Human rights abuses in Belarus in 2001 :: Charter'97 :: News

Information about political assassinations, tortures, arbitrary detentions, biased trials, freedom of speech, peaceful assemblies and demonstrations, faith, as well as the citizens’ right to elect their government, government’s attitude to the international and non-state investigation into the possible human rights violations in Belarus in 2001 is represented in the series of monitorings, prepared by the Charter’97 organizing committee member Ludmila Gryaznova.

Monitoring of Human Rights Violations in Belarus, 2001

Information about political assassinations, tortures, arbitrary arrests, biased trial, freedom of speech, peaceful assemblies and organizations, faith, as well as citizens’ rights to change the government, government’s attitude toward international and non-state investigation into the possible human rights violations in Belarus in 2001 – are all presented in the monitoring, authored by the Charter’97 organizing committee member Ludmila Gryaznova.

“Liberalization”

Monitoring of human rights violations in December 2001

In the last month the leadership of Belarus is saying a lot about liberalization, hoping for the change in the West’s policy. Despite certain minor facts, there doesn’t take place any systemic transformation. The liberalization is only spoken of in words. They still keep in jail Andrei Klimov, open legal proceedings against the directors and businessmen, exert pressure on public organizations and independent media. Just as before, the Belarusian authorities have little regard for human rights.

Topic number one

Political disappearances in the Republic of Belarus is item number one in all human rights reports. The missing politicians – Yuri Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar and his friend Anatoly Krasovsky , journalist Dmitry Zavadsky, as well as some leading criminals were annihilated by the current regime. Such a conclusion can be drawn from numerous testimonies, accumulated over the recent years.

In December 2001 there appeared new information on these crimes. Former KGB detective Gennady Uglyanitsa in his interview to Radio “Svaboda” talks about the murder of criminal leaders, against which they applied the scheme of the so-called “Ideal murder” through the military unit, under the command of Dmitry Pavlichenko. Rumors have been spread though that the killings of mafia members were the result of strife among them. Uglyanitsa keeps to a different thinking though. “Criminals never settle down disputes between them through shooting at each other immediately. At first they negotiate. However, when someone gets shot with a sniper’s rifle, when whole families are slain with AKM gun or when somebody is executed with an axe – that’s not how the criminals work. By the way, even professional killers never act that way either. Moreover, I believe that these murders hadn’t been properly investigated into. They never found the guilty ones because those who stood behind them were the authorities themselves, at least that’s what I believe.”

Gennady Uglyanitsa, doubting that criminals settled accounts with each other, adds the following: “Let me remind you the words of Lukashenko himself, who said that we, as different from other countries of the world, have no criminality, for we have annihilated it. How did he do that, I wonder? Did he order them to kill themselves or may be he did that himself? I don’t know. This we have to inquire from Lukashenko. Who knows, may be he did a bit of propaganda among them and they thought: ok, guys, if Belarus has to be a nice, crime-free country, let’s go to Russia.” But that’s sounds unrealistic, does it not?”

Zinaida Gonchar continues to demand interrogations of all persons, made mention of in the rapports of general Lopatik and colonel Alkaev, including the SOBR commander Dmitry Pavlichenko. It is known that Pavlichenko was brought from the pre-trial jail right to Lukashenko. Ahead of the presidential elections Lukashenko publicly confessed that this allegedly innocent person had been detained in breach of the proper procedure. He noted that if the society learnt about the details of his arrest their hair would stand on end. He accidentally blurted out that he may even show the protocols of Pavlichenko’s interrogation to the “Narodnaya Volya” journalist: “…I will show you some documents, which I cannot copy. I’ll just let you browse them through and you will see how that person was detained.” The journalist says that he’s eager to familiarize himself with these papers, as far as the “bright” colonel said a lot of amazingly interesting stuff.

“Sparrow”

“Sparrow” is not just a nice little bird but also a cruel kind of torture, applied to beat the testimony out of the suspects’ mouths. The press doesn’t write much on that. However, the loud trial over Alexander Chigir, son of the former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir, reminded us of this shadow aspect of our justice.

Alexander Chigir, Anton Yashin and Dmitry Yutskevich are all indicted for hijacking vehicles. In court Anton Yashin and Dmitry Yutskevich stated that they gave false testimony against Alexander Chigir under torture. February 20 night they were beaten in the Moskovsky police station. Operatives kicked them on the head. They also applied “sparrow” against Yashin – handcuffed his arms, placed them behind his legs and hang him upside down. The medical expertise diagnosed both men as suffering from intense bleedings and bruises. Moreover, they placed Yashin to a so-called “special corridor”, where they usually keep the most dangerous outlaws and where there’s hardly any light or air. Yashin caught tuberculosis and hepatitis there. So they led him to the courtroom with gauze bandage, tied around his face.

A priori direction

After the presidential elections the electorate never received a long promised $100 salary. And collapsing Belarusian economy has sad perspectives. The budget profits are contracting for they don’t allow business to function normally, state companies are in red, customs duties are increasingly controlled by Russia, while the military export is in decline.

