Dangerous Steps :: Charter'97 :: News

Facts of violations of human rights that are presented in this January chronicles, are depressing. A. Lukashenka has found new causes for anger – the directors of the state-run enterprises and the OSCE mandate, and has made dangerous steps in reinforcing his authoritarian power and suppressing the civil society in Belarus.

Loud Cases

In spite of the demands of the world and Belarusian community to investigate the loud cases related to the disappearances of Yuri Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasousky and Zmitser Zavadsky, the authorities avoid direct answers. Minister of the Interior Uladzimer Navumau declares that the cases of Zakharanka, Hanchar and Krasousky are not included in the number of cases under special attention, And as for the case of Zavadsy’s disappearance, it is suspended and will be resumed after the trial over Ihnatovich’s group.

On the other hand, the authorities try to pressurize Pavel Sharamet, the head of the special informational projects of the Russian ORT channel (Public Russian Television). Belarusian KGB forwarded a letter to the Russian FSB, in which they stated that Sheremet’s public activities impair the Belarusian leadership and the relations of the two countries. The Russian journalist frequently declared the reasons of Zavadsky’s abduction, who knew about Belarusian special services’ involvement into the delivery of arms to the Chechen rebels through Turkey and Georgia. Zavadsky allegedly was abducted with the aim to find out what information he possessed. According to Sheremet’s information, the people suspected in Zavadsky’s abduction during an questioning carried out with extreme cruelty supposedly had made confession about killing him.

Coercers

The image of the Belarusian policeman is blemished greatly because of some police officers. A Belarusian policeman, despite of the attempts of the cinema, cannot be compared to American or British policeman according to the degree of respect of the people.

Many citizens, who appear in police stations, went through physical and psychological violence. A insignificant proportion of such information reaches the society. In January in Frunzensky district court of Minsk a proceedings over the former deputy head of the investigation department of the Pershamaisky district Viktar Kramsaeu and a group of his subordinates, were resumed. They are accused of tortures during questioning citizens. For a number of years they forced the suspects to confess in this way. The beaten people have lodged about 20 complaints against Kramsaeu to the Public prosecutor’s office, but the criminal actions were not instituted. A case of two other police men – Andrei Malyavka and Leanid Korabau – is now considered by the Zavodzky district court. They have killed A;yaxandar Kulakou, a worker, a head of a shift of the Watch manufacturing plant, in the detoxification center. A case of the police sergeant Syarhei Malashenka, who has beaten an officer of inter regional public prosecutor’s office, is submitted to the Moscow district court.

The loud case of Alyaxandar Chyhir also reveals the facts of cruel treatment of the citizens by the police. The witness Syarhei Kalyada told in the court that he was beaten in the police station of the auto market “Ring”, then at the Interior Affairs Department of the Moscow district of Minsk. He saw that Alyaxandar Chyhir was beaten by the officers at the police station of the automobile market as well.

But the most distressing facts are when in the result of the actions of the law-enforcers the citizens depart this life. On December 20, 2001, a suicide (or a murder?) of the activist of the unsanctioned movement ZUBR Andrei Zaitsau took place. In the appeal of Andrei that has been written two days before the tragedy he asked to defend his constitutional rights and personal security. KGB officer tried to recruit him to informer. KGB officer who named himself Alyaxandar Evstihneeu, made threats and blackmailed the boy.

Whom Does the Court Defend?

Even though Belarusian court is considered an independent branch of power, there is a number of facts of its prejudice. Many facts prove that there is a ‘phone rule’ established in the country, and the court is politically influenced.

Three times last year a car of Vasil Dauhalyou, the chairman of the Brest regional executive committee, has knocked down the citizens, two of them died. However Dauhalyou still remains at the position of the head of the region. The military commissar of the Hantsevichy region colonel Vasil Arsyanovich who had killed a man in a road accident and failed to provide assistance in time, not only received the mildest verdict possible, but also received a new five-year contract in the Defense Ministry.

On the other hand, the proceedings over Chyhir-junior are carried out with unfairness, and with numerous violations of procedure aimed against the defendant. The father of Andrei Zaitsau, whose son died under unexplained circumstances, could not bring up an action on the fact of cause his son to commit suicide. The public prosecutor of the soviet region of Homel, Uladzimer Padsekin, said that Andrei Zaitsau’s suicide is an ordinary incident, and he is not going to return to this case even if new facts emerge. The investigator had not given the attorney of the Zaitsaus, Zmitser Ivanishka, to get acquainted with the materials of the case. The attorney himself experiences pressure; the Homel regional college of attorneys has started a check of his work.

