A Rally in Remembrance of Disappeared politicians Tomorrow in Minsk :: Charter'97 :: News

A traditional rally in remembrance of the disappeared Vice Prime-Minister of Belarus Viktar Hanchar and businessman Anatol Krasouski is to take place in Minsk tomorrow. On September 16 at 6 p.m. people with portraits of Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski, and other Belarusians, who disappeared without traces – former Internal Affairs Minister Yury Zakharanka and journalist Dzmitry Zavadski.

Six years ago, on September 16, one of the most prominent oppositional politicians, former Vice Prime Minister, ex-head of the Central Election Committee Viktar Hanchar and his friend, a businessman Anatol Krasouski. Yury Zakharanka, the former head of Internal Affairs department, who joined opposition, disappeared in May 1999. In summer of 2000 a cameraman of the ORT channel Dzmitry Zavadski disappeared. Nothing is known about the fate of these people.

Western countries ineffectually insist on independent investigation of the politicians’ disappearance. The USA and EU introduced a visa ban for a number of the highest state officials mentioned in the PACE report on disappearances in Belarus. Their names are: Internal Affairs Minister of Belarus Uladzimir Navumau, the head of the presidential administration Viktar Shejman, former interior Minister Yury Sivakou, SWAT commander Dzmitry Paulichenka.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka publicly promised to find the disappeared politicians and a journalist, however, nothing has been found out about the fate of the disappeared within these years. The investigation is done for the form’s sake. Investigators refuse to interrogate higher officials of the country suspected in the abductions.

But Belarusians remember about the disappeared opponents of the regime. When the regime collapse, we would find out what had happened to Yury Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasouski, Dzmitry Zavadski, and all involved in their abductions are to stand fair trial.