European Belarus!
Ranked #6,595 in Culture & Society, #135,422 overall
Some Modern History of Belarus
Lukashenko got rid of all the presidential candidates (they dissappeared before the elections) back in September 2001 and re-elected himself.
Also his re-election in March 2006 was condemned as fraudulent by the opposition and Western governments and his regime was slapped with U.S. and European Union sanctions. His re-election in December 2010 was also fraudulent (this time he got less than 50% of votes (about 32%) and many other REAL presidential candidates were sent to jails - Andrey Sannikov (5 year sentence), Nikolai Statkevich (6 year sentence), Dmitriy Uss (5.5 year sentence), Vladimir Neklyaev (2 year sentence), Ales Michalevich run away to Czech Republic.
So, this website is dedicated to providing people all over the world with the TRUE information about Human Rights and Freedoms in one of the Ex-Soviet Union republics.
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Contents at a Glance
The Last European Dictator
Belarus Political Prisoners 2012
Mikalai Statkevich Who is in Jail is Re-Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison
It's just a carte blanche to lawlessness, permissiveness and impunity.
It is not enough anymore for the Belarusian regime to put people in jail, they want to destroy, to kill them.What caused that Statkevich who is in jail already to be re-sentenced to 3 years in prison? Why did the authorities are in no hurry to release political prisoners? The answer is simple. Andrey Sannikov and Mikalai Statkevich were two most promising presidential candidates. And Aleksandr Lukashenko knows about it. He got only 38% in the first round of the election and all opposition candidates got 42%. Sannikov and Statkevich were the most promising candidates with about 15-20% of votes.
That's why he hates them so much! Because if it was a real democratic honest second round of presidential election back in December 2010 he would be kicked out from his post in no time by Sannikov or Statkevich. Because both of them have got support of most of the Belarusian people. That's why a bloodthirsty dictator Lukashenko wants to kill them in 2012 one way or the other and crash all the rest of the political prisoners.
What is different this time, this year is that dictator Lukashenko is not alone in his bloodthirstiness. He has an eldest son and his name is Victor Lukashenko. Almost nobody knows nothing about this young dictator. He is 36 and he is appointed as an Assistant to the President of Belarus on National Security. And this year 2012 the position of Victor Lukashenko was strengthened by the KGB and the Border Committee, then through the Information Analysis Center (or Cyber Security Center), and now through the Investigation Committee which was created in November last year. So everything is now passing into the hands of Viktor Lukashenko and his team.
That's why on January 12, 2012 a former presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich stood trial in a penal colony in Shklou and was re-sentenced to 3 years in prison.
An initiative of the colony authorities to toughen confinement conditions for the former presidential candidate was heard at the trial. Colony authorities say Mikalai Statkevich does not mend his way and that's why he should be transferred to a facility with stricter confinement conditions - a closed prison.
An official ground for accusing Statkevich was absence of a label with his number on his clothes and failure to include handkerchiefs in the list of his personal possessions, the wife of the politician said.
The real cause for toughening confinement conditions was principled position of Statkevich, who did not admit his guilt and does not want to apply to Lukashenko for a pardon.
Last spring, the former presidential candidate was found guilty of organizing mass disorders on December 19, 2010 (which is a total lie) and sentenced to 6-year imprisonment. Mikalai Statkevich looked good during the trial and took the sentence bravely with a smile.
His wife, Maryna Adamovich, says the decision of the judge was unfair, but she expected it. The woman says she did not hope for a better decision. "Justice died long time ago in Belarus," she said. The trial was conducted by Judge Volkau from Shklou.
Human Rights Activist Harry Pahanyaila gave his comment on transferring former presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich from a penal colony in Shklou to prison No. 4 in Mahillou.
"There have not been cases of transferring an inmate from a penal colony to a prison. The case of Mikalai Statkevich is the first one. Medium and maximum security penal colonies differ from a prison only by confinement conditions. A prison supposes limited number of meetings, restrictions in correspondence. An inmate has the right to spend one basic unit of money per month, he cannot receive parcels. Calls to relatives are allowed only in exceptional cases. Confinement conditions are tougher than in ordinary penitentiaries. As a rule, prisons are for persons, who repeatedly violated prison rules and regulations, or for dangerous special criminals for the first five years of imprisonment," Radio Svaboda quotes Harry Pahanyaila.
Harry Pahanyaila says the prison has cells for two, three or four inmates, but there are not strict rules. "They may hold a prisoner in solitary confinement. It depends on availability of cells and the prison authorities. Confinement conditions are tougher, daily routine is strictly regulated there. Any disobedience is punished. To be short, conditions there are definitely worse," the human rights activist summed up.
As the member of the Human Rights Center "Spring" Valentin Stefanovich noticed: "If you look in general at what is happening with political prisoners in Belarus, we regard it solely as a pressure on the prisoners for their possible greater isolation and deteriorating terms of punishment. We are very concerned that the authorities can use the Article 411 against political prisoners when people who are still prosecuted can be punished with a new prosecution for minor violations of the regime in jail. What is happening with Sannikov, Dashkevich, Bondarenko, Statkevich, shows that for the dictatorship is not enough anymore just to put people in jail. Lukashenko's regime wants to destroy them physically and mentally. This is very serious and ufortunately opportunities to help the political prisoners are quite limited. Authorities, for example, blatantly do not allow lawyers to see Andrey Sannikov. It's just a carte blanche to lawlessness, permissiveness and impunity."
According to the leader of the "Just World" Sergei Kalyakin, a new sentence to Statkevich is a revenge of the authorities (and Lukashenko personally) for what he said during the presidential election back in 2010 and then behaved bravely in prison, and the government was unable to break him.
Andrey Sannikov Disappeared in Jail
(as of January 12th, 2012)
Just like so many people before him who was in opposition to the dictatorial regime in Belarus.There's no surprise to anyone that dictator Lukashenko is suspected in involvement of political killings and disappearances in Belarus. In 1999-2000, his political opponents Yuriy Zakharenko, Victor Gonchar, Anatoliy Krasovskiy and Dmitriy Zavadskiy disappeared by force. In some documents of international organizations to these abductions, and perhaps, physical liquidation (executions without a trial) the involvement of Belarussian KGB (death squad) and higher officials of Belarus (V. Sheiman, J. Sivakov, Naumova, N. Vasilchenko, D. Pavlichenko, etc.) is documented.
Mr. Lukashenko´s inaction and inability, as the head of state, to investigate the disappearances incur additional suspicions to his personal interest and, possibly, involvement in these disappearances.
The above actions for unlawful retention of power, are qualified according to the Part 3. of Article 357 of the Criminal Code (keeping state power by unconstitutional means, entailing the loss of life or associated with murder) and Article 128 of the Criminal Code (crimes against the security of mankind -the systematic abduction, followed by their disappearance, committed in connection with the political beliefs of the civilian population). According to the Article 128 there is no period of limitation for such crimes. The seizure of state power, abuse of power and its retention in unconstitutional way still should be incriminated to Mr. Lukashenko. Since July 20th, 1999 Alexander Lukashenko is considered to be illegitimate president of Belarus.
In one of his speeches during presidential elections 2010 Andrey Sannikov said:
"We, Belarusian citizens, under the Constitution have a right to change authorities and freely elect our leaders. Even in today´s Constitution formalizes the principle of priority of the international law over the internal one, and international law does not allow fraudulent elections. The law is on our side in these elections. People are waiting for changes, as they had never been waiting for them in the last 16 years of the dictatorship. And it means that we have a chance to celebrate the New Year in a completely different, democratic Belarus." Unfortunately it did not happen and it turned out that Andrey Sannikov celebrated New Year 2011 in jail in the same dictatorial Belarus.
The year 2011 was a very special year for the Belarusian opposition which is totally crashed. It is very possible to say that it does not exist anymore. There is total information silence inside Belarus and total information silence outside Belarus about what's going on. Belarus dictatorship turned into a complete rotting swamp where any political opponent, any dissent can disappear any second in a complete information vacuum.
As for a former 2010 presidential candidate Andrey Sannikov, his lawyers and relatives have not seen him since November 8, 2011. As Sannikov's wife, Iryna Khalip, told BelaPAN news agency earlier, lawyer and relatives have still be trying to gain a meeting with him, but without success.
Khalip's mother-in-law, Alla Sannikova, visited the corrections department on December 30th, 2011 and filed a written application for a meeting with her son. "They said they would answer within 15 days as prescribed by the law. The term expires at the end of the week and there was not any answer," Iryna Khalip says. "Sannikov's lawyers laid an action to the Vitsebsk Court against actions by the chief of Vitsba-3 penal colony, who does not allow them to see their client."
According to Khalip, one of the lawyers will visit the colony on January 12, 2012 hopefully to gain a meeting with Sannikov. Khalip stresses again and again that relatives and lawyers have not seen Sannikov for more than two months already, since November 8th, 2011.
On May 14th, 2011 the court of the Partyzanski district of Minsk sentenced Andrey Sannikov to five years in a medium security penal colony for organizing mass disorders on December 19, 2010. The politician was supposed to serve his sentence in a penal colony in Navapolatsk (the Vitsebsk region). He arrived in the colony in late July, but on September 20, he was transferred to penal colony No. 2 in Babruisk (the Mahilou region) without giving any explanations.
Also, It became known on November 16th, 2011 that he had been transferred from the penal colony in Babruisk to another penitentiary. On November 17, Iryna Khalip met with acting corrections department Chief Syarhei Pratsenka, who said her husband had been transferred to another colony due to alleged danger to his life. He also said Sannikov would be transferred through a prison in Mahilou to the Vitsebsk region, but did not say to which penal colony. Sannikov was reported later to have been transferred to Vitsba-3 penal colony.
Anyway, nobody (including his lawyers and family members) have seen his since November 8th, 2011. And nobody knows what has happened with a former presidential candidate ever since. At present moment nobody knows if he is dead or alive.
In December 2010 it was possible to find a lot of articles about Belarus and the so called presidential election in this country. The world watched closely the events in this small eastern European country where once again as always for the last 18 years dictator secured a victory and the next illegitimate presidential term, or saying honestly - stole the freedom of the Belarusian people once again.
In December 2011 there was a total information silence about Belarus. The USA is taking care of their own presidential race, the EU is learning how to live in austerity.
Nobody cares about Belarus any more.
Belarus Political Prisoners 2011
(Red October)
Belarus, July 3rd, 2011, Independence Day
Appeal to the Members of the European Parliament by Belarusian Civic Leaders
Appeal by representatives of the Belarusian civil society, prepared for the recent session of the European Parliament.---
APPEAL to the Members of the European Parliament on the Situation in Belarus
Dear representatives of the nations of democratic Europe,
a dictatorial regime has been ruling in Belarus for 16 years already.
The so-called presidential elections took place in Belarus on the 19 December 2010. The number of representatives from the opposition parties, allowed to join the polling station electoral commissions, amounted to 0.25% of the overall number those commission members. Independent observers were disallowed to monitor the vote count. At those few polling stations where independent observers were able to prevent the substitution or slipping in of the ballots cast on the voting day, and to secure their public count, A. Lukashenka's electoral support on the 19 December election day was from 32% to 45% .
Similar results were obtained also through independent exit-polls.
Therefore there are good grounds to doubt that A. Lukashenka received an amount of votes exceeding 50% as required to win the elections in the first round.
Yet before the voting ended and prior to the vote count, the state authorities' security services started physical reprisals against A. Lukashenka's political opponents.
The peaceful protests by dozens of thousands of citizens in Minsk against the rigging of election results on the 19 December were brutally suppressed by the police special forces.
Hundreds of people were beaten up to blood and maimed. Seven of the presidential candidates were thrown into the KGB prison even before the election results were officially announced. Over 600 peaceful demonstrators were subjected to administrative arrests. In response to the peaceful protests against the election result falsification the state authorities unleashed a campaign of mass intimidation.
People continue to suffer dismissals from work and expulsion from education. Every day the KGB interrogates political and civil activists, journalists, human rights activists, conducts searches in offices and private flats, as well as equipment confiscations. The country is in the grip of political terror. Lukashenka strives by force to remain in power yet again, for which he has lost either legal or moral right.
According to the figures of the Central Electoral Commission, which is completely under Lukashenka's control, he allegedly obtained 79.65% of the votes. But the final protocol of the OSCE observer mission recorded the fact that the election process failed to correspond to democratic principles and norms, and recognised the elections as unfree and undemocratic. The independent Belarusian observers came to the same conclusion.
We, the voters who nominated the democratic candidates, being also the candidates' initiative group members, election observers, political prisoners and their relatives, are calling on the European Parliament, as well as on all the national and international institutions of the democratic states of Europe, to demonstrate their will to stand for the values on which the community of Europe is based, to stand up for the inalienable democratic rights and freedoms of the Belarusian people, as of one of the European nations. It has been confirmed to all of us yet again that the anti-democratic regime in Belarus is capable of undergoing neither re-education nor evolution, nor changing its substance.
