Statesmen Hold Tighter Grip on Power in Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

There are practically no state institutions left in Belarus, whose employees would be elected and not appointed. The officials’ power is next to unlimited, while they receive small wages and extort money from clients. “Izvestia” correspondent reports that such a concluding remark is contained in another of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee’s rapports to the International Helsinki Federation for human rights.

The authors of the rapport claim that the government is seeking to raise its popularity under the motto of corruption-fighting. The Penal code and economic legislation enables them to charge with corruption and bribery almost anyone, whom it pleases them, which is oftentimes used to threaten the statesmen and for the regime’s foul manipulations.

Meantime, upon Alexander Lukashenko’s instruction they developed the new draft law “On fighting corruption”, envisaging widening of the subjects, liable to the law, greater list of corruption felonies and stricter responsibility, including towards the family members of state officials.