A Pillar of Shame :: Charter'97 :: News

The civil society in Belarus looked forward the changes and through elections hoped to mount a ship sailing towards the European democracy. Regrettably, on September 9 the hopes and aspirations of Belarusian citizens were not realized. The reasons of the civil society’s delay were its amorphousness, and the severeness of the state rule. Having no claims for deep analysis of the first cause, lets concentrate on the facts of suppression of the human rights by the state.

The Republic of Belarus signed the international Helsinki documents on human rights in the times of Brezhnev. According to these documents the state guarantees the inviolability of person, including immunity from political murder, disappearances, tortures, unlawful arrests, the right for fair court trial and civil liberties – freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, peaceful organizations, freedom of worship, of , political right of citizens to change the rule. The citizens have full rights for the aforesaid freedoms, and if the state cannot fulfill them, the pressure on it is justified.

The spreading of information on human rights violations is the modern way to nail a trespasser to the pillar of shame. The facts of human rights violations during the presidential election campaign let us do so.

In September new testimony on political assassinations emerged. For a few months already this term is used in the press instead of more vague “political disappearances”. The Russian TV channel NTV showed the interview of Colonel Alkaev, who verified once more the connection of the Belarusian authorities to the abductions and murders of Yuri Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky and Dmitry Zavadsky. He stated one more time that under the command of Interior Minister Yuri Sivkov the gun for death executions from Minsk detention center was issued on the days that coincide with the dates of “disappearances” of the prominent persons. Besides, an anonymous letter about “death squad” was publicized in press. The letter informed that idea of death squads, originally meant against bosses of criminal organizations, belonged to the present Prosecutor-General Viktor Sheiman. As said by the author of the letter, the formation of the death squad was started by Yuri Sivakov, and followed by Vladimir Tkachenko, deputy chief of the intelligence headquarters of the Military Forces. A few days later another anonymous letter was published, informing about plans to annihilate Vasily Leonov, the leader of the headquarters of the single democratic candidate, and of Valery Kez, a former vice Secretary of the Security Council of the Belarusian Republic.

Month after month a name of Andrey Klimov, a prisoner of conscience sentenced to six-year imprisonment, is included into all human rights monitorings. By Klimov’s accusation the authorities try not only to get even with the courageous deputy, who took an active part in the process to impeach the president. The authorities also try to intimidate other MPs signed impeachment papers.

In the first two weeks of September a numerous arrests on political grounds took place. Among the detained were the members of the Vladimir Goncharik’s headquarters in Mogilyov, the coordinator of “Independent Monitoring” from Shklov Alexander Fedorov, and a monitor Vladimir Osipov, two ZUBR activists in Mogilyov region, a monitor of the “Independent Monitoring” Roman Burakov in Smolevichi, ZUBR coordinator from Grodno, opposition activists who went to Minsk from Orsha on September 9. Besides, the chief editor of the newspaper “Pagonya” Nikolay Markevich, his co-worker Pavel Mozhejko, opposition activists Valentin Askerka, Svetlana Nekh, Evgeny Klimov, Sergey Malchik; seven ZUBR activists who went to Minsk from Krichev on Election day; ZUBR activists from Minsk Alexey Shidlovsky, Timofey Dranchuk, Evgeniy Afnagel were arrested. ZUBR activist Evgeniy Drobyazko was detained and beaten up. Baptist priest Pyotr Mazhejko from Sharkovschina was detained for expressing his condolences to the terrorist attack’s victims. Andrey Zhukov, a ZUBR activist, was detained and received warning. A criminal case was brought up against the UCP activist from Rechitsa, Natalya Brel, for insult of the president; two activists of Vladimir Goncharik’s headquarters in Mogilyov were charged with resistance by arrest; cases against Pyotr Snegursky, a monitor and Alexander Pavlovich, ZUBR activist from Mogilyov were brought up. A criminal case against Mikhail Chigir was resumed. A coordinator of “Indepandent Monitoring” Alexey Galich was sentenced to 10 days of detention. A ZUBR activist rom Mogilyov region was sentenced to 15 days of arrest. So with detentions, arrests and criminal cases the authorities rendered powerless the most active opposition forces during the election campaign.