The dictatorial regime in Belarus is a menace to the independence of Belarus, as well as to the European stability.
We propose:
1. Not to recognise the presidential elections in Belarus as free, fair, democratic, or corresponding the OSCE standards, and accordingly, not to recognise their declared outcome as a legitimate expression of the will of the Belarusian people. We support the appeal by the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (a historical successor in the free world of the Belarusian democratic statehood) and the Belarusian diaspora organisations to the democratic governments to refrain from using the definition of "President of Belarus" in relation to the initiator of the repressions Mr A. Lukashenka.
2. Strongly to demand the immediate release of all the de facto political prisoners, as well as a stop to the wave of political terror in the country. Not to allow A. Lukashenka a possibility to use the prisoners as political hostages in a trade for solving the problems of his foreign relations.
3. To initiate the creation of an international commission made of the European Union parliamentarians to investigate the facts of the mass beating and repressions in Belarus both on the 19 December 2010 and during the period thereafter.
4. To stop any political contacts with the authorities in Miensk until the release of all the political prisoners and a complete stop to political persecutions.
5. To limit the necessary contacts with Belarus authorities to the technical level. To stop all contacts with those ministries and security agencies of the government whose representatives were and remain directly involved in the election rigging and political repressions.
6. To restore and expand the practice of denying entrance to the democratic countries of Europe to all those officials directly or indirectly involved in the election rigging and political repressions. Taking into consideration the previous experience of securing the release of political prisoners, to use all possibilities of targeted sanctions against such persons, as well as against entities under their control.
7. To reconsider the issue of Belarus's participation in the Euronest inter-parliamentary programme not before fair elections take place in Belarus.
8. To bar Belarus from participating in inter-governmental programmes supported in the framework of the "Eastern Partnership", until the fulfilment of the four EU democratisation conditions for Belarus.
9. To compensate the restriction of contacts with the anti-democratic state authorities by a substantial expansion of assistance to the people and civil society of Belarus:
- to abolish Schengen visas for the citizens of Belarus;
- to provide institutional support, including within the Eastern Partnership framework, to the independent mass media of Belarus and to those mass media broadcasting for the Belarusian audience from other European countries (Belsat TV, Radyjo Racyja, European Radio for Belarus etc.), as well as to the activity of democratic non-governmental organisations;
- to provide political support to those parties, movements and civic initiatives that stand on the principles of democracy and human rights and are in opposition to the regime;
- to include Belarusian citizens in the EU programmes of higher education support;
- to devise a scheme of support for small business in Belarus, in a way as to exclude the state authorities' involvement and influence;
- to bolster all other forms of assistance directly to the society of Belarus, and to the political repression victims in the country.
Belarus has changed after the 19 December 2010. A victory for democracy in Belarus is a task for Belarusians themselves: no one will bring us freedom except ourselves. Your solidarity and support in these difficult times will hasten our people's advance to democracy and freedom.
Bahdanava, Iryna - sister of political prisoner Andrey Sannikov
Bakur, Jurka - participant of the Dec 19 protest action, victim of political repression
Bandarenka, Zinaida - actress, People's Artist of Belarus
Barodka, Zmicier - presidential candidate A.Sannikov's election agent
Bialacki, Ales - human rights defender
Chadyka, Jury - Prof. Dr. (Physics)
Chalezin, Mikalaj - Free Theatre art director
Chalip, Uladzimir - film director, father of a political prisoner, journalist Iryna Chalip
Dabravolski, Alaksandar - fmr. MP, member of the United Civil Party National Council
Iva%u0161kievi%u010D, Viktar - head of Belarusian Popular Front Party, Minsk City Organisation
Kalada, Natalla - Free Theatre director, victim of political repression
Kanius, Hanna - presidential candidate U. Neklajev's election agent
Laurouskaja, Iryna - Dr. (Architecture), member of the Public Council on Historical Heritage
Marholin, Leu - deputy chairman of the United Civil Party
Maslouski, Ihar - head of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, Bierascie Region Organisation
Michniuk, Zinaida - leader of Trade Union of Radio Electronics Industry Workers, Bierascie region
Miech, Ales - parliamentary candidate in the 2008 parliamentary elections
Panasiuk-%u0160arenda, Palina - member of the presidential candidate A.Sannikau initiative group
Pietrusievi%u010D, Fiodar - member of the presidential candidate A.Sannikau initiative group
Pla%u010Dko, Zmicier - member of the presidential candidate V.Ryma%u0161euski initiative group, participant of the Dec 19 protest action
Puk, Nadzieja - mother of a political prisoner, journalist Natalla Radzina
Puk, Valancin - father of a political prisoner, journalist Natalla Radzina
Sadouski, Piotra - fmr MP, Ambassador
%u0160arenda, Andrej - member of the presidential candidate V.Ryma%u0161euski initiative group, victim of political repression
Siamdzianava, Halina - fmr. MP, member of the Minsk City Electoral Commission
%u0160urchaj, Zmicier - member of the presidential candidate V.Ryma%u0161euski initiative group, participant of the Dec 19 protest action, a victim of political repression
Sviackaja, Valancina - election monitor in the Minsk City Electoral Commission
Via%u010Dorka, Vincuk - co-chairman of the United Democratic Forces, election monitor
11th January 2011
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Bloody Sunday in Minsk, Belarus on December 19th, 2010
Almost 700 people were arrested in Minsk during a peaceful protest against rigged results of the presidential elections in Belarus on December 19th, 2010. Almost 70 people were arrested in Moscow during a peaceful protest against restrictions on freedom of assembly.
In Minsk Belarusian citizens were outraged by the shocking fraud in the presidential election, with the help of which dictator Lukashenko stays in power for the next 5 years (+16 he is in power). Now all Belarusian opposition members (including 5 ex-presidential candidates) could stay in jail for up to 15 years. In Moscow several leaders of the opposition movement who took part in the antigovernment rally could stay in prison for up to 15 days.
Diagnosis in both cases is almost the same: Hot & Spicy Fascism in Belarus and Mild & Sweet Fascism in Russia. The arrangement in both cases is almost the same: Belarusian Faust surrenders his soul (if he ever had any) and moral integrity in order to hold his power forever. Russian double-headed Faust is doing just the same - dealing with the devil just to stay in power forever.
Yes, you are right the US and European Union are watching this show in awe and doing NOTHING! X-mas greetings and Happy New Year to them - the year of the quite white rabbit on a forever vacation!
Terror Campaign by Dictator Lukashenko in Belarus 2011
On January 2nd, 2011 the Human Rights Center Viasna (Spring) expressed its strong protest against the beginning of the terror campaign in Belarus towards dissidents and political opponents of the government with the following statement.
STATEMENT of Human Rights Center Viasna concerning Terror Campaign
towards opposition-minded people of Belarus
Starting from December 19th, 2010 the country was flooded with political repression. On December 30th, 2010 22 people who are kept in the KGB jail were formally charged under parts 1 and 2 of the Article 293 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (organization and participation in mass riot), including five presidential candidates: Uladimir Neklyaev, Andrey Sannikov, Nikolay Statkevich, Aleksey Mikhalevich, and Vitaliy Rymashevskiy. In addition to the presidential candidates, the charges were brought against the leaders of their campaign teams, journalists and other prominent opposition activists. The restraint in the form of two-month detention was chosen for all of them.
At least nine more people are also in the status of suspects in the criminal case on the riot, including two presidential candidates - Gregory Kostusev and Dmitriy Uss, as well as two citizens of the Russian Federation.
The Chairperson of the youth organization Young Front Dmitriy Dashkevich and its activist Eduard Lobov are still kept in the pre-trial prison in Minsk on suspicion of malignant hooliganism.
More than 200 people are still kept in prison, serving administrative arrests for participation in the protest rally in Minsk on December 19th, 2010 and the subsequent actions of solidarity with political prisoners. More than 700 people have been arrested or fined for last ten days. List of People Arrested on December 19th, 2010 in Minsk, Belarus: http://budurl.com/ArrestedOnDec19 [ in Belarusian language]
Human Rights Center Viasna is particularly concerned with information about the use of torture, psychological pressurization of detainees and the absence of medical care.
Starting from December 20th, 2010 mass searches and interrogations of activists of opposition political parties, civic organizations and independent media have began. Hundreds of opposition activists, representatives of independent civil society and journalists have been threatened and harassed by the KGB and the Interior Ministry.
Premises of human rights organizations were searched in Minsk and in the regions. The authorities are trying to discredit the activities of human rights defenders in the eyes of the society.
The lawyers who defend the accused in the criminal case concerning the mass riot are pressurized as well.
The Human Rights Center Viasna expresses its strong protest over the outbreak of the Belarusian authorities of the mass political repression in the country and declares:
the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus was not a free and democratic. The election results announced by the Central Election Commission in no way reflect the real will of the citizens of Belarus;
the protest rally against the undemocratic and non-free election was peaceful. The people who gathered in central Minsk, had peaceful purposes, and sought to peacefully express their opinions and protest;
The incident with the smashing of windows in the building of the House of Government was not prevented by law enforcement agencies. The demonstrative non-action of the Interior Ministry, a large number of whose workers were present on the Independence Square, points to an organized provocation by the authorities;
The actions of the police to disperse demonstrators were clearly disproportionate to the character of the action. The use of physical force and police gear led to a large number of beaten and wounded members of the peaceful protest;
The attack of security services in civilian clothes on the presidential candidate Uladimir Neklyaev and his supporters was clearly lawless and provocative;
The beating and arrest of virtually all presidential candidates, Aleksander Lukashenko´s opponents, is nothing but political violence;
The initiation of a criminal case under the part 1 and 2 of the Article 293 of the Criminal Code (mass riot) is used only for a long-term isolation of the leaders of the opposition pro-democracy movement, as well as for pressurizing and intimidating the country´s civil society, independent media and journalists, as well as all dissidents in the country;
The Human Rights Center Viasna demands the immediate release of all prisoners and cessation of repressions against opposition leaders and activists, civil society and independent media.
The Human Rights Center Viasna expresses solidarity with all those arrested for their views, their family members and encourages members of the Belarusian public and the international community to support the repressed people.
The Human Rights Centre Viasna urges the governments of the European Union, the United States and international organizations to condemn the repression and massive human rights violations in Belarus and to take all possible measures for their immediate cessation.
On December 22nd, 2010 one of the former presidential candidates Gregory Kostusev submitted a complaint (on 32 pages) to the Central Election Commission of Belarus to recognize the results of the presidential elections in the Republic of Belarus on Dec. 19, 2010 null and void.
On December 24th the Central Election Commission of Belarus rejected this complaint.
Here is a short version of this complaint: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208071
On January 4th, 2011 Gregory Kostusev has applied to the Supreme Court of Belarus with the request to review the results of the Central Election Commission concerning the acknowledgement of the presidential elections. His application includes the enumeration of the violations that were registered by observers, members of election commissions and electioneering agents of candidates.
"I have no hope for a fair verdict of the Supreme Court. May be they won´t even accept my application. Nevertheless, I am convinced that it was my duty to pass such application to the court," stated Gregory Kostusev.
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Terror Campaign by Dictator Lukashenko in Belarus 2011:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/209531
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A Peaceful Mass Protest is Transformed to Mass Riot Criminal Cases By Dictator Lukashenko:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208478
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Newly Elected President of Belarus is Illegitimate Since 1999 (Arguments & Facts):
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208071
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Dictator Lukashenko Declared a War Against People of Belarus on December 19th 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/206250
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Presidential Pseudo-Elections in Belarus 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205940
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Presidential Elections in Belarus Are Rigged & Falsified Even Before the Elections on December 19th!
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205422
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Presidential Elections in Belarus 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/200486
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A Peaceful Mass Protest is Transformed to Mass Riot Criminal Cases By Dictator Lukashenko
Minsk, Belarus
The reason of the crackdown on the opposition leaders, activists and journalists was a peaceful mass protest rally on December 19, 2010 in Minsk. Belarusian citizens were outraged by the shocking fraud in the presidential election, with the help of which the Belarusian dictator Lukashenko tried to stay in power. [http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/206250] [http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208071]
It has been informed by "Viasna" (Spring) Human Rights Center that as of December 30th, 2010, 26 people have been joined to the officially so-called "mass riots" (or peaceful mass protest) criminal case in Minsk, Belarus.
23 out of them are kept in the KGB detention center, Gregory Kostusev and Dmitriy Uss have given a written undertaking to leave the place, Nikita Likhavid is to be taken from Zhodzino prison to the KGB detention center in the nearest time. The last on the list of suspects is Andrey Fedarkevich, who had been arrested for 10 days of administrative arrest and served the sentence in the temporary detention facility in Zhodzino, then was transferred to the KGB detention facility in Minsk. KGB officers are searching for Nikita Krasnov. A search was held in his apartment on December 27. In the search warrant it was written that the young activist was also "a suspect."