In order to sooth the people and earn money the regime unleashed a massive campaign against the heads of companies and ordinary businessmen. At the session on the banks’ problems Lukashenko said: “There’ll be no mercy to those who live in opulence on people’s money, not helping the nation and the state.” Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov declared that one of the priority directions in the activities of the Belarusian police in the new year will be further prevention of heavy crimes in economic sphere. The “priority direction” in no time results in mass arrests and criminal persecution. In late November there had been opened 210 criminal cases, 720 were placed in prison, 71 court cases were successfully appealed against due to the mildness of the original sentence. Police arrested former head of the railway department Viktor Rakhmanko, director of the fridge-making plant “Atlant” Leonid Kalugin, director of the car market “Koltso” Alexander Vasilevsky, director of the “Zhdanovichi” car market A.Serebryannikov, assistant rector of the Grodno medical university Leonid Kivach, director of the “Tractor” stadium Vasily Oleinikov, Vice President of the “Pushe” company Stanislav Chernyshevich. Legal action was opened against the 13th Supreme Soviet deputy, former BATE director Nikolai Busel.

Oh that sweet word “freedom”!

“Freedom” is a dream word for many Belarusians, struggling for the freedom of speech and press, freedom of peaceful demonstrations and organizations, freedom of faith. The civil rights aren’t something abstract, only mentioned by the independent journalists, public organizations activists and some clergy. Instead, it is life, sufferings and pain.

Romuald Ulan, founder of the “New Smorgon’s Paper” had to petition the court, as far as the Smorgon district committee forbids him to accommodate two more editorial offices in the newspaper’s headquarters. UCP activists, who worked out the country’s economic problem, weren’t allowed to present it on state media. “Pagonya’s” editor-in-chief Nikolai Markevich was fined 500 thousand rubles for picketing. The authorities also deny registration permit to the Krychev newspaper “Volny Gorod”.

In December the Supreme Court liquidated the “Youth informational center” and the “Association of Belarusian students”. Economic penalties were applied against the public organization “Civil initiatives”. The Gomel tax inspection demands that it pay over 6mln rubles. Same is true with the Union of Poles of Belarus, obliged to pay 7mln rubles.

They prolonged by two months the criminal proceedings against Natalya Brel, post-graduate student of the Institute of history of the National Academy of sciences, who congratulated Lukashenko with his birthday, having handed over to him through the Rechitsa authorities a box with a present. Inside the box there were a rope and a soap, which, according to Natalya, became the essential objects for most Belarusian. There continue the hearings of the administrative case of the “ZUBR” activities, chair of the youth center “Gart” Sergei Odinets.

Extreme measures were stepped up by Vladimir Pentoukhov – rector of the Brest State University – in his alma mater. They reprimanded professor Anatoly Levkovich, refused promotion to the assistant Igor Maslovsky, issued a negative characteristics to the senior professor Valentin Lazarenkov. The rector got infuriated after he saw that the teachers stand for human rights and observe the election course, which should never be the case. At least not at the Brest State University.

In December they fined Kuropaty defenders – Young Front activists Roman Kazakevich (100 thousand rubles), deputy chair of the CCP BPF Sergei Popkov (50 thousand rubles), ZUBR activists Yaroslav Steshik (45 thousand rubles) and Yuri Fabishevsky (400 thousand rubles). Same penalty was applied against the painter Dmitry Ivanovsky for calling on Grodno residents to assemble at the place, where 40 years ago the authorities demolished the medieval temple of duke Vitovt.

Harsh punishment was used against female Bobruisk residents Lubov Sankevich, Eva Ustimchik, Yanina Ovsyannik and Galina Guseva, who determined to address Lukashenko for help. For picketing the presidential Administration with a banner the women were sentenced to 10 days arrest. The next day, though, the ladies were set free for all of them were diagnosed with blood pressure running high.

Concerning the lawsuits, instituted against the authorities, they are usually very time-consuming and, as a rule, seldom result in anything positive. UCP activist Vladimir Romanovsky has been seeking justice for the second year in a row. The case over the “picket in Viktor Gonchar’s memory” was forwarded for the forth re-consideration. And one more fact. Three months after the destruction of the memorial sign “Clinton’s Bench” in Kuropaty the authorities finally agreed to initiate criminal proceedings over “vandalism” charges.

Priest of the Cross Exaltation church in Klepichi village (Beresty district) Yan Spasuk was deprived of his ordained title. Polish newspaper “Gazeta Vyborcha” writes that the Moscow Orthodox Church in Belarus is resisting any sign of free thought expression and openly declares the canonical belonging of the territory of Belarus to the Russian Orthodox church. Apart from Yan Spasuk they punished in the same measure father Leonid Plyats and father Vyacheslav Gnyadko. Interestingly, this church is the only one in the country, financed out of the state budget.

Wheel-chaired disabled people could hardly get through to the presidential Administration in order to submit another of their pleas. Next time they promised to block the traffic on the country’s main avenue. The Poles from the Volkovysk school #8 were prohibited to set off to Poland without a previous consent of the local authorities. The Jews are complaining to the Russian Minister of culture over the expressions of anti-Semitism in Belarus. They halted the production of video and audio tapes for kids in Belarusian at the “Sotvar” company. Because they forbade the underpaid workers to get a reception at the Mogilev region council’s head office, the workers took off their hats and started begging for alms from the statesmen. Suppressing the trade unions and taking reprisal on Vladimir Goncharik, the government banned to transfer trade union dues via the companies accounts. Vladimir Gonchairk left the FTU chair post. In Mosty they dismissed from job Valery Romanchuk for his trade union activism.