The Belarusian authorities cannot adapt to such notions as pluralism of opinions, freedom of expression and independence of the press. A collective-farm level of understanding that the society must have only one common opinion, stuck in the heads of the state officials. This policy was followed by the authorities with the most odious zeal in the period of the election campaign. Not repeating the facts of freedom of expression’s violations, that took place in August and stirred up a storm of indignation of the Belarusian and international community, I would like to present information on the first half of September in chronological order. The issue of September 5 of the newspaper “Narodnaya Volya” was printed belatedly because of the actions of censor Vladimir Glushakov, deputy chairman of the State Committee on Press, who banned the pre-election collage “Lukashenko is the past, Goncharik is the future”. A criminal action was brought up against the newspaper “Pahonya”, the equipment and the print run of the special issue of the newspaper were confiscated. Vladimir Glushakov demanded to withdraw articles from the “Belaruskaya Maladzyozhnaya” newspaper. The newspaper “Narodnaya Volya” was issued with white gaps. There the call to assemble at the October Square on September 9 at 8 p.m. was to be placed. Journalists were indignant about the unconstitutional actions of the authorities and denied to place another material in the empty space. The “Vitebskiye Delovye Novosti” (Vitebsk Business News) newspaper was not printed by the printing-house because it contained articles about Goncharik.

On the Election Day the unheard-of events happened in Belarus. The access to Internet sites of independent political and monitoring organizations was blocked by state provider-monopolist “Beltelekom”, broadcasting of the foreign TV channels on Belarus through satellite transmitters “Mir” and European transmitting Center was stopped, telephones of the non-governmental organizations participating in election monitoring were disconnected.

In addition to freedom of expression, Belarusian authorities find insufferable the freedom of assembly and of organizations. For the sake of intimidation of the “Youth Front”, its leader Paval Sevyarynets was interrogated by KGB officers about his involvement to the grenade blast outside Russian Embassy. Dmitry Bukatov was expelled from the Mogilyov polytechnic for his part ZUBR activities. Besides, searches and raids in the offices of the non-governmental organizations continued. In the headquarters of the Association of the Belarussian Students information materials on election and were confiscated. In the Mogilyov branch of Lev Sapega Foundation and in Shklov branch of Voters’ Club equipment was confiscated. The headquarters of Grodno branch of the Belarusian Popular Front was searched. The attempt of break-in to the office of Charter 97 was interrupted. Two explosives were thrown to the Hart youth center in Gomel.

As for the right of citizens to change the government, the last events in Belarus show that its citizens are deprived of this right. The simpletons are misled , and those who understand are persecuted. As a result not people decide who will be their leader, but the authorities themselves. Pseudo-elections were organized by the state-run mass media, vertical system of authorities, election commissions and due to neutralization of monitors.

In September facts about the role of mass media demonstrated it vividly. In many regions of Belarus the speech of Goncharik on the radio was disrupted. On September 4 a pre-election show was held in support of Lukashenko. Other candidates did not have such opportunity. Regional newspapers were given a directive to print Lukashenko’s platform one more time. On September 8 Lukashenko’s speech was broadcast, which violated Constitution and Electoral Code. The postmen were made to deliver the special issue of “Sovetskaya Belorussia”, dedicated to Lukashenko. At the same time independent mass media were hindered in their work.

The measures taken by the authorities are obvious at all levels of the electoral system. But sometimes state officials and state institutions even did not conceal the administrative pressure. The officials concocted an article about a conspiracy “White Stork”, the material aimed at intimidating and misleading voters. The provocative leaflets as if belonging to Belarusian Liberation Army were made by the authorities too. Some officials revealed their personal involvement in dirty tricks. The chairman of the regional executive committee of Dzerzhinsk, Tkachov, and chairman of the collective farm “Luch” of the Kopyl region, Alexander Usin urged people to take part in early voting, while the chairman of the Brest region council Konstantin Bobko electioneered for Lukashenko. BSU rector Alexander Kozulin, rector of the state medical institute Pavel Bespalchuk, rector of the Vitebsk state university Rusetsky, deputy dean of the construction department of the Belarusian Polytechnic agitated for Lukashenko and pressured the students to vote before time.