Almost nothing is known about the prisoners of the KGB jail. Lawyers have signed non-disclosure obligations. But even without that one can guess that rights of the arrested are violated. A lawyer of Uladimir Neklyaev, a presidential candidate, was allowed to visit him only after a week. Before that there was no information about whereabouts and state of health of the poet. Nothing is known about the state of health of Andrey Sannikov, a presidential candidate. He had been brutally beaten up, his leg was injured. Natallia Radzina, an editor of charter97.org, did not get any medical assistance. As the lawyer of the journalist informed, "She is still bleeding from her ears" from police beating.
On December 29 charges are to be brought against most suspects. The list of suspects in the "Mass riots" criminal case opened under Article 293 Parts 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code of Belarus [A note: Article 293. Mass riots. Part 1. Organizing of mass riots accompanied by violence against persons, pogroms, arsons, destruction of property, armed resistance to representatives of authorities, - is punished by deprivation of liberty for a term from 5 to 15 years. Part 2. Participation in mass riots, consisting in immediate participation in actions mentioned in the first part of this article is punished by deprivation of liberty for a term from 3 to 8 years.]:
1. Andrey Sannikov - a presidential candidate
2. Uladimir Neklyaev - a presidential candidate
3. Gregory Kostusev - a presidential candidate (under a written undertaking not to leave the place)
4. Aleksandr Atroshchenkov - a press-secretary of Andrey Sannikov´s campaign headquarters
5. Aleksey Mikhalevich - a presidential candidate
6. Vitaliy Rymashevskiy - a presidential candidate
7. Pavel Severinetz - an electioneering agent of the candidate Vitaliy Rymashevskiy
8. Dmitriy Bandarenko - a coordinator of "European Belarus" civil campaign
9. Irina Khalip - a journalist, Andrey Sannikov´s wife
10. Natallia Radzina - a journalist, an editor of charter97.org website
11. Anatoliy Lebedko - the chair of the United Civil Party
12. Anastasiya Palazhanko - a deputy chairperson of the "Young Front"
13. Andrey Dmitriev -Uladimir Neklyaev´s campaign manager
14. Aleksandr Feduta - a political analyst, one of coordinators of Uladimir Neklyaev´s election campaign team
15. Nikolay Statkevich - a presidential candidate
16. Aleksandr Klaskovskiy- a former police officer
17. Uladimir Kobets - a campaign manager of Andrey Sannikov
18. Dmitriy Uss - a presidential candidate (under a written undertaking not to leave the place)
19. Sergei Vaznyak - Uladimir Neklyaev´s electioneering agent
20. Oleg Korban - one of the leaders of the UCP youth organization, "Young Democrats"
21. Aleksandr Arastovich - Nikolai Statkevich´s electioneering agent
22. Anatoliy Pavlov - Yaroslav Ramanchuk´s electioneering agent
23. Sergei Martsalev - Nikolai Statkevich´s campaign manager
24. Dmitriy Novik - a participant of the protest rally on December 19
25. Nikita Likhovid - "For Freedom" movement activist, the decision to detain him for 15 days has been annulled. He is to be transferred from Zhodzina to the KGB detention center.
26. Andrey Fedorkevich - a participant of the protest rally on December 19, the decision to detain him for 10 days has been annulled. He has been transferred from Zhodzino to the KGB detention center.
Despite Christmas, Belarusian law-enforcement agencies keep raiding opposition offices and apartments of civil and political activists, adding to the increasing atmosphere of fear in the society. All over Belarus dozens of apartments and offices have been searched by the police and the KGB, including those of former presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich´s wife, Charter ´97 editor Natallia Radzina´s mother, Iryna Khalip´s father and pro-democratic activist Viachaslav Sivchuk.
---
---
Terror Campaign by Dictator Lukashenko in Belarus 2011:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/209531
---
A Peaceful Mass Protest is Transformed to Mass Riot Criminal Cases By Dictator Lukashenko:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208478
---
Newly Elected President of Belarus is Illegitimate Since 1999 (Arguments & Facts):
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208071
---
Dictator Lukashenko Declared a War Against People of Belarus on December 19th 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/206250
---
Presidential Pseudo-Elections in Belarus 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205940
---
Presidential Elections in Belarus Are Rigged & Falsified Even Before the Elections on December 19th!
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205422
---
Presidential Elections in Belarus 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/200486
Newly Elected President of Belarus is Illegitimate Since 1999 (Arguments & Facts)
Minsk, Belarus
On December 22nd, 2010 one of the former presidential candidates Gregory Kostusev submitted a complaint (on 32 pages) to the Central Election Commission of Belarus to recognize the results of the presidential elections in the Republic of Belarus on Dec. 19, 2010 null and void. On December 24th the CEC of Belarus rejected this complaint.
Here is a short version of this complaint:
To the Central Commission of Belarus for Elections and National Referendums
To the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Belarus
Copies: to OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation 2010, CIS Observation Mission]
APPLICANTS:
Candidate for the President of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Neklyaev
Candidate for the President of the Republic of Belarus Gregory Kostusev
RATIONALE: on recognizing the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus 2010 null and void
Numerous documents attached to this complaint testify as the evidence of gross violations of Laws of the Republic of Belarus at all stages of the electoral process. These violations significantly influenced the preparation of presidential elections in Belarus, their conduct and the outcome of the vote.
The election campaign was held across Belarus with violations of national legislation and international standards - especially presidential elections did not meet the standards of the Copenhagen document of the CSCE (1990) [http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/1990/06/13992_en.pdf]
and the obligations of the Republic of Belarus in this field, which eventually led to a regular (2001, 2006) falsification of the results of the elections.
We are taking into account the time shortage for appeal (only during 3 days after December 19th, 2010) and the detention of the Candidate for the President of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Neklyaev on December 19th along with six other presidential candidates.
At this time we present detailed, but incomplete analysis of the major violations
of Belarusian Law, in connection with which the election of the President
Republic of Belarus in 2010 are considered to be invalid.
1. USURPATION OF POWER BY MR. LUKASHENKO AND HIS GOVERNMENT AND WITHHOLDING OF POWER BY UNCONSTITUTIONAL MEANS. ILLEGAL PARTICIPATION OF MR. LUKASHENKO IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 2010.
1.1. Trampling of the legislative framework of the electoral system of the Republic of Belarus by Mr. Lukashenko.
Finding Mr. Lukashenko in office till now without any restrictions made possible by the national referenda initiated and conducted by him and his government.
Referendums which established an unrestricted usurpation of power by Mr. Lukashenko were initiated and conducted in 1995, 1996 and 2004: in 1995 Belarussian historical (national) state symbols were replaced for the sake of the personal political and ideological principles of Mr. Lukashenko; in 1996 the main principle of separation of powers was abolished and without any elections his term in office was extended for two years; and in 2004 the constitutional limits on the tenure of the President of the Republic of Belarus were finally removed.
Due to the referendum of 1996, the results of which could only be recommended by law, the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus has been amended and changed, and the president's powers have been illegally additionally expanded and extended until 2001.
The appointment by Mr. Lukashenko of referendum 1995-1996 was based on his personal decrees and could be considered by international law as an usurpation of legislative power.
Special Commission of the Supreme Council of XIII-th Convocation on a legal assessment of violations by the President Lukashenko of the Constitution and Laws of the Republic Belarus, led by Viktor Gonchar, made a conclusion that his actions by holding a referendum in 1996 to change a Constitution was a CRIME, and according to the Article 61-1 of the Criminal Code (hereinafter - CC) of the Republic of Belarus (1960) was considered as "a conspiracy to seize the government". This parliamentary committee concluded that since July 20th, 1999, the presidency of Mr. Lukashenko lost its legitimacy.
The next step was the publication by Mr. Lukashenko on September 7, 2004, a decree %u2116 431 "About the Purpose of the Referendum 2004." As a result of this referendum the illegal changes were made to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus which lifted the restrictions on only two presidential terms at the office.
The referendum on Oct. 17, 2004 was carried out with gross violations of all
norms of the electoral law and democratic principles, outlined in the Copenhagen Document, supported by the Republic of Belarus. The results of the referendum were not recognized by democratic community of Belarus and international organizations (Council of Europe, PACE, European Union, OSCE, etc.).
The results of the referendum 2004, held in clear violation of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Belarus, should be null and void.
Actions of Mr. Lukashenko to initiate and conduct a referendum on removal of constitutional restrictions on staying in power for more than two terms fall under signs of crime, responsibility for which is provided in Part 3, Article 424, Article 357 and Part 2 of the Criminal Code (abuse of power with the purpose of unconstitutional holding).
In addition, the organization and conduct of referenda passed with egregious violations of the electoral and other laws of the Republic of Belarus.
Multiple belarussian citizens´ appeal to the prosecutor's office (in 2004, 2006 and subsequent years) with the demand to bring against Mr. Lukashenko criminal proceedings under Articles 357 and 424 of the Criminal Code were declined with no proper legal explanation.
On the eve of the elections 2006 discriminative legislative Benefits (Amendments to the Criminal Code, etc.) for the incumbent running for a new term were established. Shortly before the election campaign, Mr. Lukashenko legalized presidential decrees number 8, 11, 20, which tightened the legal framework for political parties, associations, creating limited opportunities for mass actions of opposition, mass protests.
In the legislative basis for the preparation and holding of presidential elections
2010 were made only such changes (amendments to the Electoral Code), which have left enduring legal framework for the system of rigged elections and the absolute dominance in the elections of only one candidate - the incumbent Mr. Lukashenko.
Thus, the seizure of state power, abuse of power and its retention in unconstitutional way still should be incriminated to Mr. Lukashenko. Since July 20th, 1999 Alexander Lukashenko is considered to be illegitimate president of Belarus.
1.2. Unlawful retention of power by illegitimate president Lukashenko is accompanied by methods of force and political repressions.
Mr. Lukashenko is suspected in involvement of political killings and disappearances in Belarus. In 1999-2000, his political opponents Yuriy Zakharenko, Victor Gonchar, Anatoliy Krasovskiy and Dmitriy Zavadskiy disappeared by force. In some documents of international organizations to these abductions, and perhaps, physical liquidation (executions without a trial) the involvement of Belarussian KGB (death squad) and higher officials of Belarus (V. Sheiman, J. Sivakov, Naumova, N. Vasilchenko, D. Pavlichenko, etc.) is documented.
The above actions for unlawful retention of power, are qualified according to the Part 3. of Article 357 of the Criminal Code (keeping state power by unconstitutional means, entailing the loss of life or associated with murder) and Article 128 of the Criminal Code (crimes against the security of mankind -the systematic abduction, followed by their disappearance, committed in connection with the political beliefs of the civilian population). According to the Article 128 there is no period of limitation for such crimes.
Mr. Lukashenko´s inaction and inability, as the head of state, to investigate the disappearances incur additional suspicions to his personal interest and, possibly,
involvement in these disappearances.
In addition, in the Republic of Belarus in recent years a number of unjust (in the opinion of the public) criminal proceedings took place in the result of which the political opponents of Lukashenko, in particular Candidate for President of Aleksander Kozulin, were sentenced to various kinds of penalties, including imprisonment during the presidential elections of 2006.
Multiple belarussian citizens´ appeal to the prosecutor's office (in 2004, 2006 and subsequent years) with the demand to bring against Mr. Lukashenko criminal proceedings under the Article 128 of the Criminal Code were declined with no proper legal explanation.
Thus, Mr. Lukashenko who is holding state power illegally resorts to repressive measures against political opponents, and is suspected to be involved in violent disappearance of some of them.
1.3. Mr. Lukashenko and his subordinate officers are using illegal detention authorities to rigg the results of the elections in Belarus 2010.
After the last presidential election in 2006, Mr. Lukashenko, who illegally took up the post of President of the Republic of Belarus has repeatedly directly admitted that he had instructed to falsify the results of elections. Such statements of Mr. Lukashenko require thorough analysis and legal evaluation by the prosecution system of Belarus and international authorities, because they contain information about the crime.
Conclusion number 1: All of the above suggests that Mr. Lukashenko who from July 20, 1999 is considered an illegitimate president of Belarus, usurp and retain power illegally, by lies, falsifications and repressions. The participation of Mr. Lukashenko in all previous presidential elections (except in 1994), and in the elections of 2010 is illegal.
The whole text of the complaint (in Russian language) is here:
http://naviny.by/rubrics/elections/2010/12/23/ic_articles
Belarus Non-Free Non-Fair Presidential Elections 2010
(Part 4)
Non-Free Non-Fair Presidential Elections 2010 Confirmed Belarus as the Last Dictatorship in Europe!
