One of the Belarusian oppositionists, former deputy and head of the parliamentary group “Respublika” Syarhei Skrabets continues hunger strike in Brest remand prison for the 26th day, told his lawyer Mikhail Khomich, to Radio Svaboda.
All 17 Belarusian parties keep on their activity in the country after the primary organizations not transferred from the housing resources were stricken off the register, as the Belarusian Minister of Justice Viktar Galavanau said Tuesday in his interview to Interfax. “All the parties are still functioning; nevertheless, the activity of a large number of primary organizations has been halted,” - the minister remarked.
The Abkhazia problem may be solved by Abkhazia’s becoming a part of Belarus, said the first vice-chairperson of the CIS affairs and relations with compatriots committee of the Russian State Duma Akhmed Bilalau in his interview to “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”.
Students ask the BSU rector and the Minister of Education “to examine” the Journalism School dean: June 8, the students of the correspondence department of the BSU Journalism School Alena Andreeva and Hanna Kavaliova passed to the rector of this educational establishment Vasil Strazhau and the Minister of Education Aliaxandar Radz’kou their complaint on the activity of the Journalism School dean Siargey Dubovik.
The deputy of Malaryta district Soviet of people’s deputies and the member of human rights center “Viasna” Uladzimir Maley received information of the investigative department of Brest executive committee that suspended investigation of the criminal case on charges relating violation of the Article 188 Part 2 of the Criminal Code had been resumed. The charges are relating “intentional dissemination of slanderous lies” about the actions of chairman of Malaryta district executive committee Lapich in the 13th issue of informational bulletin “Nasha Slova”.
This criminal action was brought up against him on February 2, 2005 by the prosecutor of Malaryta district. On April, 14 proceedings were initiated by investigator, police captain Masiuk, and were suspended on May 2 for absence of crime in the act.
June 8, in Brest, militia agents tried to force the chairperson of the United Civil Party Best region organization Stiapan Navasielchan and his son to come to court. They are accused of the administrative infraction - organization of the demonstration “We Remember”, dedicated to the sixth anniversary of the disappearance of the former Home Minister Yury Zakharanka. The demonstration was held in Brest, June 7, with the participation of political parties’ and the city associations’ activists. The law-enforcement officers detained the two participants and drew up a report for them - these were Stiapan Navasielchan and his son Andrei.
The Delegation expresses dismay at the imprisonment of the Belarusian opposition activists Pavel Sevyarenets and Mikola Statkevich; the de-legalisation of Belarusian democratic opposition parties, civil society organisations and independent mass media; the expulsion of democratic-minded Belarusian students from schools and universities; as well as attacks on the rights of the Polish minority in Belarus. The Delegation states that all the recent actions of the regime of Mr Lukashenka continue to flout the principles of democracy and the rule of law, while ultimately convincing the Delegation of the impossibility of democratic dialogue with the regime in Minsk.
Yesterday an agent of the Belarusian Committee of State Security has delivered to the republican public association Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) an inquiry of the KGB Economic Security Department “to present the material available regarding receiving and spending funds by public associations within the bounds of execution of the international technical assistance projects “Creation of Juridical Assistance System in Belarus”, “Teenagers in Prison”, “Juridical Education”. KGB is interested in the purposeful usage of funds within the above-mentioned projects.
Thus, there are seven political prisoners now: V. Levaneuski, A. Vasil’eu, M. Marynich, A. Klimau, S. Skrabets, M. Statkevich, P. Seviarynets. Their number has never been so huge. And still we have more than a year before the presidential election…
An independent survey found only a slight percentage of Belarusians fear a decline in living standards if the incumbent president, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, is not re-elected in 2006, the Belarusian news agency Belapan reported on 8 June.
An opinion poll published in Belarus on Wednesday showed that 47 percent of the population favour the authoritarian East European country joining the European Union.
Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs is concerned by a verdict of central court of the city of Minsk for an opposition politician in Belarus. The leader of the Social-Democratic Party in Belarus Nikolaj Statkevic, and one of the leaders of the Young Front movement Pavel Severinec have been originally sentenced to prison terms of three years for organizing of mass protests against rigged results of parliamentary elections and a referendum in October of last year. Later, on the occasion of an amnesty, their sentences were reduced to two years in jail and forced labor. In the statement that spokesperson for the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs Juraj Tomaga provided to SITA news agency, Slovakia appeals to the responsible authorities in Belarus to free all political prisoners, to stop all forms of persecution and repression against representatives of the opposition. It also appeals to Belarus respect its international obligations in the area of human rights.
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, who is staying on an official visit in Spain at the current time, reminded to the deputies of the Spanish Congress and Senate about the Belarus problem underlining the need for the entire Europe to solve it.
A presentation of a Lithuanian, and formerly a Belarusian “Independent Institute for Social, Economic and Political Research” (IISEPR) has taken place in Lithuanian Embassy in Minsk. This institute was liquidated in April by a decision of a Supreme Court of Belarus, and now it is registered in Lithuania. “We were allowed to retain the name, and almost the same statute,” told the head of the Institute Aleh Manaeu (Oleg Manaev) in an interview to “Vremya Novostei”. As said by him, “the situation has arisen when organisations which are important for the country have to be registered abroad to carry on their mission”.
Judge of the court of Lenin district of Minsk Vera Tupik has ruled to recognize incorrect and slanderous the information published in the independent newspaper “Narodnaya Volya” that citizens Syarhei Katovich, Nina Hrechyts and Iryna Fralova had signed a manifesto about creation of a movement “Volya Naroda” (“Will of People”). The judge has ruled to pay compensation of 2 million Br (about USD900) to each of them. The claim of Pavel Zhyshkevich was disallowed. In their suits each of the representatives of the enterprise “Belaruskalij” demanded 50 million rubles of compensation.
