Why Prosecutor’s Office Fails to Respond to Words and Actions of Lukashenka? :: Charter'97 :: News

The Charter’97 coordinator Zmitser Bandarenka comments on the arrest of the oppositional leader Andrei Klimau. “Klimau’s arrest causes surprise. I know two impressive and exalted persons in Belarus. They are Andrei Klimau and Alyaksandr Lukashenka. They both are emotional and never have to search for words. Recently Lukashenka openly announced in presence of journalists that he had falsified the elections results in 2006. The Belarusian prosecutor’s office hasn’t reacted to that, though special addresses have been made on this occasion. But for an unknown reason the reaction to Klimau’s words is always different. As for “seizure of power”, one could remember that before November 1996 the Constitutional Court of Belarus for 17 times recognized actions of Alyaksandr Lukashenka illegal. And for more than 10 years the international community finds all elections and referendums in Belarus rigged, illegal and non-democratic. Those that live in glass houses should not throw stones”.

The politician Andrei Klimau was arrested in Minsk on April 3 in the morning. Policemen took him to the prosecutor’s office of Minsk. He is charged under Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (call to a violent overthrow of the state regime). It is not clear under which part of the article the politician is accused. The reason for the criminal action was an article by Andrei Klimau placed at the web site of the United Civil Party “Revolution forever, or How to Skin Romany boar in the Year of Pig”. In the article Andrei Klimau wrote about personal involvement of Alyaksandr Lukashenka to abductions and assassinations of Belarusian oppositionists.