Belarus Non-Free Non-Fair Presidential Elections 2010
(Part 3)
Non-Free Non-Fair Presidential Elections 2010 Confirmed Belarus as the Last Dictatorship in Europe.
Belarus Non-Free Non-Fair Presidential Elections 2010
(Part 2)
Non-Free Non-Fair Presidential Elections 2010 Confirmed Belarus as the Last Dictatorship in Europe.
Belarus Non-Free Non-Fair Presidential Elections 2010
(Part 1)
Non-Free Non-Fair Presidential Elections 2010 Confirmed Belarus as the Last Dictatorship in Europe!
Inside the Criminal Mind of Illegitimate President Lukashenko
On December 1st, 2010 in Minsk in response to the release of polling data indicating that President Lukashenko have less than 50% support, and might therefore be forced into a second round run-off, the Chair of the Central Election Commission, Lidia Yermoshina said "Why do you think that it will be a two-round election? I am positive I will celebrate New Year at home."
Mr. Lukashenko, why you cannot return belarussians free elections? What are you afraid of? Prevailing over nine opponents who have no media access, no money, no mansions in their possession, no multi-billion dollar accounts abroad, seems easy enough even without cheating. Please, tell us, why do you need to cheat belarussians for so many years?
1994? 2001? 2006?
To cheat, to steal, to kill. Why? Why, Mr. Grinch?
You're a monster, Mr. Grinch.
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders,
You've got garlic in your soul.
Mr. Grinch.
On December 20th it was announced officially, that Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko won re-election with almost 80% of the vote on Sunday. What a surprise! The opposition, though, was accusing the government of massive fraud. How come? Tens of thousands protesters in Minsk were savagely beaten and seven opposition candidates have been arrested. Their whereabouts is unknown to the public till now.
One can only speculate to what extent the election was rigged. Usually for Lukashenko is about +40% illegitimate votes. You can read more about a special Belarussian "Ballot-Box X-mas Stuffing" here: http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/view/205940
That´s why the opposition, was accusing the government of massive fraud on Sunday night of December 19th demanding elections without Lukashenko. Opposition candidates were asking simple questions.
Why people known for falsifying the election results in 2001 and 2006 have remained in charge of counting the votes in 2010? Including the Chair of the Central Election Commision, Lidia Yermoshina. Do they belong to a particular Lukashenko´s mafia circle? Mr. & Mrs. Grinch, why out of the 240 complaints lodged by candidates and their authorized representatives, and by other participants of the electoral process, only 3 were satisfied? Why Mobile networks in Belarus have been crippled, independent media sites have been attacked, and key internet sites such as Facebook and Gmail have all been blocked on December 19-20, 2010?
The answer is Mr.Lukashenko-Grinch got scared on December 19th, 2010 when he had learnt that only 38% of votes were coming his way. Inside his criminal mind it was a dead end for him and his regime%u2026
You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch.
You're the king of sinful sots.
Your heart's a dead tomato splotched
With moldy purple spots,
Mr. Grinch.
Apparently showing no qualms about the mass arrests at night of December 20th, Lukashenko announced with a smile at a news conference that 639 protestors were being held in Minsk detention facilities. Hundreds of detainees stand closed-door trials. Belarusian law-enforcement authorities instituted criminal proceedings into the riots according to Article 293 of the Penal Code of Belarus. The article stipulates up to 15 years of imprisonment for former candidates for the presidency. What a surprise, Mr. Lukashenko-Grinch, what a surprise!
Why so many protesters were held for 10-15 days, Mr. Grinch? Why?
According to CEC secretary Nikolai Lozovik, former presidential candidates may file a complain about not recognizing the results of the elections no later than the third day after the elections (till December 23rd), and personally. In addition, the applicants may appeal the decision of the Central Election Commission in the Supreme Court within ten days (till December 29th). "I think it is unlikely we will receive any complaints this time" - suggested Lozovik. No wonder!
"Early signs indicate that Lukashenko and his cronies are up to their old tricks," says Freedom House Executive Director David J. Kramer. "Attacks on Internet and mobile network sites suggest an effort to conceal fraud at the polls. The thuggish behavior by authorities in dealing with protestors deserves immediate condemnation. Democratic forces around the world should be standing with those thousands of brave people in October Square protesting Lukashenko's effort to stay in power no matter what."
"This election failed to give Belarus the new start it needed. The counting process lacked transparency. The people of Belarus deserved better," said Tony Lloyd, one of the OSCE mission leaders.
The U.S. Embassy said that Washington "strongly condemns all election day violence in Belarus." German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that "it's not acceptable to harass, beat or arrest opposition candidates and their supporters who want to exert their right to freedom of expression." Poland's Foreign Ministry also condemned the crackdown.
"At this moment I don't know where my husband is," Neklyaev's wife told reporters. "I couldn't imagine that: They took him right from an emergency care unit as I was watching."
Also Andrey Sannikov and his wife Irina were arrested, who were among those beaten outside the government building. Sannikov was the next-highest vote getter after Lukashenko, tallying 2.5%, according to official figures.
The human-rights center Vesna said courts on Monday, December 20th, began sentencing many of the arrested to jail terms of 5 to 15 days. Interior Ministry spokesman Anatoly Kuleshov said organizers of mass disturbances could face up to 15 years in prison.
The latest revelations from U.S. diplomatic cables leaked by the WikiLeaks website describe the government in Belarus as a "criminal regime of a violent and authoritarian nature."
Cables written by U.S. diplomats in Minsk in 2007 and 2008 describe Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko as a "dictator" and a "peasant turned ideology officer" whose Soviet upbringing has led him to believe "the state rules the people."
The cables say: "As a former Soviet army political officer, the dictator understands the use of ideology as a veneer to mask the true intentions of one's actions."
"Lawlessness, dictatorship - what else can you call this?" said Natalia Pohodnya, waiting in the snow outside a Minsk jail where her son was being held after participating in a demonstration. "They are beating our kids!"
Official Results of the Belarus elections 2010: http://vybory2010.by
Lukashenko - 79.76%
Sannikov - 2.44%
Neklyaev - 1.77%
Romanchuk - 1.97%
Rymashevskiy - 1.10%
Statkevich - 1.04%
Tereshenko - 1.08%
Michalevich - 1.02%
Kostusev - 1.97%
Uss - 0.48%
Against all: 6.47%
Unofficial exit-pools results:
Lukashenko - 38.1%
Sannikov - 11.6%
Neklyaev - 11.7%
Romanchuk - 9.9%
Rymashevskiy - 1.1%
Statkevich - 3.8%
Tereshenko - 0.7%
Michalevich - 1.8%
Kostusev - 2.4%
Uss - 0.5%
Against All: 9%
So, this is what we have in reality:
Lukashenko - 38%, other candidates - 42% (less than 50% on all sides)
Common sense verdict - SECOND RUN-OFF of the elections for Mr. Grinch!
And, by the way, the Chair of the Central Election Commision, Lidia Yermoshina, please prove us wrong and do RE-COUNT of ballots this week!
Mr. Grinch & Mrs. Grinch, the whole world and you know that real ballots do not exist any more. So, there´s nothing to re-count in Minsk, Belarus on X-mas eve 2010.
---
---
Terror Campaign by Dictator Lukashenko in Belarus 2011:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/209531
---
A Peaceful Mass Protest is Transformed to Mass Riot Criminal Cases By Dictator Lukashenko:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208478
---
Newly Elected President of Belarus is Illegitimate Since 1999 (Arguments & Facts):
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208071
---
Dictator Lukashenko Declared a War Against People of Belarus on December 19th 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/206250
---
Presidential Pseudo-Elections in Belarus 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205940
---
Presidential Elections in Belarus Are Rigged & Falsified Even Before the Elections on December 19th!
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205422
---
Presidential Elections in Belarus 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/200486
---
Dictator Lukashenko Declared a War Against People of Belarus on December 19th 2010
After 16 years in office, illegitimate President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko appeared headed for another five-year term in a controversial election Sunday, December 19th, 2010, that was quickly followed by violent late-night street clashes and accusations of vote fraud from human rights groups and opposition presidential candidates.
Final results announced by the State's Central Election Commission indicated that Lukashenko received 79.7% of the vote, after 100% was counted. Nevertheless, exit-polls' data, conducted by EcooM experts, show that only 72% of people have voted for the current head of state. The second place has been given to Andrey Sannikov, followed by Vladimir Neklyaev (4-5% of the vote).
Moreover, and what is interesting and, probably, close to real results of the elections is the exit-polls by TNS Ukraine which indicates that only about 40% of Belarusians voted for Lukashenko.
According to TNS, Alexander Lukashenko, in the first round of the presidential elections in Belarus, gained less than 50% of votes. By the way, TNS Ukraine is officially registered by the Belarusian Central Election Commission. And according to TNS Ukraine, Lukashenka has got 42% of votes, followed by opposition candidate Vladimir Neklyaev with 17%, followed by Andrey Sannikov with 13% of votes.
There is no surprise that another presidential elections in Belarus has evolved along with the old scenario; the voting was forged, once again the opposition was not allowed to take part in vote counting, observers witnessed numerous violations, many voters were forced by officials to take part in the pre-election, the candidates for President had no access to the television and other media - just like during the last 16 years.
To raise a protest against the fraud, six oppositional candidates for President - Andrey Sannikov, Vladimir Neklayev, Grigoriy Kostusev, Yaroslav Romanchuk, Vitaliy Rymashevskiy and Nikolay Statkevich - called upon people to come to October Square in Minsk on December 19th at 8:00 pm.
At 8:40 pm thousands gathered in the square. Just before that it was announced that the headquarters of Vladimir Neklayev were seized by the special police forces. Activists of Neklayev´s campaign were supposed to bring loudspeakers to the square, but special police units seized the vehicle with the equipment. Everyone was forced to lie down facing the ground. The candidate himself was beaten up and driven away in an ambulance. The equipment was confiscated.
Nevertheless, several loudspeakers reached the square, where candidates for President - Andreiy Sannikov, Nikolay Statkevich, Vitaliy Rymashevskiy, Grigoriy Kostusiov, Yaroslav Romanchuk, and Dmitriy Uss - had arrived. The candidates addressed tens of thousands of people who had gathered there, and announced that according to independent exit-polls, Lukashenko had got only 31% in the entire country. He lost the election and the second round was to be expected.
"If there is no second round, then Lukashenko is indeed a tyrant and dictator," Sergei Kalyakin, the head of the campaign "For Faire Election" said. Furthermore, he described the fraud taking place during the voting and claimed the election to be another farce.
October Square was entirely filled with people. Even the skating ring deliberately arranged to cover nearly the entire square did not stop the demonstrators - they were standing on the ice. People were chanting "Lukashenko, Go Away!", "We demand free election!", "New election without Lukashenko!"
Candidate for President Andrey Sannikov announced the collapse of Lukashenko´s regime and declared a newly established Government of National Rescue. The Government of National Rescue would include the democratic candidates for President who had come to the square.
The candidates claimed that another, free election - this time without Lukashenko - must be negotiated with the government. Those who had gathered on the square started moving along the Independence Avenue towards the Independence Square.
Tens of thousands of Belarusians filled the avenue, both the road and the pavement. The crowd demanded new and free election, and their slogans were heard all over the city center. Drivers left their cars and joined the rally. The demonstrators called their friends´ cell phones and urged them to come to the square, to raise the protest, not to be afraid.
Loudspeakers were installed on the Independence Square, and on behalf of all the candidates for the President who were there (at that moment, all candidates who claimed their protest were there, apart from Yaroslav Romanchuk), Andrey Sannikov announced that the Government of National Rescue was ready to negotiate with the authorities.
The candidates for President demanded to be let in to the Government building in order to hold a peaceful talks.
At that time, the demonstrators moved to decisive actions. Hundreds of strong men approached the entrance to the Government building and knocked to the doors. The windows shattered revealing%u2026 closets! The doors of the House of Government were barricaded from the people. The closets were dammed up by special police units.
During 20 minutes the demonstrators tried to throw down the closets and enter the building. Slogans "Lukashenko, Go away!" and "We want talks!" were heard from the square.
Meanwhile, hundreds of fully equipped soldiers of special interior forces ran out from the left wing of the Government building. They had military boots, helmets and shields. The soldiers attacked the people and started to beat them up. The demonstrators were falling down on the ice. They were trampled and kicked. There, under the feet of special police units, was charter97.org editor Natalia Radzina. The police were beating her up and kicking her in her head, until someone from the crowd dragged her from under their feet.
According to witnesses, the police were holding electroshockers. Moreover, unknown gas was used against the demonstrators. All that made people move away from the entrance to the Government building, but nobody left the square.