The sweet word “freedom” cost many Belarusians a lot of sufferings and travail. The world is cognizant of our plight and gives it proper evaluation. The international human rights organization “Freedom House” blacklisted Belarus among non-free countries, whose citizens enjoy no political or civil rights altogether. In general, the picture they got is such: out of 192 countries 86 are free, 58 – partially free and 48 – not free.

Incident

After unfair, non-free and fabricated elections, the West hasn’t formulated the unique policy towards Belarus. The USA hold on tighter to the human rights principles. US State Secretary Colin Powell declared at the meeting of the Foreign Minister of the OSCE member-states in Bucharest that: “The presidential elections in Belarus fell short of meeting the democratic standards. The government of Belarus ignored the OSCE recommendations… Unfortunately, Belarusian government keeps acting in such a way that Belarus is left outside the European political life… We will continue our work with the OSCE member-states in order to uphold the development of real democratic institutes and strong civil society in Belarus”. The executive director of the International League for Human Rights Catherine Fitzpatrick assumes that the US must keep to a tough policy toward Lukashenko and call on the EU to do likewise. OSCE must cease consultations with the official Minsk, for they have never influenced Lukashenko’s policy even since his election in 1994. According to Mrs.Fitzpatrick, the West must impact Minsk the way it did the Soviet Union – through clear and consecutive condemnation.

Western Europe bases its Belarusian policy not only on the human rights aspect. As justly noted by a Lithuanian parliamentarian Vitautas Landsbergis, “Europe even closes her eyes to the annihilation of free press, which is underway in Belarus.” Recently there emerged information about the change in the position of the PACE Political Council, namely on the replacement of requirements of creating the climate of trust between the authorities and opposition and placing the electoral law in conformity with the democratic standards by the demands to cancel death penalty and introduce the ombudsman’s mandate. OSCE AMG ambassador in Minsk Hans-Georg Wieck refuted these rumors, having said that “the OSCE demands can by no means be subject to any alteration whatsoever”.

Despite the milder policy of the European countries, official Minsk sharply criticizes OSCE. Moreover, recently there took place an interesting incident. The official representatives, invited to the Wieck’s farewell party, never showed up there.

Belarus and Islamic extremists

In the aftermath of the September 11 events there emerged numerous reports from Israeli, American and German sources about the Belarusian sale of arms to the Islamic extremists. In December this topic was highlighted by Russian media too. NTV presented the data, received from the former Defense Minister Pavel Kozlovsky, about how over the last four years the authorities earned through the sale of ammunition around 2bln dollars, which were then transferred to the secret presidential fund. Ivan Pashkevich, deputy of the House of representatives tried to make an official inquiry about the application of this fund but to no avail. In the same NTV coverage they mentioned Minsk’s international airport which is most of the time empty. However, somehow the charter flights “Belarus-Iraq” appear there on an astonishingly regular basis.

Recently the Ukrainian former president Leonid Kravchuk accused Belarus of supplying weaponry to the Balkans. “With my consent through Marchuk Ukraine started cooperating with one of the NATO member-state’s secret services. This secret service apprehended Streshinsky and his ship, which carried on board Belarusian arms, by the way.”

“Moskovskiye Novosti” wrote that the guns get from Russia to Belarus, then to Libya and further to the Chechen guerillas.

Deputy chair of the Russian committee for military and technical cooperation with foreign states Alexander Denisov reported that they collaborate especially intensively with Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The size of the export supplies of Russian equipment in the year 2001 will amount to over 4bln rubles.

Russian periodical “Sovershenno Sekretno” claims that in 2000 Belarus sold arms worth 498mln dollars, thus taking the sixth spot among the world’s greatest weapon exporters. Meantime, a significant share of the Belarusian weapons consignment goes to the rogue countries, which have direct reference to the international terrorism, such as Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan, Angola, Sierra-Leone, Congo and Ethiopia. As a matter of fact, Lukashenko had numerously called these countries “friendly” to him. Same paper mentioned another remarkable event – the shutdown of the Russian electronic surveillance base Lurdes on Cuba. The base had accumulated rich database on US civil aviation flights and one can’t rule out a possibility that Cuba shared this information with bin Laden.

It wasn’t by mere accident that Russian media all of a sudden started detailing the Belarusian arms business. The very fact that they closed the base at Lurdes testifies to the serious change in Russia’s stance toward world terrorism.

It could well be that this turn of events pre-conditioned the nomenclature cleansing, undertaken by Lukashenko against the directors and entrepreneurs. Next year the military provisions of the budget will be cut down. The authorities will squeeze out the last juice from the middle class – Belarusian variant of “liberalization” will continue all across the country.

P.S. Belarus human rights monitoring for December 2001 was prepared, based on the information from the radio “Svaboda” and Charter’97 web-sites.

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Monitoring of human rights violations in November 2001

Our close and distant neighbors see Belarus from its worst side. Whenever you chance to talk to a foreigner, you feel his compassion and get this question: “How do you live there, folks? Don’t politicians go missing in your country?” And still we live: protecting our friends, fighting against the criminal authorities and considering the dissemination of information about the regime’s atrocities to be a means of preventing the new violence. Unless the full truth about the political assassinations of Gennady Karpenko, Yuri Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky and Dmitry Zavadsky is revealed, the human rights defenders must remain vigilant.