In general, the new Criminal Code that was introduced from January 1, 2001 reinforced the powers of procurator. The public prosecutors have supported two times as many accusations (44,213) as in 2000. In keeping with the new Criminal Code, the public prosecutors are to support all the accusations in the criminal proceedings.

The Directors

The section dedicated to the illegal arrests and detentions usually consists of the names of opposition activists. Beginning from the November 2001, directors of the state-run enterprises have joined this group. TH authorities started mass repressions against the directors of the large enterprises. There are several reasons for such change. The opposition has learnt to defend each its member, and thus spoils the image of the authoritarian regime. The directors are not able to do the same.

The second reason is the situation with pre-election promises of Lukashenka. They were not carried out, and he is trying to lay the blame on the directors. Thirdly, the authoritarian regime fears the economical growth of the manufacturers, their independence and influence on the workers. As soon as the names of Mikhail Lyavonau, MTZ director, appeared among the names of the candidates for presidential position, the persecution started. And the forth reason is the inevitability of privatization I economy. The regime will have to pay to Russia for credits, gas, electricity and support during elections by the best enterprises. That is why the state’s interest in the enterprises of the automobile and oil processing enterprises has grown. The directors of the automobile plants have been arrested already, and soon the repressions against oil refining plants are expected.

In chronological order the power’s attack on the directors looks the following way. In the end of December the head of one the largest Polish-Belarusian enterprises producing furniture was arrested. In January a criminal action was brought up against the head of the Klimavichi regional executive committee, Uladzimer Kanavalau. The director of the “Cooperative procurement trade” of the Mahilyou procurement association Anatol Pratasenya was detained. Criminal proceedings were instituted against him. In Homel the head of the Medical Institute chair Yuri Yankelevich was arrested. A former deputy director of MAZ Alyaxandar Yakauleu, for fear of an arrest, asked for a political asylum in Poland. In Homel a criminal proceedings instituted against the director of radio plant Anatol Kirykau. He can be sentenced to eight years of prison. Mikhail Lyavonau, who was accused of abuse of office and negligence, is placed to pre-trial detention center. He can be sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and confiscation of property. Six criminal actions were brought up against the staffers of the MTZ. A criminal action was instituted against the head of the Homel fat plant. Leanid Kaluhin, a former director of Atlant refrigerator plant, was moved from pre-trial detention cell to mental hospital without special decision of the investigator. At the Belarusian metallurgy plant in Zhlobin its director Vadim Filipau was arrested.

On the whole, as Uladzimer Navumau, the Minister of the Interior informed, in 2001 about 400 top managers of enterprises and organizations were arrested.

On January 15 Lukashenka issued a decree “On Additional Measures For Regulation of the Economical Relations”, that abruptly increases the power of the State Controlling Committee. The Decree not only returns the economy to the Soviet practice of the state control, but also gives Lukashenka a powerful instrument of repressions against directors. The State Controlling Committee and the Public Prosecutor’s Office today demonstrate the largest loyalty to the president, advocating controlling economical actions and authoritarian political aims.

“Shklouskiya Naviny”

However aggressive the Belarusian authorities try to get rid of the independent press, the last still manages to find its way to the readers, even when circulation is equal to 299 copies. In this case we are speaking of the independent newspaper “Shklouskiya Naviny” and its editor-in-chief Alyaxandar Scherbak, a criminal proceedings against whom were instituted. He is accused of exceeding of this number of copies permitted for the unregistered newspapers.

The interrogations of the journalists of the independent newspaper “Pahonya”, Mikalai Markevicha and Pavel Mazheika, continue. The criminal action is instituted against them on charges related to libeling Lukashenka. The main difficulty that the investigation meets it absence of the injured party. Lukashenka should find himself injured by an article in the newspaper. Repressions against journalists attracted attention of the Russian and American human rights watchdogs. The famous Russian writers Andrei Bitov, Andrei Voznesensky, Fazil Iskander, Yunna Morits expressed their concern about the fate of the journalists that can be sentenced to a term up to five years. TH American non-state organizations have invited them for a visit.