The people remained standing on the square chanting "We want talks!" It was announced then that the talks would be held. The candidates approached the House of Government; high military officials who had just arrived to the square were heading the same way.
And at that moment, when the negotiations were already on (!), thousands (!) of soldiers of special forces ran out from behind the building and started to beat up the demonstrators. Ten military trucks drove out to the square; hundreds of people were beaten up and "packed" to the trucks.
Shortly after that, candidate for President Andrey Sannikov was pushed on the ground and beaten up. When he and his wife were about to drive to the hospital, their car was stopped. Sannikov was dragged ouside, beaten up once again and driven away. His wife Irina Khalip was pushed to another car; the police beat her head against glass.
Meanwhile, the Independence Square was surrounded by trucks with the military. Soldiers equipped with body armor and helmets formed a chain preventing people from approaching the House of Government, while special police units were beating up and detaining the demonstrators.
After that the special forces blocked all avenues so that nobody could walk out to the street again.
According to human rights activists, from 200 to 500 people were detained. They were taken to the special distribution station on Okrestina Street and to the temporary prison of Zhodino. Candidates for President Kostusev, Statkevich and Rymashevsky were arrested after the rally, along with Andrey Sannikov. Natalia Koliada, the head of the Belarusian Free Theater, was also arrested. Head of the human rights service of the civil initiative European Belarus Lidia Chistova is at the hospital with a cranio-cerebral trauma. Hundreds of people were assaulted; some of them were taken to the hospital of Interior Ministry with cranio-cerebral traumas and smashed heads.
Information about arrests and detentions was coming during the whole night of December 20th, 2010. Special Forces officials in civil uniforms took Vladimir Neklayev right from the hospital bed. Leader of the United Civil Party Anatoliy Lebedko was detained at his home.
The Belarusians were again urged to come out to the Independence Square on December 20th, at 6:00 pm. "We will not leave! We must fight for our freedom and our choice!" claimed the opposition leaders. Now we must fight for the liberation of the candidates for President, whom the people of Belarus have given their votes.
Also during the suppress of the demonstration against the falsifications in Minsk in the evening on December 19th, 2010 various journalists were beaten up.
Injured in different scale where the journalists: Natalia Radina (charter97.org), Ruslan Gorbachev (gazeta.by), Viktor Tolochko (BelTA), Ales Piletsky («Nasha Niva»), John Hill (The New York Times)
Irina Khalip, correspondent of the Russian newspaper «Novaya Gazeta», wife of the candidate to the presidency of Belarus Andrey Sannikov, was detained. About 500 people were arrested that night.
The special forces where beating us at heads. If someone woudn't have taken me away from their boots - they would have definitely killed me. It seems I have a concussion, but I've got to continue working», told BelaPAN the editor of charter97.org Natalia Radina.
There is a report that several cameramen from the Russia Today TV Channel Anton Kharchenko and Viktor Filiaev, photographer Andrey Lenkevich are injured. Correspondents of the web-portal tut.by Konstantin Lashkevich and photocorrespondent of «BelGazeta» Vadim Zamirovsky are detained.
Non-Free Non-Fair Presidential Elections 2010 Confirmed Belarus as the Last Dictatorship in Europe.
Presidential Pseudo-Elections in Belarus 2010
"Master of the presidential elections in Belarus is the Chairman of the Local Election Commission."
Aleksander Lukashenko, 2006
"Only people of Belarus decide who is the next President."
Aleksander Lukashenko, 2010
There are four main ways of rigging the presidential elections in Belarus. All of them were used in presidential elections of 2001 and 2006.
The first way is called "Ballot-Box Stuffing". This way is commonly used during early voting. This year presidential early voting in Belarus takes the whole week from December 13th up to December 18th, 2010. For six days (and nights) any Chairman of the Local Election Commission´s helpers can stuff the boxes with as many ballots as they need. Probably, about 75% for Mr. Lukashenko. This is how many votes he wants to get this year, right?
How it may happen in practice you may ask? Easy! For example, in one ballot box is thrown 100 ballots with votes for 10 different candidates, and from the box poured 600 ballots with votes for only ONE candidate - the right one. Make a wild guess what is the name of the right candidate this year? It is no secret that ballot-boxes may have a false bottom. Belarus is widely used old-fashioned ballot-boxes with so many ways of unscrewing them and screwing votes. How Lukashenko can get 75% of votes without any magic tricks at his hands?
Moreover, according to some sources back in 2006 every Chairmen of the Local Election Commissions who provided the correct amount of votes for the correct candidate were rewarded with $3000 bonuses. Those who could not provide the correct amount of votes were fired later on.
The second way of stuffing boxes with the correct candidate ballots is happening outside of the polling stations. For example, when somebody got sick and cannot go to the stations, members of the Election Commissions can visit those people at home without being watched by observers. Nice chance for some votes adjustments.
But the most popular is the third way! Again this way is commonly used during early voting and it has a long name - "Stimulated early voting among citizen of certain categories - students, soldiers, workers of state enterprises." This type of the early voting is enforced in Belarus by the government. Students, soldiers, militia, doctors, patiens, workers are ENFORCED to vote only for ONE candidate - the right one - and report about their voting to the chain of command. That´s why MOST of the early voting numbers are unified in the direction of only one candidate - Lukashenko. If students disagree they can be kicked out of state dorms, if workers disagree they can lose their jobs. Voting against Lukashenko is PUNISHABLE (by Law?) in Belarus!
The fourth way of fraud is called "The Chairman´s Way". Remember how much money chairmen can get in exchange for the right results of voting? This way is the most sneaky one when the chairman of the local commission announce his figures in advance even without counting the ballots. How it works you may ask? Easy! Two identical sets of ballots are produced. Some of them are stored in a separate room of a Chairman. And the second set - the actual set - is stored in a completely different place ( or, maybe, just thrown away!). So even the right demand for a recount would not help! Because there is NOTHING to recount. Real ballots are disappearing in thin air. Just one more Lukashenko´s magic trick%u2026
There is no surprise that this year voting in Belarus beats records of the year 2006 (now I hope you know why). The Central Elections Commission (CEC) ignores observers´ complaints at ENFORCED early voting.
About 12% of the voters on electoral registers have taken part in early voting in Belarus during three days, Interfax-Zapad news agency learnt from CEC spokesman Nikolay Lozovik.
"11.7% of the voters, or 820,000 people, went to polls during three days of early voting," Lozovik said.
He specified that the turnout in the Brest region was 10%, in the Vitebsk region - over 15%, in Gomel region - 10.6%, in Grodno region - 13.7%, in Minsk region - 10.6%, in Mogilev region - 14.3%, in Minsk - 9%.
According to the CEC spokesman, "There were no significant complaints at the electoral process during the early voting. We have only a few complaints from internal observers. As a rule, these complaints are not based on legislative requirements. These complaints evoke from interpretation of the norms of the law in one´s own way and expecting the same interpretation from election commissions."
There is no doubt that the Chairmen of the Local Election Commissions know real well how to INTERPRETE the law to achieve 75% for a new (old) president. Hope those interpretations are not criminal ones.
So, the case is closed? Or, it will be re-opened on December 19th?
We´ll see.
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Terror Campaign by Dictator Lukashenko in Belarus 2011:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/209531
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A Peaceful Mass Protest is Transformed to Mass Riot Criminal Cases By Dictator Lukashenko:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208478
---
Newly Elected President of Belarus is Illegitimate Since 1999 (Arguments & Facts):
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208071
---
Dictator Lukashenko Declared a War Against People of Belarus on December 19th 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/206250
---
Presidential Pseudo-Elections in Belarus 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205940
---
Presidential Elections in Belarus Are Rigged & Falsified Even Before the Elections on December 19th!
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205422
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Presidential Elections in Belarus Are Rigged & Falsified Even Before the Elections on December 19th!
On December 15th, 2010 in Minsk Andrey Sannikov, a candidate for presidency, has lodged two legal applications to the Central Election Commission of Belarus with a demand to withdraw registration of Aleksandr Lukashenko as a presidential candidate, and to relieve from the office the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission Lidiya Yermoshyna.
Under the Law Yermoshyna cannot be the Chair of the Central Election Commission, in the same way as Lukashenko cannot be a candidate for presidency.
It is reminded in the statements of the candidate for presidency Andrey Sannikov, that on December 6-7, 2010 in the Palace of Republic in Minsk a so-called "All-Belarusian People´s Congress" was held.
This propagandistic event was organized in the period of the election campaign, and became a platform for almost 3 hour-long speech of one of the candidates for presidency, Lukashenko. This speech was broadcasted by all state-run TV channels, by radio, and was also published in all state-run newspapers. The other presidential candidates never had a chance like that. State-run TV stations, radio and newspapers are keeping silence about them...
Thus, a prescribed limit of air time for each presidential candidate (two times by 30 minutes) was exceeded, and the additional space in state newspapers was used illegally.
Besides, this event was held in the Palace of Republic, which is not on the list created by Minsk City Executive Committee including premises where meetings of presidential candidates with voters could be held. Second violation of the Law.
The meeting was held with the use of the administrative leverage of the executive power headed by Lukashenko. In particular, the organizing committee was headed by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Sergei Sidorskiy, and the event was financed at the expense of budget money, and not from the electoral fund of the presidential candidate. Third violation of the Law.
As long as Lidiya Yermoshyna has taken part in the "All-Belarusian Congress", Andrey Sannikov demands to relieve her from office.
"European Belarus" leader reminds that sanctions of the European Union are in force against citizen Yermoshyna for rigging the results of the previous election and republican referendum. Yermoshyna herself has stated many times herself, that she is a member of Lukashenka´s team, which is inadmissible and illegal. Yermoshina should take independent position. Fourth violation of the Law.
"Rigging the election results is a grave crime, which distorts will expression of the nation. Belarusian citizens not only have a right to fight with the electoral fraud, but must stand against criminal falsifiers in every way. Under the Law Yermoshyna cannot be the chair of the Central Election Commission, in the same way as Lukashenko cannot be a candidate for presidency.
Yarmoshyna stated that she is a member of Lukashenko´s team, thus excluding any objectivity in actions of the CEC. But it was not enough, and during her working hours she went to the illegal "All-People´s Congress" support her candidate. Lukashenko used dozens millions dollars from the budget to hold the event in his support on October Square. According to the official reports, at the moment of holding this congress his electoral fund had about 13 million Belorussian roubles. It is clear that the "All-Belarusian Congress" was held not out of the electoral fund of the candidate for presidency Lukashenko, as it is required by the law. This is FIFTH VIOLATION of the LAW! Once again as always Lukashenko slipped his hand into the pocket of Belarusians for his mercenary ends. Both Yermoshyna and Lukashenko have confirmed once again that Belarusians must change this corrupt regime quickly," a candidate for presidency in Belarus Andrey Sannikov stated.
"A free and democratic election can really take place if two these characters mentioned above would leave the stage. Their participation makes the upcoming election illegal. It is simply an insult for the Belarusian nation, which deserves a better lot.
We, Belarusian citizens, under the Constitution have a right to change authorities and freely elect our leaders. Even in today´s Constitution formalizes the principle of priority of the international law over the internal one, and international law does not allow fraudulent elections. The law is on our side in these elections. People are waiting for changes, as they had never been waiting for them in the last 16 years of the dictatorship. And it means that we have a chance to celebrate the New Year in a completely different, democratic Belarus," - ended his speech Andrey Sannikov.
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Terror Campaign by Dictator Lukashenko in Belarus 2011:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/209531
---
A Peaceful Mass Protest is Transformed to Mass Riot Criminal Cases By Dictator Lukashenko:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208478
---
Newly Elected President of Belarus is Illegitimate Since 1999 (Arguments & Facts):
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208071
---
Dictator Lukashenko Declared a War Against People of Belarus on December 19th 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/206250
---
Presidential Pseudo-Elections in Belarus 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205940
---
Presidential Elections in Belarus Are Rigged & Falsified Even Before the Elections on December 19th!
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205422
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Presidential Elections in Belarus 2010
On November 18th, 2010 in Minsk The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus has registered 10 people as candidates for the Belarus presidency. They are Gregory Kostusev, Alexander Lukashenko, Aleksei Mikhalevich, Vladimir Nekliaev, Yaroslav Romanchuk, Vitaly Rymashevsky, Andrei Sannikov, Nikolai Statkevich, Viktor Tereshchenko, and Dmitry Uss.
To be successfully nominated as a presidential candidate a person must be a citizen of the Republic of Belarus by birth aged 35 or older. The candidate should be eligible to vote and permanently live in the Republic of Belarus for at least ten years before the elections. He should have no record of convictions.