Story of evildoings

In November this year there resumed court proceedings on Dmitry Zavadsky’s disappearance case. It wasn’t for nothing that the authorities declared the trial confidential and called for a criminal sentence against anyone who dares divulge the case materials. However, we still know some of it. For instance, Pavel Sheremet, referring to the former prosecutor general Oleg Bozhelko, with whom he had met before the presidential elections in one of the Russian monasteries, said that the Belarusian leadership is implicated in this crime. That’s how Sheremet put it: “I believe that the official structures, that work for Viktor Sheiman, are responsible for Zavadsky’s disappearance. Sheiman is suspected of mysterious sale of arms, further smuggled into Chechnya and his name is mentioned in connection with Zavadsky’s abduction. Bozhelko himself confirmed it, when he was in Russia. So I believe that Lukashenko is directly linked to Zavadsky’s disappearance. But when the investigative bodies (Bozhelko included) traced Sheiman they at the same time traced Pavluchenko – that’s where it got clear that Lukashenko’s encirclement is related to the disappearance of Zavadsky and other individuals. At that point they called a halt to the investigation and hid the truth from the public.”

According to the former KGB investigator Gennady Uglyanitsa and activist of the “Krai” organization Andrei Zhernosek, who fled to Norway, Ignatovich and his group have nothing to do with kidnapping Zavadsky. The spade with Zavadsky’s bloodstains was placed in Ignatovich’s car trunk during the investigation. Uglyanitsa says: “The spade was placed there during the investigation. Otherwise why would the Interior Minister Naumov personally go to Ignatovich and what did he require from him? Before then Ignatovich swore that he was innocent. However, ever after that visit he was silent. We approximately know how they found Zavadsky’s corpse and who pointed at the place, where it had been buried. Except us, some 20 more people know this too. Among them are – former KGB chairman Matskevich, former prosecutor Bozhelko, Alkaev, Naumov and younger brother of “Almaz” fighter Yuri Budko Vladimir, whom the KGB people apprehended on the roof of the Yanka Kupala museum with a sniper’s rifle and who was placed there by Dmitry Pavlichenko… So the question is: whom was he supposed to assassinate?”

There are a lot of dark spots in Zavadsky’s case and those of other disappeared politicians. But every month there emerge new data, which will afterwards make up the whole picture of crimes.

Oppressive atmosphere in Belarus is not only characterized by political killings, but also court persecution, which mutilates the lives of thousands Belarusian nationals. While in 1990 there were 15,5 thousand prisoners in Belarus, now we have over 50 thousand incarcerated. These include Andrei Klimov – a Supreme Soviet deputy, political prisoner, who suffers in jail for signing an impeachment motion against the incumbent.

Hunting down the independent press

The authorities keep targeting the independent press. They stepped up radical judiciary measures. If in spring they raided the independent press premises, confiscated their equipment and imposed censorship, then now the government wants to look more civilized in the eyes of Europe. The judge of the Supreme Economic court Zhandarov simply satisfied the petition of the Grodno region procuracy, which initiated the shutdown of the newspaper “Pahonya” for the sake of the state. For the time being the paper’s editor Nikolai Markevich, journalists Andjey Pisalnik and Pavel Mozheiko have to keep their mouths shut. However, it is not just the newspaper’s closure that’s so terrifying, but rather the fact that the journalists of other periodicals, subconsciously fearing to get into a similar trouble, switched on their “gut censor”. They are becoming too careful and don’t feel like writing all truth.

In November police resumed criminal proceedings against the correspondents of the Krychev newspaper “Volny Gorod”. The most zealous of their persecutors was acting prosecutor of the Krychev district A.Mikhnevich. Chair of the Pinsk town hall Vassily Shust was told by the authorities to exert pressure on the newspaper “Provintsialka”. The chairman didn’t like the article “Pinsk directors were ordered to ensure the turnout and promise $100 wages”, so he demanded to reimburse him in moral damage one million rubles. Same path was followed by Pavel Yakubovich, editor-in-chief of the state-run newspaper “Sovetskaya Belorussiya”, who demanded apologies and moral compensation from the independent newspaper “Belorusskaya Molodezhnaya”.

A lot of noise was made by the cancellation of the “Tuteishiya” play by Yanka Kupala. That’s how the authorities were readying to celebrate 120th anniversary of the Belarusian national poet.

Rygor Kiyko’s bruises

Kuropaty became the center of a November confrontation between the regime and opposition. It is a burial place of victims of Stalinist repressions, currently being the site, where they lay down the Minsk beltway. They don’t honor ancestors in Belarus. Instead they erect buildings and build highways on their bones. The reason for that is people’s lack of culture and the purposeful official policy, aimed at eradicating the national history and, as a result, turning the nation into obedient flock.