Materials pertaining to the newspaper "Dien", which print run was arrested on May 26th, had been sent to KGB last week. The correspondent of pahonia.promedia.by web-site was said about this by the chief deputy of Dubrouna district police Viktar Kahanouski. The local police decided that the article "It is time to throw away rake" published in the arrested issue of the newspaper contains marks of criminal action, which KGB is to deal with. If KGB will not see any violations of the law in the publication, the local police promises to give back the arrested print run.
On June 8 the court of Lenin district of Minsk considered the suits of four employees of Slihorsk enterprise “Belaruskalij” to the editorial office of the independent newspaper “Narodnaya Volya”. The enterprise turned to the Economical Court to defend its business reputation after the “Narodnaya Volya” published the manifesto of the opposition movement “Will of the People” signed by its employees. Each of the plaintiffs demands 50 million Belarusian rubles ($23,200) in damages from the newspaper, and to publish the negation of the information. The decision is to be announced on June 9. By the way, in the same time in and in the same court four analogous suits of Klyotsk dwellers are to be considered. They demand compensation of 5 million Br each from the editorial office.
The leaders of the vendor’s movement of Belarus, heads and activists of republican public association “Perspektiva” have signed an open letter to Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The vendors highlight that since March meeting of the head of state and the government with the individual entrepreneurs no positive changes in the work of private entrepreneurs had followed. “In this connection the discontent among the vendors is growing. This sentiment could bring about new protest actions starting from July 1,” the statement reads.
The lawyer of the Belarusian opposition activist, former deputy and leader of the group “Respublika”, Syarhei Skrabets, applied to change the measure of restraint for his client. The lawyer Mikhail Khomich told about it to Radio Svaboda on June 8. As said by him, finishing of a hunger strike in prison could cause serious negative effects for the health of former deputy.
Mikola Voran, who was fined a large sum of money for participation in the Chain of Concerned People in Hrodna that took place on 7 May 2005 and was dedicated to the sixth anniversary of Iury Zakharanka’s disappearance, received a note signed by the court officer V. Kirylovich. There it is said that in the case he didn’t pay the fine, he could face the appropriate measures, one of which is confiscation of property. During the meeting with Voran the court officer threatened to him to confiscate his property this week. Mikola Voran, in his turn, considers the court decision not juridical, but political one and is going to complaint to Hrodna Regional Court against it. In the case the court upholds the verdict of Hrodna Kastrychnitski Borough Court, he would complain further, to the Supreme Court of Belarus.
According to one Paviel Krasouski, one of the organizers of the hunger-strike in Zhodzina, in the afternoon of 6 June Mr Haroshka, deputy chair of Zhodzina Town Board of Internal Affairs and chair of the inspection on affairs of minors, phoned to him and asked to come to him for a talk. Krasouski didn’t come there. At the same time, criminal search police detained another hunger-striker, Aliaksandr Vinahradau, at his flat and drove away in unknown direction.
On 6 June the presentation of the international association Civil Belarus took place in the Senate of Czech Republic in Prague. The association was established for support to Belarusian NGOs that are pressurized by the authorities or were liquidated by them. Among the founders are Vaclav Havel and many other well-known Czech politicians and former dissidents.
The chairman of the Union of Belarusian Poles (UBP), Anzhalika Borys, has sent a letter to the Belarusian military prosecutor and the prosecutor-general in connection with the publication of the poem by Yawhen Nyafyodaw "The ghost of Condoleezza [reference to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice] is roaming around Europe" that was published in the 2 June issue of the [Defence Ministry`s] newspaper Vo Slavu Rodiny. Belapan learnt this from the UBP press secretary, Andrzej Pisalnik.
Several recent events have brought Belarus close to a dictatorship, a term used rather freely to describe the administration of President Alexander Lukashenka, but hitherto incorrectly. Over the past eleven years, despite the heavy hand of the authorities, there have remained important outlets for the opposition, such as newspapers and informal associations, as well as some basic civil rights. These now appear to be disappearing as part of a well-coordinated government campaign to close various loopholes that have permitted an opposition to survive.
Viet Nam and Belarus should increase their cooperation in the area of national security, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai said yesterday as he received Belarus State Security Committee (KGB) chairman Stepan Sukhorenko in Ha Noi.
The human rights center “Viasna” has received a letter of Education Ministry “On measures preventing attempts of engaging schoolchildren and students in illegal activities of political character”, addressed to education directorates of regional executive committees and to the heads of educational institutions, which are in charge of higher and secondary education. This document formalises the existing practice of students’ persecution for their political believes, which had been observed in the educational institutions of the country over recent several years.
Executive producer of the project, musician Alyaksandr Pamidorau (Pomidorov) promises that the film is to be released before the festival “Basowiszcza-2005”, traditionally held in the last weekend of July near Bialystok.
Former head of Ivatsevichy “vertical of power”, former chairman of Ivatsevichy regional executive committee Vital Dzmitranitsa found guilty of a bribe (about USD 23,000 in total), abuse of power and office.
Despite of the income growth, financial problem remains the main problem for the Belarusians, according to the results of national poll published on June 8 at the briefing in the Embassy of Lithuania in Minsk. The poll has been carried out by independent Belarusian sociologists with the assistance of the Pontis Foundation (Bratislava, Slovakia) and public association “Independent Institute of Social, Economic and Political Research” (IISEPR).
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