Candidates are nominated by citizens of the Republic of Belarus. Candidates must obtain at least 100 thousand signatures of voters before the registration and nomination. The CEC has recognized as valid 100870 signatures collected in support of the nomination of Kostusev; 1110149 - Lukashenko; 111399 - Mikhalevich, 180073 - Neklyaev; 123206 - Romanchuk, 102817 - Rymashevsky; 142023 - Sannikov; 111159 - Statkevich, 109012 - Tereshchenko; 104102 - Uss.
Upon receiving the registration card each candidate had a chance to say a few words.
According to Gregory Kostusev: "There are many important things to evaluate the free and fair election campaign. I do not think that this campaign is liberal: there is no freedom of speech, no freedom of agitation, for meetings with voters awkward and uncomfortable places are given by CEC, and there is a very low level of the inclusion of opposition to the electoral commissions. Only 0.25% out of 70815 people".
"The system of today's government is rotten, and it should be changed. Today's government must acknowledge, that it is cheating people since 1996. Alexander Lukashenko can not run for the president for the fourth time. He is illegitimate candidate, "- said at the meeting Pavel Sevyarynets (the representative of Vitaly Rymashevsky). Andrei Sannikov said: "Our country is called the last dictatorship in Europe. It is a shame for our country. But this is true. "
Presidential candidates should start pre-electoral campaigning on November 19. They have a month to convince the voters their candidatures are the best. While live debates among candidates will be broadcast for the first time, analysts doubt whether the elections will truly be free and fair because for the state-run mass media the election is still a minor event. Only brief official reports of the BelTA (Official State Information Agency) related to the election are replicated.
For the first time during the whole election campaign, the regional print media gave the list of persons who may become presidential candidates. Publications on socio-political topics are dominated by preparation for the All-Belarusian Assembly and there is nothing about presidential elections and its main candidates.
Most of the regional state-owned newspapers printed the BelTA material "Opposition Candidate Has No Chances to Win Presidential Election in Belarus - Sociological Poll". The article presents the data of a sociological polling conducted by the Analytical Centre EcooM (in October 2010). According to EcooM, 81 percent of respondents believe that the opposition cannot win the election and there are no worthy candidates among them; while 82.6 percent of the respondents do not trust the opposition.
Belarus will hold the presidential election on December 19th, 2010. To win election, a candidate must poll over 50% of the valid vote, and turnout must be at least 50%. If no candidate receives more than 50% in a first round vote, a second round is held within two weeks between the two candidates who placed highest in the first round. The President is considered elected in the second round if he has polled over 50% of votes of the electors, who have taken part in elections.
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---
Terror Campaign by Dictator Lukashenko in Belarus 2011:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/209531
---
A Peaceful Mass Protest is Transformed to Mass Riot Criminal Cases By Dictator Lukashenko:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208478
---
Newly Elected President of Belarus is Illegitimate Since 1999 (Arguments & Facts):
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/208071
---
Dictator Lukashenko Declared a War Against People of Belarus on December 19th 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/206250
---
Presidential Pseudo-Elections in Belarus 2010:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205940
---
Presidential Elections in Belarus Are Rigged & Falsified Even Before the Elections on December 19th!
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/205422
---
High Officials of Belarus are Suspected to be Involved into Abductions and Murders!
(Suspicious Circumstances of Oleg Bebenin´s Death)
Oleg Bebenin was one of the founders and leaders of Charter97.org website.
The body of Oleg Bebenin was found on September 3rd, 2010 at 5.30 p.m. in his summer cottage not far from Minsk. It has turned out that during the initial inspection of the body a constriction mark was found on the neck of Bebenin, which can be a sign of both a suicide and of a violent death by suffocation or strangulation.
Oleg Bebenin was born in 1974. He graduated from the Belarusian State University, department of journalism. In 1990s he occupied the position of the Deputy Chief Editor of "Imya" (Name), an independent Belarusian newspaper. Since 1998 he was the Founder and the Head of charter97.org website. Oleg Bebenin had a wife and two sons.
A Russian TV channel "Vesti" believes that investigators have made a statement about Oleg Bebenin´s suicide too quickly.
As is reported in "Vesti Nedeli" programme on Sunday, on September 3 in the evening an oppositional journalist Oleg Bebenin was found dead in his summer house in the outskirts of Minsk. He was an audacious critic of Lukashenko and his regime and an active participant of "Charter´97". He was just 36.
It was very quickly stated by investigation agencies that it had been a suicide. The journalist reportedly hanged himself. However neither his family nor acquaintances believe this version and speak about a murder. Oleg Bebenin had vast plans, and he had not left a suicide note. Besides, the journalist was conducting investigation of activities of the so-called "death squadrons" and mysterious disappearances of Belarusian politicians. Meanwhile, the date of the presidential election is to be announced in Belarus soon.
Andrey Sannikov, the leader of "European Belarus" and possible opposition presidential candidate states that the death of the Founder and the Leader of Charter97.org website raises many doubts:
"On request of the family we have withheld information before the results of medico-legal investigation. I visited the site of the tragedy and I must say that I do not believe in suicide of Oleg Bebenin. Many things rise serious doubts. A note has not been found, the latest SMS received by his friends show he planned to go to the cinema on Thursday evening. A week ago Oleg and his family returned from a holiday in Greece. It is strange that the Interior Affairs Ministry is already disseminating the story about his suicide, without waiting for the results of the medico-legal investigation."
"We had extensive plans, we met every day. Oleg is my friend; he is the main member of my team, a brilliant journalist and a very reliable person. I offer my sincere condolences to his wife, parents and all his relatives" - Andrey Sannikov said.
Dmitriy Bondarenko, Charter´97 Coordinator, has commented on the official results of examination of the circumstances surrounding the death of Oleg Bebenin:
"I would like to say that Oleg was not simply a journalist. In a possible Belarusian presidential campaign he was to become one of the leaders of the headquarters of the oppositional candidate for presidency Andrey Sannikov. And all of a sudden the person commits suicide. There is no motive for such behaviour. There is no suicide note, there are no problems at work, he has a dearly loved wife, sons, parents, a brother. The man collects his friends for a premiere screening of a film. The SMS which is known to be the last sent by him was about his coming to "October" cinema at 8 p.m. And then again, all of a sudden the person disappears for about 24 hours, not answering phone calls.
There is a wide gap between the time of death indicated by experts, and it is recorded in the documents. Policemen and workers of prosecutor´s office, including a forensic expert, who arrived to the summer house yesterday, documented that the death occurred around 2 p.m. on September 3. In the certificate of death issued to the family the date of death was the 2nd of September. That means, the gap is more than 15 hours.
Oleg cherished his little son. He was found in a noose made of a rope from a child´s hammock. Such thing is simply impossible. People, who saw Oleg on the day before, said that he was cheerful and energetic, and planned to go to the cinema. He said to his family that he planned some meeting during afternoon on the 2nd of September. We are still trying to find out whom he was to meet and whether they met.
As for the results of the expert examination: in fact, the results of the biochemical analysis of tissues, body organs and humors are to become known only by Wednesday (September 8, 2010). There are lots of other circumstances which make us doubt that Oleg departed out of this world of his own free will," Dmitriy Bondarenko said.
A British Human Rights Organization "Index on Censorship" has raised concerns over the death of one of the leading journalists of Belarus.
As one of the leading lights of Human Rights Organization Charter97, Bebenin had been harassed by the authorities on numerous occasions. In April 1997 he was abducted, reportedly by the KGB, and in September 1999, he was nearly beaten to death by fascist thugs with links to the belarussian KGB. Bebenin ran the charter97.org website, which is the leading source of information on the activities of the Belarussian dictatorship in the country. It comes just 2 months after the implementation of Decree No. 60 - a draconian law that strictly regulates the use of the internet in Belarus.
Mike Harris, the Public Affairs Manager of Index on Censorship, who is in Belarus now said:
"People in Minsk are very nervous, especially those close to Oleg. No suicide note was found, and Oleg just hours before his death had made phone calls to arrange a trip to the cinema with close friends. In recent months he had become increasingly concerned over the safety of fellow human rights activists and feared a repeat of the period 97-99 where he was nearly killed, and scores of dissidents disappeared in suspicious circumstances.
The Presidential election must take place before February next year. So called "president" Lukashenko is tightening the screw on human rights organizations, with arrests and mock executions of youth activists. This "suicide" has sent shock waves through civic society across Belarus," added the British human rights activist.
The Russian media is reporting that the death is likely to have been under the orders of the security services.
In the last year, Charter97 has faced continual intimidation from the authorities. On 6 December 2009, Eugene Afnagel, a youth leader, was kidnapped on the streets of Minsk and taken to the countryside to face a mock execution. Afnagel was told to stop asking questions of the authorities. During summer time of 2010 six youth leaders were subject to kidnappings and mock executions.
On 16 of March, 2010 computers were confiscated in the news office of charter97.org website as part of an indictment in a criminal libel case brought by a former KGB officer.
Recently attention of the KGB and the Interior Affairs Ministry of Belarus was locked on Charter´97. In spring a search was held in its news office and in the apartment of a journalist Iryna Khalip and Andrey Sannikov. Editor-in-chief Natalya Radzina was hit on the face during the search, she told then. The reason for the search was materials of the website about illegal rare animals hunting carried out by high-ranking workers of the Interior Affairs Ministry.
European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek stated on learning of the death of Belarusian journalist - Oleg Bebenin:
"I am deeply moved by this sad event in Belarus. Oleg was working to create a more democratic Belarus through his work with Charter97. I call on the Belarusian authorities to carry out a full and transparent investigation into the death of Oleg Bebenin which will clarify all the circumstances around his tragic death. Our thoughts are with Mr Bebenin's friends and family."
On September, 6 the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) sent a letter to the names of Aleksandr Lukashenko, Head of Interior Ministry Anatoliy Kulyashov and General Prosecutor Grigoriy Vasilevich.
"We are extremely concerned about the atmosphere of fear and intimidation of journalists in Belarus and call upon the authorities of the country to do everything possible to ensure a profound investigation of the case of the death of a journalist Oleg Bebenin and to stop the practice of impunity for those who attacks journalists", - the letters signed by Aidan White, the General Secretary of the European Federation of journalists, say.
Besides suspicious circumstances of Oleg Bebenin´s death, EFJ mentions in its letters the threats, which Chef Editor of "Narodnaya Volya" Svetlana Kalinkina received. "We pay your special attention to the fact, that previous loud cases concerning deaths of Belarusian journalists, did not give any clear answers about their fate. Alongside with it are the cases of Dmitriy Zavadskiy, who disappeared on his way to the Minsk airport on July, 7, 2000, and Veranika Cherkasava, who was brutally slain in her apartment on October, 20, 2004", - EFJ letters say.
In the meanwhile the problem of involuntary disappearance is topical for Belarus. In the year of 1999 two famous oppositionists disappeared in the country without leaving a track- former Minister of Internal Affairs Yury Zaharenko and Vice Speaker of the Supreme Council of XIII Convocation Viktor Ganchar, and also a big businessman Anatoliy Krasouskiy. In summer of 2000 year Dmitriy Zavadskiy an operator of Russian TV channel ORT disappeared without leaving a track.
High officials of Belarus are suspected to be involved into abductions and murders.
Belarusian Journalist Oleg Bebenin Found Dead in His Summer Cottage
Oleg Bebenin was one of the founders and leaders of charter97.org website.
The body of Oleg Bebenin was found August 3rd, 2010 at 5.30 p.m. in his summer cottage not far from Minsk.
Oleg Bebenin was born in 1974. He graduated from the Belarusian State University, department of journalism. In 1990s he occupied the position of the deputy chief editor of "Imya", an independent Belarusian newspaper. Since 1998 he was the founder and head of charter97.org website. Oleg Bebenin had a wife and two sons.
What a great coincidence Aleh was working for the main opposition website in Belarus - http://www.charter97.org/en/news
New Attacks On Opposition
(Minsk, BELARUS, March 16-17, 2010)
On March 16th, 2010 police burst in Charter'97 website's press-room in Minsk, Belarus. Computers were seized. Editor of site Charter97.org Natallya Radzina was beaten. This is connected with professional activities. At about 3 p.m. police officers and people in mufti have burst in the office rented by journalist Natalya Radzina.There were 7 persons in the office during the search. Police officers were justifying that by the fact that they are carrying out operative work on finding a person called Igar Svabodzin in frames of criminal case connected with corruption in law-enforcement structures. Policemen seized the computers and other office equipment.
The policemen were using force to break into the flat. As Natalya Radzina came out of door, they ran down the stairs and pushed her to prevent her locking the door. One of the policemen hit Radzina's face damaging her eye. Only after that they demonstrated official order for the search signed by prosecutor of Gomel region Valyantsina Shayevaya.
Inspector of Leninski district police department Alaksandr Tchuy was in charge for the search. About 10 policemen of Leninski district police department and Minsk city police department were taking part in the search together with unidentified persons in black masks. Only police officers captain Andrei Kryvalevich and captain Dzmitry Kanyuhevich identified themselves. Masked people reacted in Nazi hail when they were asked to identify themselves. Eight computers were seized as a result.
