Is Rene van der Linden Going to Abide by Decisions of Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe? :: Charter'97 :: News

The Chair of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe René van der Linden has arrived to Belarus on a visit today. The PACE Chair is visiting Minsk on invitation of the leadership of the "national assembly", the unrecognized Belarusian parliament. Exactly 10 years ago, on January 13, 1997, this body, which is completely dependent on Lukashenka, was deprived a status of a `specially invited` country in the PACE.

In Minsk Rene van der Linden plans to meet with the chairman of the "chamber of representatives" of the "national assembly" Uladzimir Kanaplyou, the chairman of the "council of republic" of the "national assembly" Henadz Navitski, foreign minister Syarhei Martynau.

In 2004 the chairman of the PACE subcommittee on human rights Christos Pourgourides presented to the Assembly a report "Disappeared In Belarus". in the report he told that the authorities of Belarus are concealing the truth about abductions of the former Interior Minister of Belarus Yury Zakharanka, Vice Speaker of the Supreme Soviet of the 13th convocation Viktar Hanchar, a businessman and a public leader Anatol Krasouski and a journalist Zmitser Zavadski.

In the report the Special Rapporteur of the PACE maintained that "facts make it possible to suspect a number of the highest officials of the state in personal involvement in those abductions". A secretary of the Security Council (in 2004 General Prosecutor) Viktar Sheyman, Minister of the Interior Uladzimir Navumau, a former Minister of the Interior Yury Sivakou, and a special forces commander Dzmitry Paulichenka are suspected in these disappearances.

Based on the report by C.Pourgourides in 2004 the PACE adopted Resolution 1371 (2004) "Disappeared persons in Belarus" and requests that the Belarusian executive authorities:

1. launch a truly independent investigation into the above-mentioned disappearances by the competent national authorities, after the resignation of the current General Prosecutor, Mr Sheyman, who has been accused of having himself orchestrated the disappearances in his previous function, and to keep the families of the missing persons fully informed of the progress and results of this investigation. The Council of Europe is ready to provide all possible assistance in such an investigation;

2. initiate criminal investigations with a view to clarifying, and punishing, as the case may be:

a. the alleged involvement of the current General Prosecutor, Mr Sheyman, the current Minister for Sports and Tourism (previously Minister of the Interior), Mr Sivakou, and a high-ranking officer of the special forces, Mr Paulichenka, in these disappearances; and

b. the crime of perversion of the course of justice possibly committed by certain other high-ranking officials who have been involved in the investigations carried out so far and who may have falsified, dissimulated or destroyed evidence in their possession in order to protect the true perpetrators of the crimes.

In the Resolution the Assembly offered "the national assembly" to establish a parliamentary committee of inquiry, complete with proper investigatory resources at its disposal.

Besides, the PACE invited the "parliament" of Belarus to take the necessary steps with regard to the executive to ensure that the action requested under paragraph 10 above is fulfilled, including demanding the resignation of certain high-ranking officials accused of being involved in the disappearances, in order to allow a truly independent investigation.

"Until substantial progress is made regarding its demands under paragraphs 10 and 11 above, the Assembly does not consider it appropriate to reconsider the suspension of Special Guest status in favour of the Belarusian Parliament, as decided by the Bureau on 13 January 1997. As long as no substantial progress is made as regards paragraph 11 above, the Assembly considers inappropriate the presence, even informal, of Belarusian parliamentarians during its sessions," the PACE concluded.

On April 13, 2004 the PACE adopted Resolution 1596 "Belarus in the aftermath of the presidential election of 19 March 2006". In the resolution the Assembly called on the Belarusian authorities:

- to release immediately all those detained in connection with the March presidential elections;

- to disclose information on all those who were arrested or who received medical treatment after the dispersal of the peaceful demonstrations;

- to conduct a transparent investigation into the abusive use of force by police and security forces against peaceful demonstrators;

- to refrain from further intimidation, harassment and persecution against peaceful protesters and opposition supporters, including those taking the form of dismissal from employment, non-renewal of employment contracts or expulsion from universities;

- to open a genuine dialogue with relevant international institutions, including the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), with a view to amending the Belarusian Electoral Code to make it consistent with Council of Europe standards, and addressing the malpractice of the administration in electoral matters, well in advance of the next elections;

- to accede to the opposition`s demand for a re-run of the presidential election and ensure the pre-conditions exist for it to be free, fair and respectful of international standards.

In this resolution the PACE explained that in case the Belarusian authorities would give a clear and understandable signal about their readiness to approach the standards of the Council of Europe in the sphere of democracy, rule of law and human rights, the Assembly would be ready to reopen the corresponding channels of communication.

As we see, none of the demands of the PACE has been fulfilled, and Rene van der Linden arrived to Belarus and meets the leadership of the illegitimate "parliament", which hadn`t established a commission on inquiry of the disappearances and hadn`t demanded Sheyman, Navumau, Sivakou and Paulichenka`s removal from office.

Is Mr. van der Linden still planning to discuss with loyal Lukashenka`s officials Kanaplyou, Navitski and Martynau the fact that the Security Council secretary, the Interior Minister and the former minister and special force`s commander could have been involved in abductions and assassinations of opposition leaders? Maybe the PACE Chair would suggest that it is high time they interrogated the suspects, questioning them in detail what they had been doing on May 16, 1999 when Zavadski was abducted; on September 16, 1999, when Hanchar and Krasouski went missing; on July 7 2000, when Zavadski disappeared without trace?

If he is not going to bring up these issues during the meetings with the highest state officials, a logical question arises in what capacity and what for Rene van der Linden has arrived to Belarus?