The cruelest beating of Kuropaty defenders occurred on November 8. Over 200 riot police soldiers beat up elderly people, women and teenagers with rubber clubs, dragged them on the ground, threw them into the dirt and brutally kicked. They went as far as to apply tear gas against them. The next day painter Rygor Kiyko showed a bruise from a police truncheon on his chest. There was a bleeding bruise right against his heart. One could hardly bare look at it. But these guys endured heavy blows with police legs and clubs. TV newscasts, which covered the event on Russian channels, somewhat calmed down the authorities. But no one knows for sure what will happen in the days to follow. The confrontation is underway. Youths from ZUBR, Young Front, BPS and other organizations are standing on guard of the peace of their martyred countrymen.

For anti-fascist rally of October 26 Pavel Severinets received 10 days of jail, Oleg Lobatuy – 130 minimal wages fine, Vladimir Rybinchik – 3 days, Ales Nischik – 3 days. Meantime, NAZI followers feel quite at ease in Belarus. During the concert of the Dutch rock band “Third Stone” over two dozen skinheads shouted their fascist slogans and misbehaved. However, police didn’t detain a single person.

For the protest against the violation of trade unionists’ rights head of the Democratic trade union of transportation workers Vladimir Makarchuk was fined 200 minimal wages, president of the Belarusian Congress of democratic trade unions Viktor Babaed and leader of the Free trade union of entrepreneurs Sergei Fomin – 20 minimal wages.

For distributing the “Belarusskiye Vedomosti” edition police apprehended an outspoken Vitebsk oppositionist, CCP BPF activist Viktor Pleschenko. Some vigilant old woman turned him in to the law-enforcers who, in their turn, delivered the man to the police station.

One may draw some conclusions from the following facts of people’s right for assemblies being violated. In November the authorities liquidated the Association of Belarusian students and the Youth information center. Thus, they push the citizens, willing to interact in associations, to do it illegally.

For more than a year now they’ve been persecuting the priest of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Ivan Spasouk. There had been held a special court trial in Grodno, at which the bishop of Grodno and Volkovysk Artemiy deprived Ivan Spasouk of his ordained title.

It is so sad that nothing is being spoken of the afore-mentioned right of a citizen for assemblies and associations in the Belarusian state TV and radio. And people learn this information, as they did in the Soviet times, from radio stations, headquartered overseas.

“Dazhynki”

As concerns the cases of the political rights violations and citizens’ rights to elect their government, November turned out quite fruitless. Most of the harvesting took place in October with hundreds of electoral campaign activists, representing the unique opposition candidate, underwent trials, were fired from work and subject to administrative penalties. UCP activist Valery Konoplyannik kept fighting for his reinstatement at his job. However, the post office, at which he used to work, fears to hire their former postman even as a plumber.

The authorities continue to persecute Mikhail Chigir, former country’s Prime Minister and one of the opposition runners for the presidency this year. The man was repeatedly charged with a millions of dollars embezzlement and tax-evasion. Chigir himself explains the investigator’s movements by the orders from above: “The investigators don’t even dare look me in the eyes”.

For an attempt to challenge the incumbent in the presidential race they persecute another candidate – “Atlant” plant’s director Leonid Kalugin. The man was arrested late last month and was indicted for theft. In one blow the regime attempted to attain two goals – to tame the directorate and silence the starving nation, giving them victim to slay.

The Central electoral commission once again conceals evidence. Now they closed the case over the ballot sheets, found at the Beresino graveyard. The ballot sheets were all cast last fall in favor of the lower house’s deputy Petr Ivanenko.

Sport uniform instead of a suit and a tie

At foreign conferences representatives of the Belarusian authorities, dressed in bests style suits and having learnt good manners, are claiming that the government is young, and, as is the case with all youngsters, it is quite natural for them to make mistakes. A lot is being said by them about the sophistication of legislation, freedom of press and free elections. These people hope that the western politicians, preoccupied with the problems of many countries, don’t know much about the situation in Belarus and can be easily fooled.

No such gimmicks work inside the country. Here the authorities never demonstrate good manners. For instance, officials never showed up at the Minsk forum, being unwilling to engage in the Germany-brokered dialogue. “Sovetskaya Belorussiya” editor Pavel Yakubovich didn’t bother to wear a nice suit for the round table on media problems – he turned up there in sports clothes.

Sources report

In the aftermath to September 11 tragedy there has been imposed a stronger international surveillance over Belarus. The reason for that are her large supplies of ammunition to the terrorist regimes. The German information agency DPA circulated in November another piece of information, touching upon the illicit arms sales business. In the first half of 2001 alone the supplies of the Belarusian weapons to the Arabic and Albanian extremists have been evaluated at $600mln. It is considered that at first the weapon is taken to Tajikistan wherefrom they deliver it to the Afghani talibs. In comparison with most countries, Belarus keeps strictly confidential any data on arms transactions and they never get into the newspaper pages. Moreover, say the human rights advocates, it costed Dmitry Zavadsky his very life for learning about the secret supplies of Belarusian weapons and medications to the Chechen guerillas.

Polish “WPROST” magazine reports that Belarus, caring little of her reputation, is engaged in the sale of Russian arms. Not so long ago Iran addressed Lukashenko with a request to help them obtain “some advanced military technologies”. The Iranians pretty much realize that there’s no such weaponry in Belarus, but they also know that Lukashenko’s teammates can arrange it with Russia.

