INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - BELARUS UPDATE :: Charter'97 :: News

Edited by Victor Cole
Vol. 7, No. 4
January 2004

IN THIS ISSUE:

-Families Of Disappeared Appeal To KGB

-Seven Activists Arrested In Minsk

-Journalist Receives Heavy Fine

-Local Authorities Ban Independent Newspaper

-Tax Authorities Seize Copies Of Independent Newspaper

-Russia’s NTV To Resume Broadcast In Belarus
-Jewish Cemetery Turned Into Soccer Field

-Detained Jewish Leader Suffers Heart Attack
-Protestant Leaders: Children’s Rights Violated In Belarus

-Opposition Alliance Unveils Election List
-Opposition Delegation Searched By Customs Officials
-Deputy Urges Opposition To Unite Before Election

-Lukashenko Promises To Be Good Neighbor

-Two Illegal Migrants Groups Detained In Gomel Region
-People Smuggling Ring Busted
-Belarusian Dies Of Injury From Ethnic Bias Attack In New York
-Belarus Sends Aid To Iran Quake Victims

--HUMAN RIGHTS AND OPPOSITION NEWS --

FAMILIES OF DISAPPEARED APPEAL TO KGB

On January 22, the wives and mothers of the disappeared appealed to the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) to launch an open investigation into the disappearances, reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarusian Service (RFE/RL). “The Prosecutor-General’s Office does not want and apparently cannot investigate [the disappearances] because the main suspect is the Prosecutor-General himself [Viktar Sheiman],”" Iryna Krasouskaya, wife of Anatol Krasouski who disappeared , told RFE/RL. Under the law, the KGB has 10 days to respond to the appeal. (RFE/RL, January 22)

SEVEN ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN MINSK

The Lukashenko regime continue to take severe measures to neutralize political opponents. On January 23, seven Zubr activists were arrested for holding an unauthorized picket outside the Prosecutor’s General office in Minsk, reported the movement’s website. The protesters demanded a thorough investigation of the disappearances. During the action, one of the police officers hit Yuliya Bandarenko, a minor, in the face with his fist. She, along with Raman Kazakevich, Dmitry Schepou and Gay Mayeusky were taken to the Tsentralny District Internal Affairs Directorate and charged with staging an unauthorized mass protest under Art. 167 of the Belarusian Administrative Offences Code. As usually, the law-enforcers failed to inform the detainees of their rights and conducted the interrogation without giving them an opportunity to be represented by counsel. (Zubr, January 23)

-- MEDIA FREEDOM IN BELARUS --

JOURNALIST RECEIVES HEAVY FINE

On January 16, the Minsk Sovetsky District Court fined journalist Aksana Novikava 4.37 million Belarusian rubles ($2,000) for allegedly violating Art. 167 of the Belarusian Administrative Offenses Code (participation in mass actions violating public order), reported Viasna Human Rights Center. On November 24, Novikava, along with 16 other activists was detained for protesting against a possible constitutional referendum that would allow Lukashenko to run again for the Belarusian presidency (see Belarus Update, Vol. 6, No. 6, Vol. 7, No. 3). Novikava refused to testify in the courtroom, saying that she can not trust judges appointed by the dictator. “The regime is illegitimate and all its demands are illegal,” she added. Citing her current unemployment coupled with the need to provide for her two-year-old daughter, the journalist told the reporters that she would be unable to pay the fine. (Viasna, January 16)

LOCAL AUTHORITIES BAN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER

The authorities continue to keep up economic pressure on the independent media, reported the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). In violation of the Art. 25 of the Belarusian Press Law, which stipulates that “selling an edition of periodical printed materials by retail shall not be subject to limitations,” a branch of Belpochta [Belarusian Post Service], a state-owned monopoly, located in the town of Svetlogorsk, the Mogilev Region, refused to distribute Regionalnye Novosti, an independent newspaper. In October 2003, the Svetlogorsk Consumer Society cancelled a distribution agreement to sell the newspaper in its stores (see Belarus Update, Vol. 6, No. 4). The cancellation was prompted by the complaints of Balislav Pirshtuk, Regional Executive Committee head, who reportedly saw the newspaper in a provincial store. According to Raisa Matychka, the society’s vice-chair, the authorities advised the group that Regionalnye Novosti “did not fit the profile of the local population” and urged the Society to focus on distribution of government sponsored publications. In addition, according to Mikola Pasedzka, Regionalnye Novosti’s editor, the state-owned regional publishing houses have consistently refused to print his newspaper. (BAJ, January 19)

TAX AUTHORITIES SEIZE COPIES OF INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER

The regime continue to abuse tax inspections to restrict freedoms of speech and expression, reported Charter 97. On January 15, local tax inspection detained three distributors of Mestnaya Gazeta, [The Local Newspaper], an independent newspaper published in the township of Smorgon, the Grodno Region, and confiscated all the newspaper’s copies and some cash. The official report says that the distributors violated some unspecified retail distribution regulations. The report also refers to a resolution adopted by the Smorgon District Executive Committee on December 18, 2003. One day before the resolution was adopted, however, Ramuald Ulan, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, had received a list of products for retail distribution authorized by the Smorgon District Executive Committee, which included Mestnaya Gazeta, reported RFE/RL.