The Belarusian authorities in different ways try to deprive its citizens of the independent press. For instance, an amendment to the Law on Press and Mass media is being prepared, that would restrict even modest possibilities of the free word that the independent mass media possess now. The international human rights defending organization “Article-19” found these amendments violating international standards. The question of the freedom of expression in Belarus was discussed in Strasbourg at the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Preferred Method

As the influential magazine «Jane’s Intelligence Digest» states, the authorities in Belarus act by their preferred traditional methods of assaulting people and organizations, in order to stop people speaking and writing about problematic themes. The problematic themes are “loud cases” of the disappeared politicians, abnormal behavior of the president, Belarusian trade in arms with suspicious regimes. Those who raise these questions in press and ion public, are subject to different kinds of attack: detention, fines, blackmail, libel, criminal prosecution, 15-days arrests and so on.

Eight UCP activists were fined 20 minimal wages each for their part in the action “A Chain of Those Who Care”, dedicated to the disappeared politicians. Herman Sushkevich, Hleb Dohil, Andrei Valabueu, Anton Lazareu were fined 50 minimal wages for participation in the “March of Freedom” on October 17, 1999. V.Shantsau, the chairman of the Mahilyou regional UCP branch, was fined 100 minima wages for violation of the Decree 8. The office equipment of the branch was confiscated. Syarhei Adzinets, the chairman of the Homel youth Center “Hart” was fined 1 million BYB for violation of the Decree 8.

Yauhen Klimau, ZUBR activist from Hrodna, was summoned to KGB for interrogation. A formal ground was his detention on September 9, 2001. On the fact of the criminal proceedings on insult of Lukashenka Alyaxandar Atroschankau, ZUBR press secretary, was summoned to the Minsk public prosecutor’s office. Anatol Lyabedzka, the leader of the UCP, was summoned for interrogation to the public prosecutor’s office after a publication of the article “Bandits Support Belarusian Regime?” in the newspaper “Narodnaya Volya”.

Uladzimer Malei and Henadz Samojlenka, the UCP activists from Brest, were arrested for 15 days for participation in the action in memory of the abducted politicians. In the address of Malej and Samojlenka to the OSCE they wrote: “THe verdict of Judge O.S.Miraniuk was a complete shock for all of us. He employed the most strict punishment to all the participants of the protest, even to those who participated in the action for the first time in life”.

The activist of the UCP, a post-graduate student of the Historical Institute of the Academy of Science, Natalia Brel, is accused by the Rechytsa public prosecutor’s office for insult and libel on Lukashenka. The criminal case it forwarded to court.

As was stated by the ZUBR, the activist of this movement from Homel, Andrei Zaitsau who was forced to commit suicide by blackmailing and menacing of the KGB officer. The name of the KGB officer is known, it is Alyaxandar Yastremsky. Andrei’s parents demand KGB to refute libel on their son.

The Popular University, an oppositional educational project, was refused to receive a lodging in Byalynichy. The studies took place at the regional center of the school youth creative work. The state newspaper “Vitsebsky Rabochy” calls to stop construction of the “Catholic institutions”. The state Belarusian radio stopped broadcasting of a popular catholic program “Voice of Soul”.

Unjustified Expectations

After the elections of the September 9, the world was waiting for Lukashenka’s democratization of the country and liberalization of the economy. There was still some hope until December. But a temporary tranquility ended. Lukashenka again started his weird actions, carrying out arrests of the directors and hindering the OSCE mission in Belarus.

In January the head of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Antanas Valenis, the chairman and the deputy chairs of the European parliament delegation Ian Marinus Viersma, Lenart Sakredeus, Elisabeth Schredter, American President George Bush, vice president of the PACE Wolfgang Berendt, Swedish parties, Polish presudent Alexandr Kwasniewsky, Interparliamentarian Association, the current OSCE chairman and the Portuguese Foreign Minister Heime Gama, the PACE president Peter Shider, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, the Council of Europe Walter Schwimmer, PA OSCE head Adrian Severin, the American senator Campbell, reacted with anxiety to the situation in Belarus.

The Belarusian authorities nonetheless do not take notice of the numerous addresses of the international community to resume the process of democratization. Moreover, they hindered PACE delegation visit to Minsk, accused the AMG OSCE of the subversive activities in Belarus, sent a protest note to the Embassy of Russia after NTV channel comments, deterred the appointment of the new AMG OSCE head, told that AMG OSCE deportation from the country is possible, carried out an offensive visa issuing politics in relation to the citizens of Sweden, refused to issue an entry visa to Hans Georg Wieck, demanded to change the OSCE mission mandate in the country.