P.S. The situation with human rights in Belarus in November is really saddening. The information, collected through the web-sites, run by the radio Svaboda and Charter’97, can be a real food for thought for the conscious Belarusian citizens and insightful politicians, both Belarusian and neighbors’.

Monitoring of human rights violations in Belarus in October 2001

Ludmila Gryaznova, Charter’97 organizing committee member

Evil accumulated…

Almost two centuries from today Alexander Pushkin wrote the verse about a strongman, lying under the willow: “only his hawk, his black horse and his young wife know who killed him and why.” Many years have passed and the story repeated on the Belarusian soil. Again the wives of the disappeared and deceased – Ludmila Karpenko, Olga Zakharenko, Zinaida Gonchar, Irina Krasovskaya and Svetlana Zavadskaya – are still waiting for the return of their loved ones, whom they hope to see alive. Over the second half of September and October the mass media managed to report the following about mass killings:

According to the German Foreign Ministry database, nothing is known about Yuri Zakharenko’s alleged whereabouts on German territory. They’ve no idea whether the man is there and all right. Despite the efforts of the Swiss reporter Rainer Hafercamp, not a single German newspaper agreed to publish his false data about Zakharenko’s staying on German territory. According to the influential German journalist Markus Wener such information is nothing but a provocative statement, concocted in Belarus.

Former procuracy investigator Oleg Sluchek revealed the “ideal murder” scheme, worked out by the law-enforcement chiefs and first applied against the mafia leaders. The first ones to fall pray to it were gangsters “Schavlik” and “Mamontenok”. A lot can be derived from Lukashenko’s words, voiced by him on October 30: “There was a situation when they misbehaved. Do you remember all those “Schavliks” and the like? Where are they, tell me?” Mikhail Medvedev, chair of the police committee for combating organized criminality and corruption said that “Schavlik” – whose real name is Vladimir Klesch, disappeared without trace.

Andrei Zhernosek, who disclosed this spring together with a KGB agent Gennady Uglyanitsa sensational data about the mechanism of an ideal murder through the “death squad” (SOBR), told in October the address of one of the witnesses on Gonchar-Krasovsky disappearance case.

Former head of the Minsk pre-trial jail Oleg Alkaev answered Lukashenko’s question: “Where are they buried?” with words “I promise to show you where they’re buried. But I have no authority, so how can they let me show? To do that I need the power of the prosecutor general. Then I will show everything – where everyone is buried, by whom and when.”

As for the execution gun, Oleg Alkaev believes that “professional and reliable pistols with silencers aren’t so plenty. If they buy weaponry from criminals, it can go unnoticed. Police keeps record of all guns in a special book on used weapons. However, my key version is this – they used the execution gun in order to produce an illusion of carrying out a real death penalty. You know, it’s as if they wanted to remove blood from their hands before God. And that’s what they did. The executors had no clue what they were doing. They were ordered and they obeyed. Afterwards they even took pride in the fact, for they were awarded with orders later.”

Iceberg

Political murders, ill-treatment of citizens by the authorities, denial of transparent and fair trial is something all Belarusians are suffering from. However, violations, associated with the inviolability of personality are like an iceberg. Its top, the facts which are known to the public, can’t be compared in size with the part which remains underwater.

Owing to the independent media and opposition organizations the world knows about Andrei Klimov – Supreme Soviet deputy convicted for his political activities. Mikhail Chigir is denied the right to protect his son Alexander, who’s been staying in pre-trial detention for over nine months now. Mikhail Chigir criticized the lack of fair trial in the country after the Minsk city court declined his family’s petition to sue the Belarusian television over slandering them. Trial over Tamara Vinnikova’s son Sergei, sentenced to 2 years of labor for illicit drug sales, was declared confidential. Judge Simonov, in charge of Dmitry Zavadsky’s case, said that the process will be closed and called on everybody to finish considerations as quick as possible. A right to protect the interests of Svetlana Zavadskaya was denied to Andrei Bastunets, a BAJ attorney. Belarusian Supreme Court refused to consider BHC complaint over the non-recognition of presidential elections outcomes as legitimate. Prosecutors of Gomel region overlook the legislation violations, laid out in more than 100 petitions. There started trial proceedings over the law-enforcers from the Pervomaisky district police station of Minsk, held accountable for beatings, extortions and illegal use of arms.

Repression machine

Following the September 9 elections the political harassment machine – detentions, fines, reprimands and arrests – didn’t come to a halt. Police captured activists of the Vitebsk wing of the International Association, named after G.Karpenko for holding a picket “Want to know truth!”, all participants of the Youth Front action, dedicated to the Minsk underground fighters, Mozyr BPF activists Dmitry Bukatov and Alexei Gamayunov for their involvement in the political art performance “Bomzhinki-2001”, leader of the Vitebsk branch of the Youth Front Viktor Shlyakhtin and six of his men for the picket of protest against the sale of Minsk car factory to the Russian tycoon, 20 YF rally participants, protesting against spreading fascism in Belarus, activists of the World Association of Belarusian Jews Yakov Gutman and Vladimir Rubinchik for the action against the destruction of the former synagogue building. Police summoned for interrogation chair of the Free trade union of Minsk tractor plant Vyacheslav Kozel upon suspicion of initiating the protest.