According to Ulan, the newspaper had been subject to a series of various inspections and fines. On December 26, 2003, Mestnaya Gazeta’s editorial office was cordoned off by the authorities on the pretext that it does not meet the fire department regulations. The same day, on the outskirts of Smorgon, police stopped a van and confiscated 5,700 copies of the newspaper’s latest issue (see Belarus Update, Vol. 6, No. 8; Vol. 7, No. 1). Ramuald Ulan, who was in the van, and the driver were taken to a local police station. Both were released about two hours later. In November 2003, the Belarusian Supreme Economic Court denied an appeal filed by Novaya Hazeta Smarhoni (The New Paper of Smorgon), another independent newspaper published by Ramuald Ulan. (Charter 97, RFE/RL, January 19-20)

RUSSIA’S NTV TO RESUME BROADCAST IN BELARUS

RIA-Novosti informed on January 19 that starting February 1, 2004, NTV, Russia’s independent media network, will resume broadcast of its programs in Belarus. NTV’s office in Minsk was closed by the Belarusian authorities in July 2003 when the regime made use of its monopoly on television broadcasting to minimize the presentation of opposing points of view. The closure was prompted by an allegedly “inaccurate and distorted” report by NTV correspondent Pavel Selin of Vasil Bykau’s funeral, a well-known Belarusian writer whom the Belarusian authorities called “politically retarded”. (RIA-Novosti, January 19)

-- RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN BELARUS --

JEWISH CEMETERY TURNED INTO SOCCER FIELD

Despite Lukashenko’s numerous statements that there are no grounds for anti-Semitism in Belarus, regime officials continue to take a number of actions indicating a lack of sensitivity toward the Jewish community, reported the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). On January 13, Aleksandr Rozenberh, head of the Belarusian Judaic Union, appealed to Ivan Kolas, Rogachev District Executive Committee chair, and Stanislau Buko, chair of the Committee of Religious and Nationalities Affairs (CRNA), lamenting the destruction of an ancient Jewish cemetery in the township of Rogachev, the Gomel Region, which was turned into a soccer field. (JTA, January 19)

DETAINED JEWISH LEADER SUFFERS HEART ATTACK

On January 21,Yakau Hutman, president of the World Association of Belarusian Jews, held another unauthorized picket outside the presidential administration at 38 Karl Marx Street in Minsk, demanding to stop the dissemination of anti-Semitic literature and the demolition of synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and Holocaust victims memorials in Belarus, reported Radyjo Racyja. Hutman was wearing a sign saying: “Alyaksandr Ryhoravich [Lukashenko], you bear a personal responsibility for the demolition of Jewish shrines. Yakau Hutman.” The protester was arrested and, first, taken to the Minsk’s Leninsky District Internal Affairs Directorate and later, to the hospital with a heart attack, reported Charter 97. (Radio Racyja, Charter 97, January 21-22)

PROTESTANT LEADERS: CHILDREN’S RIGHTS VIOLATED IN BELARUS

On January 22, Syarhei Khomich, bishop of the Belarusian Union of Evangelical Christians; Mikalai Sinkavets, bishop of the Belarusian Union of Baptists; Maisey Astrouski, bishop of the Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists in Belarus; and Alyaksandr Sakovich, bishop of the Belarusian Association of the Full Gospel Church, sent a letter to the Education Ministry and the Justice Ministry, urging the authorities to stop schools from forcing children to join the Belarusian Republican Youth League, reported Belapan. [The League is a pro-Lukashenko youth organization similar to the Soviet-style Pioneers and Komsomol organizations, which once were used to instill communist ideals. - Ed.] “Recently, we have started receiving numerous complaints from parents because representatives of the youth union and schools force pupils to join this organization,” the church leaders said in the letter. “We ask you to take all the necessary steps to stop these activities, which, in our opinion, violate the citizen’s rights.” Vasily Malets, a deputy pastor of the Blagodat [Grace] church, said many parents complained their children were forced out of schools after they had refused to join the organization. Both Ministries declined to comment.