The electoral commissions, CEC included, presented a whole bunch of violations. Reprimands have been issued to Goncharik, but never to Lukashenko. In the Foreign Ministry and overseas offices they launched a whole network of elections falsification. CEC allowed to hand out ballot sheets upon presentation of any document with a photo and a stamp. Electoral commissions unsealed ballot boxes during pre-voting. For instance, member of the precinct commission #46 of the Pervomaisky district of Minsk Galina Moguchaya found traces of illegal unsealing of the box. Observer Alexander Demyanov documented the evidence of the fact of unsealing of the box at the electoral station #18 of the Pervomaisky district of Minsk. At the 75th polling station of Minsk Russian journalists found an unsealed box too. Observers from Smorgon and Rechitsa recorded the fact of removal of the ballot box overnight from the polling station. The box for early voting was placed outside the polling station #32 of the Leninsky district of Brest. Solonenko Tatyana, chairwoman of the electoral commission, refused to return the box. Observer Kirienko at the station #23, based at the premises of the secondary school #89 in Minsk, detained the wrongdoers, who threw stacks of ballot sheets into the boxes. However, upon the order of the deputy head of the commission Turin they were set free. Electoral commission rigged the ballot results. For instance at the Brest polling station #58 Gaidukevich received 2%, Goncharik – 0% and Lukashenko – 98%; in Mogilev station #150 (military site) – Gaidukevich – 2%, Goncharik – 0%, Lukashenko – 98%.

As pointed out by Vadim Bondar, Russian State Duma deputy, who refused to sign the statement on behalf of Russian observers, there exists a problem of control over the election results in Belarus. The authorities practically managed to neutralize the system of independent observation. The Electoral Code was filled with groundless limitations on the actions of the observers and arbitrary interpretation of rights of commission chairs. Since the beginning of the year observers were exposed to psychological pressure. Those, who remained part of the “Independent Observation” initiative, were ousted from monitoring on the election day via the denial of accreditation (observers from Vesna and Lev Sapega foundation). Observers got their phones switched off, they were accompanied by police and even faced legal proceedings (Migursky P.S.) For international observers the authorities prepared exemplary polling stations; they drafted samples of statements, favorable for the authorities. The most unbiased observers were denied entry visas. In September no visas were obtained by Swedish social-democrats: Oscar Stenstrem, Sonny Frederiks, Suzanna Lif-Garriti, Lisa Pelling, Eric Clifford, Christer Niman.

Human rights defenders not only watched over human rights violations in the country but also the attitude of the authorities towards international and non-state investigation into potential human rights violations. Over the election period analysis and observation of potential human rights violations have been carried out by the International mission for limited observation. The mission drew a conclusion that the elections fell short of meeting OSCE democratic standards. Non-involvement in Lukashenko’s inauguration of the US and European ambassadors testifies to their attitude towards Belarusian voting.

The reaction of the Belarusian authorities to the criticism of international organizations, as noted by ODIHR chair Gerard Studmann, can be considered “paranoid”. Lukashenko stated that he’ll throw out of the country Hans-Georg Wieck and that OSCE AMG should better stay away from Belarus. KGB breathed threats against the official Washington. September 9 at approximately 5p.m. some explosive went off near the US embassy’s information center. And the spy row also reached its climax. In early September the court of the Central district of Minsk sentenced US national, director of the Belarusian representation of the ACCELS educational program Charles Periello to 5 years and 3 months in jail. In ten days the Minsk city court sentenced Italian national Anjelo Antonio Piu and Belarusian citizen Irina Ushak for espionage and high treason accordingly to 4,5 and 4 years of imprisonment.

Facts, derived from Charter’97 web-site show grave human rights violations, that occurred during the September ballot. The statistics tells us what the incumbent is really worth, enabling us to bring to the pillar of shame all those, implicated in the suppression of the political right to choose the government.