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Repressions in Belarus undermine Eastern Partnership

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Repressions in Belarus undermine Eastern Partnership

A forum of Belarusian human rights activists took place in Vilnius.

On 26-27 October the III Belarusian human rights forum took place in Vilnius, at which around 200 representatives of non-governmental organizations gathered. There were also human rights organizations from Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Lithuania and other countries represented at the forum.

The forum resulted into adoption of several resolutions. In the opinion of the forum delegates, Belarus belongs to the group of countries, where the regress in the human rights domain is taking place. The presence of political prisoners in the country and other blatant human rights violations “make Belarus’ actual and productive participation in the Eastern Partnership impossible”. This is completely the fault of the leadership of the Belarusian state, the statement emphasizes. Human rights activists note that the events that took place during the presidential elections in 2010 in Belarus, as well as the wave of repressions and human rights violations “especially undermined the Eastern Partnership’s potential”.

Forum’s participants discussed the disdainful treatment of values and human rights norms on the part of the government of Belarus. They called on Belarusian authorities not only follow the taken commitments in the human rights domain, but also to join all the other UN and Council of Europe documents in this area.

In the course of the past 15 years Belarus “has been gradually drifting away from international standards in the area of human rights, stated in international pacts and conventions”.

Human rights activists state that the Belarusian state does not submit in time the regular reports in accordance with the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights. Apart from that the authorities ignore the decisions by the UN Human Rights Committee, taken on the appeals of citizens, do not rush into signing international documents, obliging to abandon death penalty.

At the same time forum’s delegates suggested to get Belarus’ authorities interested in taking steps towards improving the human rights situation, in particular, via continuing the initiative Dialogue on Modernization with Belarus, opening a representation of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Belarus, keeping a working group on Belarus in the structure of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The forum’s results are assessed in an interview to charter97.org by organizers, delegates and guests of the event.

Natalia Pinchuk, the wife of a political prisoner Ales Bialatski:

“Unfortunately, the issue of political prisoners in still on the agenda. Nine people keep staying in prisons, some of them have spent over five years behind bars, some – over three years. These are long terms. This topic should be worrying for public, civil society, and this human rights activists forum was also supposed to actualize the problem of political prisoners and make a principled decision on their sooner release and full exoneration. Human rights activists must firmly stand these grounds”.

Natalia Radzina, charter97.org’s editor-in-chief:

“I was a forum’s guest and did not vote for the resolutions. But making a speech I called on human rights activists to first of all not let the issue of political prisoners go to the sidelines. It is necessary to constantly demand their unconditional release and insist on the necessity of exoneration of prisoners of conscience, who have already been released, but keep staying under the control and pressure on the part of the authorities. I also urged human rights activists to constantly warn the West against repeating one same mistake – returning to the policy of engagement of the Lukashenka regime.

I reminded what was happening in the time of the so-called dialogue with Lukashenka. When Mikalaj Autukhovich was imprisoned for the second time, the West remained silent, because the dialogue game could not be spoilt. When three months before the presidential elections a journalist Aleh Biabienin was killed, the West also preferred to close the eyes on that and believe in the official suicide version – again, the dialogue was not to be hindered. In the end, this all led to the fact that on 19 December 2010 mass arrests took place in the country, comparable to the year of 1937, when practically all the country’s elite ended up in prison. If another round of a dialogue between the West and the dictator is allowed, Lukashenka will simply go for mass murders.

It is absolutely obvious that Lukashenka only needs new loans from Europe now. He pursues with the swings policy, balancing between Europe and Russia. With Ukraine signing an association agreement with the EU it is important for Vladimir Putin to show the success of the Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. The European Union in turn is afraid of admitting the mistaken character of its decision on engaging the Belarusian dictatorship into the Eastern Partnership initiatives on no conditions. In the end, it is only the dictator, who wins from all these geopolitical complexes.

Olga Zakharova, Working group on investments of the Committee for International Control over Human Rights situation in Belarus:

“In my opinion, such a forum is necessary for the human rights community. It is good that guests from other countries were invited, because really effective actions are possible if civil organizations come out of their shell. It seems to me, this is sort of a checking the clock action, an attempt to understand, where we are. It is clear that everyone is not in the best condition for the post-sovietThe space. This is absolutely obvious, because we have been under great pressure for too long.