It should be noted that only about two percent of Belarus’s 10 million people are protestants. The protestant minority is particularly sensitive to Lukashenko’s attempts to revive the Soviet-era symbols and traditions because many of the worshippers were severely persecuted during the Soviet times. (Belapan, January 22)

-- ELECTION 2004 --

OPPOSITION ALLIANCE UNVEILS ELECTION LIST

On January 19, the Five Plus (5+) electoral bloc, which currently includes three major opposition parties: the United Civic Party (UCP), the Party of Communists of Belarus (PKB), the opposition Communist party, the Belarusian Popular Front (BNF), and two smaller Labor Party and the Social Democratic Society, released the list of its 68 candidates to run in the forthcoming parliamentary election and the bloc’s election platform, reported Itar-Tass. The bloc’s leadership believes that if the democratic opposition is not united ahead of the election, it may happen that the most prominent opposition members will be involved in a show fight against each other for deputy seats. (Itar-Tass, January 19)

OPPOSITION DELEGATION SEARCHED BY CUSTOMS OFFICIALS

On January 19, Syarhei Kalyakin, leader of the Party of Communists of Belarus (PKB), the opposition Communist party; Vintsuk Vyachorka, chair of the BNF Adradzhennie; Aleh Hramyka, leader of the Belarusian Green Party; Yaraslau Ramanchuk, deputy chair of the United Civic Party; Stanislau Shushkevich, chair of the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada (BSDH), and Alyaksandr Bukhvostau, leader of the Belarusian Labor Party, all members of the Five Plus (5+) electoral bloc, who were en route to Warsaw to meet with Polish politicians and media representatives, were detained and searched by customs officials at the Polish-Belarusian border, reported Belapan. The law-enforcers were evidently looking for printed, audio, or video materials, that could “damage the economic and political interests of the country.” Stanislau Shushkevich and Alyaksandr Bukhvostau were also subjected to personal search, which lasted for about 40 minutes and was carried out under the control of representatives of the Belarusian secret services. The electoral bloc called the search an example of harassment aimed at intimidation of the democratic opposition. (Belapan, January 22)

DEPUTY URGES OPPOSITION TO UNITE BEFORE ELECTION

Valery Fralou, pro-democratic member of the House of Representatives, Belarusian Parliament’s lower chamber, has appealed to the Belarusian opposition to unite its efforts ahead of the forthcoming parliamentary and presidential election, reported Charter 97. In an address posted on the Charter 97’s website, Fralou, who leads the opposition-minded faction in the Belarusian parliament and is seen by many as a prospective presidential candidate, urged the democratic forces to hold a round-table in mid-February to coordinate their efforts before the election in order to secure victory in the future elections. The full text of the address can be found at http://www.charter97.org/eng/news (Charter 97, January 18)

-- AT HOME IN BELARUS --

LUKASHENKO PROMISES TO BE GOOD NEIGHBOR

On January 22, during a meeting with Hungarian Ambassador Ferenc Kontra, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that he was willing to establish good relations with the European Union once it expands but only if the enlarged bloc respects the Belarusian sovereignty, reported Belapan. “Belarus will do everything it can to be a good neighbor, not only to Hungary but to the entire European Union,” Lukashenko said. “But that hinges on the European Union’s respect to our country and its values,” the Belarusian strongman added. (Belapan, January 22)

TWO ILLEGAL MIGRANTS GROUPS DETAINED IN GOMEL REGION

Two groups of illegal migrants were detained in the Gomel Region, Aleksandr Verkhavets, deputy commander of the Gomel border guard detachment, told Belapan. The first group, 13 citizens of Bangladesh, was detained on January 17 in the village of Lenin, the Dobrush District, following a complaint from local residents. The group arrived to Belarus from Moscow in an effort to get to Germany and Italy. According to Verkhavets, one Bangladeshi died when the group was still in Russia. His body was found in the Russian town of Zlynka. Another group member ended up in hospital after being mercilessly beaten up by the group’s guides. The guides managed to escape and the Belarusian authorities are now trying to established their identities. Another group of illegal migrants, five nationals of Afghanistan, was detained in the village of Kruhavets-Kalinina, the Dobrush District. They came to Belarus from Uzbekistan and Russia and were heading for England, Belgium, and Germany. “We have notified the embassies of Bangladesh and Afghanistan that their citizens have been detained,” Verkhavets told a Belapan correspondent. “Their fate will be determined in accordance with Belarusian legislation.