"Policemen were dressed in mufti, and behaved like thugs while breaking into the office. They hit my face for executing my professional duty. It is obvious that they are trying to shut us up and to seize our opportunity to say the truth. And it is not occasionally. Just yesterday our site published the information that leader of "European Belarus" Andrei Sannikov will nominate for presidency. Today the office is ruined, journalists beaten, computers confiscated. This is both stupid and terrible. Yes, it will be harder for us to work. But we will continue our work and masked thugs with Nazi hails will not stop us. Lukashenka's regime embarassed itself with its shameful behavior again because they are so afraid of freedom of speech and real opponent on the elections," - said editor of Charter97.org Natalya Radzina.
A special press-conference of "European Belarus" leader Andrei Sannikov, the editor-in-chief of charter97.org website Natallya Radzina (Radina) and a journalist of "Narodnaya Volya" Maryna Koktysh was held on March 17 in Minsk.
We remind that yesterday policemen forced entry to charter97.org news office and seized all computers. The editor-in-chief of the news website Natalya Radzina was punched. Searches wer also held in the flat of "European Belarus" leader Andrei Sannikov and his wife, a well-known journalist Iryna Khalip, in the office of "Narodnaya Volya" newspaper and in the flat of a journalist of the newspaper Maryna Koktysh. During the searches all office equipment and data carriers were seized.
"What is happening has nothing to do with the so-called "hunters' case". It is obvious now. The hunt has been started, if we are speaking about "hunters' case", against independent journalism, independent mass media, and the most popular news outlets, charter97.org website and "Narodnaya Volya" newspaper, "Belarusian partisan" website.
It is no mere chance that these events took place on March 16. It is the Day of Solidarity. Not only searches and attacks have taken place, but the trial over political prisoners Mikalai Autukhovich, rallies of solidarity disbanded, people are arrested. All day long police, KGB, special services simply demonstrated how they are frightened by these days of solidarity. And solidarity is what we need today. Solidarity of Belarusians and solidarity worldwide. We know that it has aroused a reaction in the world, and the reaction is to become stronger. I can say that Alyaksandr Lukashenka should start forgetting about Western loans, as I do not know who would lobby his interests now, finance the dictatorship which is demonstrating its real face more and more clearly," stated the leader of "European Belarus" civil campaign.
As said by the politician, now the world is also waiting for the reaction of Belarusians to the events taking place in their county.
"Days of solidarity are to become actions of solidarity. And the nearest occasion is our holiday, Freedom Day March 25. We know that organizers have applied for holding a rally, leaflets have appeared, organizational work is done. Nobody should intimidate us, and we shouldn't be intimidated. Belarusians are strong people, but we must understand that not attacks against journalists, against the free press, some politicians, but against the entire Belarusian nation are taking place now. Belarusians should make their statement, demonstrate their reaction to the total lawlessness. The changes are close. I am sure about that, I believe in that. And what is going on now demonstrates that Lukashenka's regime has no answers to really tough challenges of the time, has no answers to the crisis; no reforming of the economic system is taking place, life standards are worsening, and dictatorship simply does not want to hear the truth we are telling Andrei Sannikov noted that repressions will continue: yesterday late in the night policemen tried to burst in the premises of Aleh Bebenin, Charter'97 press-secretary, and to a coordinator of "European Belarus" Zmitser Bandarenka. It is not excluded that these attempts may continue.
"But again, it depends on how we would bear it and on how we would react," Sannikov is convinced.
Belarusians and the world," "European Belarus" leader said.
During the press-conference, Natalya Radzina, charter97.org editor, expressed gratitude to Belarusian and foreign journalists, human rights organizations for their solidarity and support during yesterday's raid to the news office. According to the journalist, the attack of policemen against her and her workers, as well as seizure of al computers, shows that the regime had decided not to wait for July 1, when the hideous Lukashenka's decree on censorship on Internet in Belarus is to come to force.
"The fear of the authorities is obvious. On March 14 we publish Andrei Sannikov's interview, who had stated his intention to run for presidency, on March 16 searches and seizure of equipment is carried out in our news office. The regime is in such a fear that they cannot wait, they need to squeeze, strangle everything free which is still left. Judging by the course of events, a unit of measure of freedom of speech in Belarus could be called 1 chuj, or 1 korzh. Ivan Korzh is KGB man who had been allegedly labeled by journalists, and Alyaksandr Chuj is an investigator of the police department of Leninski district, who with his guys zealously burst into the news office of Charter'97 website. But I want to assure you that you won't be able to suppress us. Yes, it is even more difficult for us to work, but we will perform our professional and human duty - to day the truth," Radzina said.
We remind that yesterday during the asttempt to force entry to the editorial office of the website, policemen in mufti punched the journalist's face. Natalya Radzina has a hematoma of the eye area, and today she is set to complain to the prosecutor's office against such actions of policemen.
During the press-conference a journalist of "Narodnaya Volya" newspaper Martyna Koktysh, whose apartment and the editorial office had been searched too, informed that she read in the documents shown by policemen that a criminal case related to defamation of Homel regional KGB head Ivan Korzh, a formal ground for searches, was initiated on December 31, 2009. The search warrant was written by the head of Homel Interior Affairs Department on February 23, 2010, and the paper that a search should be carried out in the flat of the journalist arrived from Homel to Minsk on March 4. The search was held on March 16. Thus, the warrants for searches had been signed before and were waiting for their time.
Answering questions of journalists what a reaction of the European Union to the events in Belarus should be, Andrei Sannikov stated:
"The reaction of the EU should be unambiguous - they must admit defeat of their inapt policy of "reforming" the dictator, admit that democratization is not taking place on its own. They should understand that there are no democratic institutions, independent press, independent courts in Belarus. And the reaction should be adequate, they should stop playing these games.
These games lead to destroying of the nation, to destroying of the independent state".
"New" Human Rights in Belarus & Iran in 2009?
[ Old Human Rights Are Useless For Dictatorships ]
Head of the judicial system of Iran visited Minsk and called on Belarus to give a new definition to terms human rights, freedom of speech, racism, discrimination, and terrorism.Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi said at a meeting with Barys Batura, head of the National Assembly of Belarus:
"The hegemonic countries and colonialist countries misuse these terms and have turned them into an instrument of enforcing their will and interests upon other peoples. We and you must do our best to help all freedom-minded peoples to live how they want!" he noted.
Batura said in turn that Belarus regarded Iran as the most important and powerful country's partner in the Middle East and the Islamic world. "I think this visit will confirm our future serious work over legal basis of our cooperation," the speaker of the lower house of the parliament said.
In the morning April 29, 2009 Head of the Supreme Court of Belarus Valyantsin Sukala received an official delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran leaded by Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, head of the judicial system.
"Our guest told about peculiarities of the judicial system of Iran and expressed his hopes for more active cooperation between the two agencies," Zlata Hurynovich, press secretary of the Supreme Court said. "The parties discussed cooperation in the legal sector and set task for the future during the meeting."
After the negotiations in the Supreme Court a motorcade of six black Mercedeses drove to the Administration of Lukashenko. The Irani delegation plans to have meetings with the leadership of the Ministry of Justice and the Belarusian ruler.
According to the Russian Institute of Israel and Middle East Studies, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi occupies an honourable place in the old guard of the power class. He has a title Seyyed meaning he refers to descendants of the prophet Muhammad. Shahroudi has been actively engaged in the public politics since 1999, when he became the head of the judicial system of Iran (one of the three branches of the government).
Shahroudi belongs to the so called Iraqi clan of the ruling Shia class of Iran.
It should be noted that Iran is second only after China in the number of capital punishments: in 2008, 226 people were executed. Public executions are very popular in the country, among them previously used stoning. In January 2008, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi imposed a ban on public executions, expect for those approved by him "in case of social need".
Shahroudi holds a strong position on the Iran's nuclear program. He supports mastering the complete nuclear fuel cycle at any cost. According to the head of the judicial system, the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran should use all possible political and economic measures to achieve secure access to peaceful nuclear power.
Long Live Free Democratic European BELARUS!
( March 25th - 91st Anniversary of the Belarusian National Republic )
Thousands of armed soldiers of the interior troops were brought to Minsk on March 25th, 2009. On the day when the country was celebrating the anniversary of the Belarusian National Republic proclamation, the authorities in fact imposed a state of emergency in the capital. How ironic and sad it is.Belarus marked the 91st anniversary of the Belarusian National Republic on March 25th, the event that gave the beginning to establishment of independent Belarus. Organizers of the action, the BPF party, applied for holding a rally from the Academy of Sciences to October square. The Minsk authorities permitted the participants to gather in front of the Academy of Sciences and traditionally permitted a rally not to the city center, but to Banhalor square, a bedroom district. The action organizers said a decision by the authorities on prohibition of a peaceful demonstration dedicated to the national holiday was unlawful and the people who would come to the Academy of Sciences would choose where they should go.
Oppositionists were preventively arrested ahead of the action. Militia and traffic militia officers in regions detained youth activists, going to Minsk for the demonstration on March 25. Apartments of activist of the civil campaign "European Belarus" and "Young Front" were searched ahead and on the demonstration. Young people were seized national flags, banners, and printed materials. Youth activists were detained an hour before the rally, militiamen were catching them in streets, beating, taking away banners and leaflets.
Nevertheless, some thousands people gathered near the Academy of Sciences at 6.00 p.m. A large number of national and EU flags created an atmosphere of a holiday. Besides flags, Minsk dwellers brought red and white balloons and flowers. Many people came with their families and children.
Leader of the civil campaign "European Belarus" Andrei Sannikov, former chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus Stanislau Shushkevich, BPF party leaders Lyavon Barshcheuski, Viktar Ivashkevich, and Vintsuk Vyachorka, coordinator of Charter'97 Zmitser Bandarenka, leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka, leader of the Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada) Mikola Statkevich, activists of the civil campaign "European Belarus" Zmitser Barodka, Yauhen Afnahel, Paval Yukhnevich, co-head of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Paval Sevyarynets, leader of the "Young Front" Zmitser Dashkevich, leader of the "Young Belarus" Artur Finkevich, People's Artist of Belarus Zinaida Bandarenka, deputy head of the United Civil Party Lyudmila Hraznova, People's Poet of Belarus Henadz Buraukin, popular playwright Uladzimir Khalip, and other famous people took part in the demonstration.
Demonstrators were holding huge white-red-white breadths of cloth, streamers "European Belarus!", "Freedom to political prisoners", "Belarus to Europe!" Slogans "Long live Belarus!" and "Independence!" were heard all the time.
A short meeting was held in front of the Academy of Sciences. Speakers (opposition leaders, intellectuals, youth leaders) congratulated Belarusians on Freedom Day, expressing confidence that sooner or later the day would be celebrated as a state holiday.
The Belarusian Popular Front Party leader asked those participants of the rally who support Lukashenko's regime raise their hands. In a silence no one raised a hand. Lyavon Barshcheuski stated that on March 24th applicants sent a letter to Minsk city executive committee stating that Surhanau Street is not adjusted for marching of great quantities of people, that is why demonstrators won't be ale to go to Bangalore Square where the meeting was sanctioned by city authorities.
The chairman of the organizing committee for creation of the Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada) Mikola Statkevich stated that nobody is going to go "to the swamp, to a ground for walking dogs". "It is impossible to stand there with the holy white-red-white flag and our sacred symbols," the politician stated.
At last BPF deputy head Viktar Ivashkevich called on the participants of the action to from a human chain along Independence Avenue holding flags and banners and stand there for an hour, reminding people about freedom Day, political prisoners.
A part of people formed a human chain on advice of Viktar Ivashkevich. But a column of youth of 500 people moved to October square shouting "Independence!", "No to Union with Imperial Russia!", "Freedom to Political Prisoners!" the column consisted of activists of the civil campaign "European Belarus", "Young Front", and "Young Belarus".
The young oppositionists managed to walk only 100 meters and their way was blocked by hundreds of riot militiamen armed with batons at intersection of Independence Avenue and Brouka Street. A hundred of riot militiamen formed columns on both sides of the avenue.
Then youth leaders Yauhen Afnagel and Artur Finkevich called upon demonstrators to refuse to be drawn in authorities' provocations. As said by them, actions of law enforcers against peaceful demonstrators showed the real face of "liberalization" declared by the Belarusian regime.
A column of young people went back to the Academy of Sciences. Young people tried to walk into the traffic area of Independence Avenue, but they were forced away from the avenue. This time they were pushed back by traffic policemen.
The rally lasted for about an hour more. People were standing on the avenue's border with flags and streamers, chanting "Long live Belarus!", the cars passing by honked in support, some people joined the chain.
