Upper chamber member retorts to accusations against Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

Belarus needs to think of some response to countries criticizing it for alleged human rights abuses and supporting the opposition, Nikolai Cherginets, a committee chairman in the upper chamber of the Belarusian National Assembly, told BelaPAN.

“As a parliamentarian I believe that we should accept the proposal by Israeli MPs to hold a conference on Lithuania’s genocide against the Belarusian or Israeli people,” he said.

“The Belarusians know well about Lithuania’s punitive squads who destroyed dozens of settlements and killed off their residents.”

Noting that the Soviet government had handed over considerable part of Belarus to Lithuania, Mr. Cherginets said, “Zenon Poznyak [a prominent historian] once said that the Belarusian people will never accept the fact that Vilno [Vilnius] is a Lithuanian, not a Belarusian city.”

He also suggested that Belarus hold a hearing on violations of the rights of minorities in Latvia.

He believes that the United States attacks Belarus to deflect attention from crimes committed by its troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.

“Many politicians and MPs in the world are ready to denounce these actions. If we announce our intention to hold a conference on the issue, I think dozens of people will come, outraged by the conduct of US representatives wearing military uniform. It is necessary to make an assessment of such actions,” Mr. Cherginets said.

He also claimed that the United States may be responsible for the alleged abduction of Tamara Vinnikova, former head of the National Bank of Belarus, and former investigator Baturin. “Who abducted Vinnikova and gave her an apartment in central London and who abducted Baturin and gave him an apartment in central Washington?”