The League notes that according to the latest UNHCR report, regional migration services in Belarus continued to refuse applications for refugee status from asylum seekers who came through countries, primarily Russia, that they considered to be safe. There were no reports of the forced return of persons to a country where they feared persecution; however, refugees often were persons from third world countries seeking to pass through Russia and then Belarus en route to other European countries. The Government often deported such individuals to Russia, despite the fact that the UNHCR does not consider Russia to be a safe country for such purposes. (Belapan, January 19)

PEOPLE SMUGGLING RING BUSTED

People smuggling is becoming a preferred trade of a growing number of criminal rings operating in Belarus. Migrants from the Central Asia region use a route via Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to Russia and from there via Belarus to Western Europe. The Belarusian national television reported on January 19 that the Grodno Region KGB has completed an investigation into the case of six Belarusians, Lithuanians and Poles, all members of the international people smuggling ring. The group was detained last autumn while trying to take a group of 16 Pakistani citizens across the Belarusian border into the Grodno Region. The investigation revealed that the group had successfully taken across the border about 40 people from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The prprice of taking one migrant across the Belarusian border in some cases exceeded $15,000. On January 22, another group of illegal migrants from Pakistan were detained by the border guards and the local police near the village of Petski, the Brest Region, reported Belapan.

The League notes that trafficking is distinct from smuggling in so far as the traffic of human beings involves the exploitation of the migrant, often for purposes of forced labor and prostitution. People smuggling simply implies the procurement, for financial or material gain, of the illegal entry into a state of which that person is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident.

Currently, economic discomfort appears to be the main reason for illegal migration movement. Very often the travelling conditions are inhumane, the migrants overcrowding in trucks or boats and fatal accidents occur quite frequently. The criminal syndicates in Belarus are benefiting from weak legislation, huge profits and the relatively low risk of detection, prosecution and arrest compared to other activities of transnational organized crime. (BBC, Belapan, January, 19-22)

-- INTERNATIONAL NEWS --

BELARUSIAN DIES OF INJURY FROM ETHNIC BIAS ATTACK IN NEW YORK

Valery Charnavus, 42, who came to Brooklyn, NY, from Lida, Belarus, four months ago with hopes of eventually bringing his wife and two sons to the United States, died of a severe head injury on January 22, a week after a group of Hispanic men attacked him and four Russian co-workers with a bat and a knife in an ethnically charged fight in Bushwick, Brooklyn, reported the New York Times. Charnavus had been brain-dead for two days before his relatives took him off the respirator, family members said. On January 13, he and his co-workers were leaving a local store at 1 a.m. when a group of at least seven Hispanic men approached them in the street and, thinking they were Polish, addressed them with ethnic slurs, the police said. The police have arrested seven men in the case, charging one with criminal possession of a weapon and six with attempted murder. (NYT, January 22)

BELARUS SENDS AID TO IRAN QUAKE VICTIMS

The Belarusian Ministry for Emergency Situations is sending large quantities of clothes, warm blankets, tents, electric power units, and medicines to Iran to help the victims of the recent earthquake, reported Belapan. The quake, which had devastated the south-eastern city of Bam in Iran, had claimed at least 30,000 lives. The toll might go higher as the debris is cleared. (Belapan, January 19)

-- NOTABLE QUOTES--

“The countries like Turkmenistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan are exporting their methods of governance, known as the dictatorship, to Russia, where President Putin is eagerly welcoming them... It turns out that Putin is like a cross between Nazarbaev and Lukashenko. On the one hand, he is trying to implement some kind of reforms; but on the other hand, his one-man regime brings him close to Lukashenko,” Boris Nemtsov, a leader of Russian democrats in Duma, Russian Parliament, in an interview to Nezavisimaya Gazeta. (NG, January 19)

-- UPCOMING EVENTS --

February 1-4 - The World Movement for Democracy to discuss the political situation in Belarus during its Third Assembly in Durban, South Africa;

February 10 - Russia-Belarus Union State Council of Ministers meeting in Moscow, Russia;

February 11 - Putin and Lukashenko to consider draft Russia-Belarus Union State Constitution and the introduction of the Russian ruble in Belarus at a Supreme State Council meeting, in Moscow.

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The Belarus Update is a weekly news bulletin of the Belarus Human Rights Support Project of the International League for Human Rights, www.ilhr.org. The League, now in its 62nd year, is a New York-based human rights NGO in consultative status with the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the International Labor Organization. Letters to the Editor: vcole@ilhr.org, subscription services and back issues: otarasov@ilhr.org

The Belarus project was established to support Belarusian citizens in making their case for the protection of civil society before the international community regarding Lukashenko`s wholesale assault on human rights and the rule of law in Belarus.