Reprimands were issued to the chair of the Baranovichi BPF branch Ales Pikul and member of the Social Democratic Party “Narodnaya Gromada” Leonid Trukhanovich for their part in the action “The Chain of Those Who Care”, Borisov ZUBRs Ekaterina Dedko and Dmitry Vishnevsky for raising portraits of the missing ones, Mogilev leader of the youth association “Pakhodnya” Sergei Girkin for his involvement in the action “Want to know truth”, BHC activist Aleksei Soroka for engaging in the protest against the persecution of the independent weekly periodical “Belarusskiye Naviny”, residents of Bobruisk Yanina Ovsyanik, Eva Ustimchuk and Lubov Sankovich for the hunger-strike, through which the ladies sought to demonstrate their right for a home and a job.

Among those fined were Vladimir Romanovsky, UCP activist, for his involvement in the April 25 action in Minsk, coordinator of the “Independent Observation” from Minsk Aleksei Galich, chair of the Mogilev city UCP affiliate Vladimir Gaidukov for an action “Want to know truth”, leader of Molodechno ZUBRs Andrei Osmolovsky, Vitebsk entrepreneur Vasily Ignatenko for “Choose!” campaign, adolescent Brest resident Ales Levchuk for disseminating a brochure “The Constitution of Belobryssiya”, leader of the Molodechno BHC branch Eduard Balanchuk for a white-red-white flag, regional coordinator of the “Independent Monitoring” from village Sharkovschina Vasily Gramovich.

Sentenced to 3 – 15 days of arrest were an independent observer from Klimovichi Vasily Vasilchenko, coordinator of the “Independent Observation” from the Belynichi district Oleg Metelitsa, Youth Front leader Pavel Severinets for a picket against the sale of the Minsk car factory to the Russian company, a woman from Brest Galina Panasuk for the distribution of the “Nasha Svaboda” special issue.

Legal action was opened against the Belynichi coordinator of the “Independent Observation” Oleg Metelitsa for keeping ZUBR stickers, which they found during the search, claiming them to be an insult of A. Lukashenko’s honor and dignity, against activists from the Mogilev office of Vladimir Goncharik Viktor Yasukevich and Tamara Levskaya for alleged beating the police major Ladisov, staffers of the newspaper “Volny Gorod” Sergei Nerovny, Vadim Stefanenko and Nikolai Motorenko for alleged resistance to law-enforcers, former leader of the Free trade union of the Minsk car factory Mikhail Marinich, charged with stealing the trade union fees.

“Soft” tools

In some cases the authorities use instead of a judicial machine “soft” economic instruments. For instance, they fired from job a social teacher of the school #1 Vladimir Olekhnovich for his agitation activities in Krupky. They also sacked coordinator of the “Independent Observation” from Molodechno Nelly Shloida, who was a director of the local drug store. They unleashed repression against the BHC representative, the doctor of the Beresino sanatorium Tamara Kot. They fired a postman from the Loevsky district Valery Konoplyanik for his involvement in the “Independent Observation”. Lost his monthly income the editor of the local radio Gennady Martynov for wearing a T-shirt “Let’s say no to a fool” and spreading such shirts among his fellows. They hinder the work and sue the head of the Soligorsk educational trade union Alexander Talpek for his involvement in the election campaign. They dismissed from post chair of the Grodno city hall Anatoly Pashkevich for poor voting results during the presidential ballot. Managers of some Brest companies are subject to pressure for their failure to ensure Lukashenko’s victory at their polling stations. One of them – deputy director of the “Tsvetotron” company Nikolai Koretsky – even requested medical assistance. A few days ago they forced to file in resignation a popular Belarusian artist Zinaida Bondarenko (employed at Finberg’s State concert orchestra) for her support of opposition election campaign. This incident is very characteristic of the regime, which feared not to manifest to all that there exists a ban on profession in Belarus. The first people to fall pray to it were most of the Supreme Soviet MPs, who signed an impeachment to the president.

Tough fists

“Soft” economic tools of influencing the disagreeing folks are added by the more harsh measures. They beat up the editor of the unregistered newspaper “Shklov news” Alexander Scherbak. In the last issue of his newspaper he seriously criticized the head of the local executive Alexander Ageev. Three strangers beat Leonid Mindlin, an author of documentaries about contemporary Belarus. Just like Scherbak, the attackers used some solid object to hit Mindlin and even broke his ribs. Mobs beat up the Bobruisk observers Dmitry Baryshnikov and Oleg Butsanets when they inquired from the house tenants whether they would engage in September 9 voting. In Rogachev they brutally ill-treated the leader of the local ZUBR branch Dmitry Shkulkov, who was hospitalized after the incident. Poet and singer Valery Pozdnyakevich was beaten up by police for speaking Belarusian. Once again the authorities targeted the Chigirs through burgling their countryside cottage. They also attacked the Catholic church – priests’ houses and temples are frequently burgled in the Grodno region.

Over the last month there occurred new attacks on public organizations and independent media. Sergei Atroshchenko, an owner of 60% bonds of the newspaper “Svobodnye Novosti”, decided to halt the publishing of the weekly periodical. His decision was upheld by the State Committee for Press. For now the passions around the paper cooled off and it keeps seeing light again. “Brest Courier” also received a reprimand from the State Committee for Press, while the newspaper “Pagonya” was warned by the regional procuracy. They confiscated from “Pagonya” a few computers and full print runs of two newspaper issues. They likewise seized from the independent newspaper “Kutseina” from Orsha four PCs and a printing machine.

