MPs Headed for Havana Forum :: Charter'97 :: News

Delegation of the "national assembly" of Belarus set off for Cuba to participate in the 105th conference of the Interparliamentary Union. The Forum will be held April 1-7 in Havana. The Parliament`s leadership, fearing to waste a rare opportunity of traveling abroad, headed there with its full complement: Anatoly Malofeev, Leonid Glukhovsky, Nikolai Cherginets, Yadviga Grigorovich and Tatyana Avdeeva. Despite the tropical climate and descent per diems, the MPs are likely to be given hard time there. "For the last 2,5 years they are very seriously considering there the issue of deputies` rights violations. IPU only hears lies from the mouth of the official delegation. Our parliamentarians aren`t trusted there at all. They oftentimes get in touch with those, whose rights had been violated. At the moment the IPU Committee for human rights will consider a few dozen cases of the Belarusian parliamentarians," - says Charter`97 international coordinator Andrei Sannikov.

Interparliamentary Union was founded as a body, designed to maintain contacts between the parliamentarians and to join efforts for the development of democratic institutions, human rights and cooperation between the nations. At present, IPU united the Parliaments of the 138 countries. Its chief body is the Interparliamentary conference, which convenes twice a year (in spring and fall), attracting around 600 deputies to study the international problems and pass recommendations on the business activities. IPU members are National groups, representing the concomitant parliaments.

"This is the only international parliamentary body, that invites our "house of representatives". This institution works with those legislative structures, which exist de-facto, rather than de jure. There one may find all "friends" of the civilized world: the Iraqi parliament, one from Northern Korea et cetera. As far as this is a rare occasion to travel overseas, our parliamentarians gladly accept it: all their bosses travel there," - claims Andrei Sannikov.

Since 1997 IPU accumulated 12 statements on 13th Supreme Soviet deputies` human rights violations. IPU doesn`t trust official explanations of Andrei Klimov`s imprisonment. Nor does it understand the authorities` attitude toward the SS deputy Valery Schukin, who regularly faces administrative punitive measures. There emerge questions as for the adequacy of the official treatment of deputies Grib and Sharetsky.

There will be touched upon repression against another Supreme Soviet MP Ludmila Gryaznova, who`s been denied official job for the fifth year in a row after the illegal dissolution of the Supreme Soviet. According to the law, after the termination of her parliamentary activities, she must be reinstated at the previous job place, enjoying a salary, equal to the one she used to get before her engagement in the parliament. Moreover, they will question the legitimacy of her arrest on the Freedom Day. However, the most flagrant human rights case, according to IPU, is the abduction of Viktor Gonchar.