own “small” parliament, Charhinets ended up being one of a quota of senators appointed directly by the President to the upper chamber (The Council of the Republic). This could be considered as compensation for his earlier failed attempt to get himself elected to the 13th Parliament. From that moment onward, Charhinets became more of a politician than a policeman-writer.

How does one define his role as a politician? In numerous interviews, Mikalay Ivanavich himself evaluates it, well, very highly. In reality, even if he were truly super-smart, his position is secondary, not even that of a facilitator or developer of ideas but as a propagandist for someone else’s ideas. In reality, the so-called Parliament does not decide anything, especially the Committee on Foreign Relations, which he chairs. Foreign policy is exclusively the prerogative of the President.

However, every once in a while he is granted the role of an announcer in the political show, the task of reconnaissance, or the preparation of a public reaction. Or he is tasked to justify or present in the desired light actions that have already taken place. Here are two salient examples. “I am, honestly speaking, surprised by our state’s tolerance of a writers’ union which, through the mouths of some of its loudest criers, declares non-recognition of the country and its court of arms, flag and authorities.” He said it on January 7, 2005, when the [independent] Writers’ Union still existed, but that would not for long.

“Kozulin developed some kind of an imbalance in thinking… I’ve known him for a long time. Once I helped him as dean to develop the Belarusian State University. Clever man, educated, but he messed with the wrong sphere… I am not against it when somebody acts in opposition to the power, but one must act within the normal framework allowed by the Constitution and the law.” This was said on December 4, 2006, on the 47th day of Mr. Kozulin’s hunger strike.

Hypocrisy requires no comment.

If there is one sphere where Mikalay Ivanavich reached a certain peak, it is PR. A Google search will offer hundreds of references to him and about him, from which it follows that there is not in Belarus a man more clever, moral, spiritual, hardworking, and informed in all branches of knowledge. A few days ago a documentary film about him was released. He liked the production. One cannot help but develop an impression that Senator Lieutenant General Charhinets is intensively preparing the ground for a nomination in a future presidential election.

Bureaucratic appointments have one unquestionable benefit: besides good pay, they provide an opportunity to see the world. Mikalay Ivanavich Charhinets has visited almost 60 countries. Most of these trips were on official business. This is despite the fact that some countries have recently made him persona non grata on political grounds.

An almost comical affair occurred regarding the awarding of Charhinets with the Best Politician of 2005 medal, allegedly by Cambridge University. It turned out that it was not by the renowned university at all, but by some biography company based in the town of Cambridge, known to hardly anyone at all.

Another award that also ended in mishap was the [Russia-Belarus] Union State Award, for which he was nominated by the Secretariat of the [state] Writers’ Union. “And then, - as Charhinets himself commented, - under the artificial pretext that the Union State did not really exist, members of the Secretariat insisted on not nominating anybody. I think this is just stupid and shortsighted – do we not really have worthy writers?”

Instead he has ended up in the Guinness Book of Records – the only state politician to do so – for multifaceted achievements in science, culture, literature, politics, and so on. Charhinets explains such well-roundedness by his certain predisposition to vanity. As for me, I want to add that the level of all that creative output is actually quite low. This almost always happens when somebody tries to accomplish too much at the same time.

I think it was vanity that drove Charhinets when he gladly agreed to head up the election committee of Lukashenka. Mikalay Ivanavich knew very well how “the victory” would be manufactured and, subsequently, Lukashenka himself publicly admitted that the results of the elections were falsified.

1 - Interpreter’s note: the lawsuit declaration is in Russian, while the article was in Belarusian, and is quoted in the lawsuit in the original language. The plaintiff’s name is pronounced and spelled somewhat differently in Russian and Belarusian, and these differences are carried into the English spelling.

2 - Interpreter’s note: this is exactly what the original says.

3 - The BRSM is a state sponsored youth organization created by the President as an instrument of youth policy.

4 - Vasil Bykau is a world renowned Belarusian writer who died in 2003. During his funeral, Charhinets attempted to confiscate a white-red-white flag, a historic national symbol outlawed by President Lukashenka, from Mr. Bykau’s friends. Only after the writer’s son covered Bykau’s coffin with the flag was it left alone.

5 - The Vitebsk Case was an infamous failure of the Soviet system of justice in which the investigation of murders committed by a serial killer resulted in harsh sentences meted out to innocent people due to pressure to solve the politically sensitive case with great publicity. When the falsifications became obvious, the state appointed another police investigator, General, Mechislau Hryb, to review the case. This incident is described by Alexander Tamkovich in a profile of Mr. Hryb that appeared in a previous segment of the Modern History in Personalities series.

6 - The National Assembly was created by Alexander Lukashenka as a result of a series of constitutional manipulations that are widely recognized by the international community to be illegal. A portion of the senators of the upper chamber are appointed by the President without any electoral process.