The most important thing that took place at the conference was that the principled position on political prisoners was confirmed. The resolution’s first paragraph not only demanded to unconditionally release political prisoners. It is very important that these people were restored in their rights, including by the means of reconsideration of the cases, which were proceeded with in an unjust manner.

Obviously, the human rights community does not have time for strategic planning today, but has to constantly oppose various kinds of threats. The society too quickly forgets what took place in Belarus in 2010-2011 and everyone wants to live like before, not thinking of what is going on in the country. This is, or course, a problem”.

Tatsiana Raviaka, the deputy chairman of the human rights center Viasna:

“First of all, the forum is an opportunity for professional communication in the light of what is going on in our human rights sector and a general assessment of what is going on with human rights. I would emphasize that we do not have any principled disagreements, despite the fact that various organizations are quite broadly represented here. The organizations that deal with quite specific problems, do not deny the importance of systemic problems that exist in our country, without solving which their problems would not be solved either. Even the rights of the handicapped will not be observed, if there is no fair trial, if all the commitments that Belarus took are not followed.

It made me happy that the human rights community has broadened thematically as well, new subjects emerged. 25 purely human rights organizations were present at the forum, as well as specialized organizations with a human rights component. It is important especially now that serious blows were dealt to the human rights sector. This is an important achievement of the people, who are not afraid of dealing with human rights protection.

Obviously, there were moments on which common understanding had not yet been reached. These are first of all the issues of strategy, the representation of the human rights community at the international level. If we take the international aspect, it is actually reflected in the forum’s two resolutions. This regards the resolution submitted to the UN, OSCE, European Union’s human rights bodies. It speaks of the problems, caused by Belarus’ drifting away from international standards and obligations, taken in the framework of international relations. One of the resolutions was also addressed to the participants of the Eastern Partnership summit, which will take place at the end of November in Vilnius: while positively assessing Belarus’ participation in the Eastern Partnership, we speak of the problems, first of all related to values, that currently exist and that, among other, weaken the European Union member-states’ position and demands to the authorities of Belarus. We could not but express concern over that. The lack of adherence to principles affects the human rights climate too as well as on the opportunities for human rights activists to operate”.

Jury Dzhibladze, Working group on investments of the Committee for International Control over Human Rights situation in Belarus:

“In general it is good that there is some movement. In the spring of 2011 it seemed that it was the end. The fact that there are not just many people at the forum today, but more, than the last time, and they are all set on working, continuing the activities, discuss various joint projects, despite the severest crisis and legal political conditions, which would have simply destroyed the human rights movement in another country, - is very great indeed.

Secondly, in different sections (there were 12 of them altogether) there was quite serious professional and substantial work taking place on various issues: human rights, education, death penalty, electoral campaigns etc. One cannot say that all the activities of the organizations boil down to opposing repressions. I, for example, spoke in presentation of the fact that in Belarus and other countries of the post-soviet region there is a danger that in the conditions of repressions against civil society and targeted pressure all the work would come down to fighting the repressions, helping the victims and surviving, and the ability to raise above the situation and set strategic objective and develop a common agenda gets lost and requires special effort. Then you could be buried in the routine of surviving and helping survive. But, so it seems, the work more or less goes on from the point of view of some separate directions.

There must be a strategy. May be not so much as an action strategy, because I know how dangerous the attempt to make everyone the same could be. Civil society is pluralistic by its nature.

A strategic vision is needed, a common agenda for the human rights movement. One not simply should, but must agree on that. The human rights community, unfortunately, has not managed today to develop such a clear vision, tell that we stand for changes like this and that and will work together for their sake. Until this is the case, there will be no public support and participation, and the Belarusian society will remain either the victims to lawlessness, or, on the contrary, keep surviving in the conformist mode and will not become a participant of changes.

Apart from that I believe that Belarusian colleagues have not yet reached the realization that they risk to find themselves in a provincial and isolated situation without going beyond internal Belarusian problems, without working in the whole post-soviet region with colleagues from other neighboring countries, even more so – without a change at the international level.

And the last thing. I was upset that the issue of political prisoners was not voiced like it should have been. The topic should be central. Portraits should be here, more voices of their relatives should be heard, their letters should be cited. It seems to me that the attention of international organizations to the problem of political prisoners is decreasing now, as does the requirements bar. This is extremely dangerous. Belarusian human rights movement should be the first to oppose that, first to attract attention to it. Obviously, there is tiredness and simple human disappointment, but it should be remembered every day that these people are in jail and suffer for all of us”.

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