The Ministry of Justice annulled the registration certificate of the “Association of the Belarusian students”. Despite the cessation of investigation proceedings against the Gomel association “Civil initiatives” and youth center “Gart”, KGB doesn’t return the equipment, which it confiscated from them a while ago. They stopped funding the Svetlogorsk affiliate of the Belarusian Lyceum. For holding protest pickets the Lyceum students were summoned to police. In Mosty they denied registration to the Free Trade Union. In Minsk there had been halted funding of the ruling body of the Trade Union Federation.

Stains on the uniform

Belarusian president is still striving to get accepted by Europe, hoping to gain her recognition of him. But in order to become a European he first needs to comply with the universal rules, respect an individual and his rights. The European continent prefers dealing with the civilized rulers, overlooking the dictators.

Belarusian government is attempting to produce an illusion of a civilized uniform, hiding behind it all its shortcomings. However, the European observers noticed them anyways. Head of the PACE observation mission Stefan Goris declared: “Repressions of the political regime, violation of the freedom of speech, undemocratic legislation, which created favorable pre-conditions for frauds and abuses, are the factors, which prove that the Belarusian authorities never really kept to the democratic standards, this being particularly true during the election campaign”. George Bush’s representative Ari Fleisher spoke in a more open manner: “Alexander Lukashenko, Europe’s last dictator, stole from his nation not only the elections’ results but more so the opportunity to return to the path of democracy and market economy.” In response, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said the following: “Washington’s intentions to refute the election results and impose on the European community a hard-line policy towards Belarus once again reveals US aspirations to overthrow the constitutional order in the Republic of Belarus by any means.”

Despite these outcries, Europe one more time gives to the uniform wearer a chance to improve his damaged image and subdue to the well-known four conditions.

Terrorist attacks on the United States, that took place on September 11, temporarily hid from view the problem of stolen elections in Belarus. However, in the aftermath to the tragic events greater interest was aroused towards those, who collaborate with the terrorists. They took a closer look on Belarus too. In the October issue of the authoritative Polish magazine “Wprost” it is written that Belarus provides for the needs of terrorists on a worldwide scale. “In exchange for the sale of 8 MIG-29 jets to Peru in 1998, Alberto Fukhimori ruled to allocate in Peruvian banks Lukashenko’s finances, which he earned thru illicit arms sales. Weaponry, which Belarus sold, was used in most army conflicts in Africa. Angolan UNITA purchased from Lukashenko the tanks and systems “Smerch”, Sudan – missiles “Grad”, tanks T-55 and copters MI-24, Algeria bought MIGs, while Morocco – tanks. Belarusian weapons were also widely used during a civil war in Rwanda. Owing to the trade with the African nations, Lukashenko’s regime got blacklisted among the top ten world exporters of ammunition. The article further claims that Minsk is the greatest supplier of arms to the Muslim extremists and Alban insurgents.

That’s the general overview of human rights violations in Belarus, covering the period from the second half of September till the end of October. This report was based on the data derived from the web-page of the Belarusian radio “Svaboda”.

Monitoring of human rights violations in Belarus in September 2001

Ludmila Gryaznova, member of the Charter’97 organizing committee

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.

Monitoring of human rights violations in Belarus in August, 2001

Ludmila Gryaznova,

member of the Charter’97 organizing committee

The presidential election in Belarus this year is carried out with violations of civil rights – the guarantee of the inviolability of person, of civil freedoms, of the right to change the rule. The attitude of the state towards international investigations of human rights violations is not as it should be in a civilized state.

In August new testimony about connection of Belarusian authorities to political assassinations of Viktor Gonchar and Anatoly Krasovsky were revealed. A former head of the Minsk pre-detention center Oleg Alkaev in his interview to “Belarusian Business Newspaper” validated that the reports and examination records are authentic. This documents show that the gun used for execution of death sentences was given away under order of Yuri Sivakov, on the days that coincide with the dates of prominent people’s disappearances. Oleg Alkaev validated that the report was written by him. The examination record was written by the interrogator, but after the words of Alkaev, as said by him.

Another piece of evidence was a video tape, where an unknown former member of SOBR (special unit of quick response) gives the details of Gonchar and Krasovsky’s abduction. A few new names of the participants of the crime were named. Few days later a KGB officer Gennady Uglianitsa and “Kraj” activist Andrei Zhernosek confirm the statement of the former SOBR officer. They do not conceal their faces on the tape, and name those who had connection to the assassination of Gonchar and Krasovsky, show their photographs.

And finally, in the end of August Pavel Sheremet, ORT TV reporter, declares that Oleg Alkaev’s testimony is true: “His every word is validated by the documents. I saw all the documents with my own eyes.”

Despite these pieces of evidence, the authorities have not undertaken any investigation. Moreover, they charge the opposition with these abductions. The Public Prosecutor’s Office made a statement that the leaders of the United Civil Party could have transferred people through the border and than claim that they had been abducted by the authorities.

Human rights organization Amnesty International gave the following evaluation of the situation in Belarus: “P