When the rally finished in about an hour, buses and trucks with internal troops soldiers started to arrive from the streets near Independence Avenue. Only from Hikala street, near Yakub Kolas square, 44 buses and trucks with people in uniform appeared! There were even more buses and trucks near the Academy of Science where the rally was held.
A few thousands of soldiers were sent against Belarusians celebrating the national holiday just to confirm that the dictatorship in Belarus will die sooner or later.
Long Live Free Democratic European BELARUS!
Street Actions Around The World Against Dictatorship in Belarus
( March 18th, 2009 )
Street actions against Lukashenko's dictatorship are to take place in many cities around the world on March 18, 2009The events are timed to the anniversary of Lukashenko's election victory in 2006 which is not recognized by the international community. The protest is organized by Brussels-based international political non-governmental organisation the JEF-Europe (Young European Federalists) and their partners.
Organisers of the actions explain that it is dedicated specifically to Belarus, the last dictatorship in Europe. In more than 100 cities people are to protest against the unjust regime and demand the struggle against dictatorships to become one of the priorities in the foreign policy of the European Union.
"On 18 March 2009 European youth will remind our leaders and civil society that Europe is not a dictatorship-free continent," the JEF-Europe stresses.
They underline that the Belarusian dictatorship exists for 15 years, but the EU hasn't had clear policy towards the situation in Belarus. EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels confirmed their decision NOT TO IMPOSE (?!) visa bans on Belarusian officials. And it sounds real strange. Why did they do that? So the authorities can rig the results of the elections and nobody gets punished for
doing that? Do they do the same it in other European countries? Why only
people in Belarus need to suffer from unwise EU decisions?
The EU imposed travel sanctions on Lukashenko and 41 Belarusian officials after the presidential elections 2006. In October 2008, the EU foreign ministers suspended visa ban on Belarusian officials, including Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The EU ministers agreed to discuss the situation in six month to decide whether to reimpose the ban depending on the human rights situation in Belarus.
None of the positive changes happened in Belarus during those six month! Political repressions in the country have gone wild. New political prisoners have appeared. Leaders of entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau, and Uladzimir Asipenka were arrested in Vaukavysk in February. "Young Front" activist Artsyom Dubski, participant of the Case of 14, was arrested in February, too. Forceful draft into the army can be observed in Belarus. In spite of medical condition, Franak Vyachorka, Ivan Shyla, and Zmitser Khvedaruk were call up for military service. Human rights activist Yana Palyakova, pressed by the Belarusian authorities, committed suicide. So authorities can kill people in Belarus and then go to Europe on vacations???
Rights of opposition activists Alyaksei Bondar, Mikhail Kryvau, Mikhail Pashkevich, Alyaksandr Straltsou, Alyaksandr Charnyshou, Tatsyana Tsishkevich, Mikhail Subach, Paval Vinahradau, Maksim Dashuk, and Alyaksandr Barazenka, sentenced to restraint of liberty for participation in protest rallies of entrepreneurs, remain restricted.
Not only opposition activists but most of the Belarusian people stand for tightening sanctions against the Belarusian authorities. "Brussels must make it clear that freedom of the press and NGOs and above all respect for human rights, especially with regard to the opposition, are prerequisites for any EU gains and EU entry for Belarus officials", Toni Giugliano, Action Co-ordinator wrote.
The cities where the action will take place include not only European ones (Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, Paris, Helsinki, Berlin, Warsaw, Geneva, Stockholm, London, Kyiv, Petersburg, Riga) but also Dubai, New York, Pretoria and so on. As for Belarus, it is said in the statement that the action will take place in the country also, but its place is not disclosed because of security reasons.
Who Needs Lukashenko's Regime to be Rescued & Why?
[ Belarus 2009 ]
Recently among the people mentioned in the oppositional discourse, the ideas like "we should talk with the regime, help them receive loans form the West" are propagandized more and more insistently, Lyavon Barshcheuski writes at the website of the Belarusian Popular Front party:http://www.pbnf.org
Why such things should be done? They say that otherwise:
- "the regime would surrender Belarus' independence",
- "our citizens would suffer from the economical crisis",
- "our people won't understand the opposition," and so on and so forth.
It means that such politicians offer to RESCUE - no, not the country's sovereignty, not the interests of our citizens, but the REGIME.
Do not worry, dear sirs; the regime knows how to rescue itself better than we do. It in the same regime that once rescued itself when banned publishing anti-corruption report by Syarhei Antonchyk in most popular newspapers; when the legally elected parliament was deprived of "Narodnaya gazeta" by force.
It was rescuing itself when on April 12, 1995 overnight an order was made to brutally beat up deputies of the Belarusian Popular Front in the Supreme Soviet.
The regime was rescuing itself when wheeling-dealing referendums were held in 1995, 1996 and in 2004.
Hangmen in the government agencies were rescuing themselves, leaving the families of Yury Zakharanka, Henadz Karpenka, Viktar Hanchar, Zmitser Zavadski without breadwinners, and seizing freedom of Mikola Markevich, Viktar Ivashkevich, Paval Mazhejka, Paval Sevyarynets, Mikola Statkevich, Andrei Klimau, Mikola Astrejka, Alyaksandr Kazulin, Andrei Kim, Zmitser Dashkevich, Anton Kishkurna, for a long time.
The regime was rescuing itself adopting unconstitutional repressive acts against freedom of meetings, demonstrations, pickets, against freedom of expression.
The regime counted upon its immortality and indestructibility, when they forcibly changed school and university programs on history, literature, social science, expelled children and teachers of the Belarusian Humanities Lyceum, squeezed the European Humanities University into emigration.
It was rescuing itself, signing commitments to mass media in Minsk and Istanbul declaration with commitments to the world community.
It was rescuing itself selling oil, gas and raw materials to our enterprises at speculative prices, and gagged our intellectuals by millions of rubles from them not to take part in protest rallies in such a deceitful way.
The regime was looking for a way to rescue itself by expelling from educational institutions, firing and blacklisting hundreds and thousands of people only for daring to say aloud what they think.
It was rescuing itself by public sneering at the independent Union of Belarusian Writers, having reduced many of its members to indigence; by illegal imprisonment of Yury Khadyka, Alyaksei Marachkin, Valyantsin Holubeu, Yazep Yanushkevich, Ales Zhlutka; by malicious beating up of Radzim Haretski, Valery Mazynski, Adam Maldzis, Uladzimir Markhel.
Lickspittles who can exist only near the trough were rescuing this regime, hitting on the face of Svyatlana Zavadskaya by a "brave man's hand", compelling young people to join the army though they are not able to serve because of their state of health.
And now it means that we should lend our shoulders to the regime and rescue THEM?!.. Now inept politicians in short trousers are asking: give these people money for them not to perish. Help them, they are poor things, as Belarus won't be able to exist without them: they are leaders of the state, and they allow us to sleep in our house - under the bench.
And maybe someday some of us would be kindly given a position with high salary in their "chamber" or at least invited for a soulful conversation and a cup of coffee with the editor-in-chief of the "correct" newspaper.
There is an old proverb: "While a fatty loses weight, a thin one starves to death". A conclusion could be made: let us not allow the "fatty" (that is, the current regime) become attenuated by hunger, otherwise we all will kick the bucket. It is improper conclusion. "The fat boy" won't lose weight anyway. And what about us? And we can accidentally kick the bucket, if we would listen to such advisers, certainly.
Lyavon Barshcheuski,
the Belarusian Popular Front Party Leader
---
http://www.pbnf.org
---
Declaration of Human Rights is Banned in Belarus!
Minsk, December 10th, 2008
The vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights comments on the arrests in Minsk at 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights proclamation.
"It is an unpleasant and disappointing fact, that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is banned for distribution in the country that signed it," Ales Byalyatski, vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights, told in an interview to the Charter'97 press center.
On December 10, human rights activists, distributing the Declaration of Human Rights on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its proclamation, were arrested on Independence Avenue of Minsk. In total, more than 20 people including youth activists, distributing the declaration, were detained. Among the detained were Ales Byalyatski, Uladzimir Labkovich, Aleh Matskevich, Maryna Statkevich, and Syarhei Sys.
"We were handing around texts of the Declaration of Human Rights and leaflets about violations of human rights in Belarus. Unfortunately, we failed to hold an action according to our plan. We were detained by militiamen in mufti and guarded to the Tsentralny District Militia Department where we spent three hours. They wrote down our personal data and we were released without any explanations," Ales Byalyatski said.
Militia officers didn't introduce themselves though they must show their identity documents by law. The human rights activists were released. No reports were drawn up. Physical force was used against them during the detention.
"I can't say exactly who detained us because they were in mufti. Militia officers didn't introduce themselves, though we asked them to. They were rude, shoved the girls," Ales Byalyatski added.
According to him, more than 30 human rights defenders and youth activists took part in the rally.
A great number of militia and riot militia can be seen in the center of Minsk today. They repress all attempts to hold street action on the Human Rights Day.
On December 10, human rights activists of Hrodna organized a street action dedicated to the 60th anniversary of proclamation of the Declaration of Human Rights. Riot militiamen detained Viktar Sazonau, Uladzimir Khilmanovich, Yan Roman, Aleh Kalinkou and other participants of the action.
Parliamentary Elections 2008 Results in Belarus Were Rigged Again
(No surprise there!)
MINSK, 29 September 2008 - Despite some minor improvements, the 28 September parliamentary elections in Belarus ultimately fell short of OSCE commitments for democratic elections, international observers from the OSCE concluded in a preliminary statement issued today.The election took place in a strictly controlled environment with a barely visible campaign, said the observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA).
Voting was generally well conducted, but the process deteriorated considerably during the vote count. Promises to ensure transparency of the vote count were not implemented. The count was assessed as bad or very bad in 48 per cent of polling stations visited. Where access was possible, several cases of deliberate falsification of results were observed.
OSCE monitors were prevented or hindered from observing the vote count in 35 per cent of cases. This compromised the transparency of this fundamental element of the election process.
"The clear signals to improve the election process were not implemented and substantial improvements are required if Belarus is to conduct genuinely democratic elections in line with our common OSCE commitments. Unfortunately the repeated signals of good will did not seem to have been correctly given or received. Consequently the significant progress we hoped for in the democratic development of Belarus did not materialize," said Anne-Marie Lizin, Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observers.
"I'm hopeful and disappointed at the same time. Hopeful because when we came here it seemed that there was some wind of change in the election environment; disappointed because we were unable to see a problem solved that has been with election observation in this country for a long time, and that is the non-transparency of the vote count. But we hope that the improved co-operation we have experienced during this election can be the basis for a genuine dialogue on implementing our recommendations", said Ambassador Geert Ahrens, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission.
Positive developments included the slightly increased access of opposition representatives to election commissions, the decision to rebroadcast once the five-minute candidate spots during prime time, and the recommendation to seal ballot box slots overnight during the five-day early voting period. Some opposition candidates noted progress in their ability to conduct meetings in authorized locations without interference.
The legislative framework continues to present obstacles for elections in line with OSCE commitments. The media coverage of the campaign did not provide meaningful information for voters to be able to make an informed choice. Political parties played a minor role, and restrictions imposed by the state authorities did not allow for a vibrant campaign with real competition.
The OSCE deployed some 450 international observers from 43 countries, including more than 320 short-term observers and 58 experts and long-term observers fielded by ODIHR, as well as 66 parliamentarians and staff from the OSCE PA.
The OSCE/ODIHR monitoring mission didn't recognise the "parliamentary elections" in Belarus free and democratic. The heads of the mission of international observers noted that considerable violations had been found at all stages of the election campaign. The elections fell short of OSCE standards.
OSCE recommendations weren't fulfilled. Observers note that votes counting was held behind the closed doors. Observers had no access to votes counting, process of monitoring the "elections" was complicated, facts of rigging the voting results were noticed. We have all grounds to think strict administrative control was exercised over the electoral process. A subjective of an electoral campaign is offering choice for voters. However, electoral freedom was restricted by the Belarusian authorities. The Belarusian authorities need changes in order for the country to set a course of democratisation and progress, said Anne-Marie Lizin, Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Special Co-coordinator of the OSCE short-term observers.
Geert Ahrens, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission said he was disappointed in the running and results of the "parliamentary elections" in Belarus. According to him, "we were unable to see a problem solved that has been with election observation in this country for a long time, and that is the non-transparency of the vote count". Mr Ahrens noted that OSCE observers had recorded violations at all stages of the electoral campaign.
Results of the "elections" in Belarus have become a subject of top level politicians' comments.
Lech Kaczy%u0144ski, the President of the Republic of Poland, has made several statements on the subject on air of Radio Bialystok on September 29.
Polish president has stated that he does not believe transparency and democratic nature of the "parliamentary elections" in Belarus.
L. Kaczy%u0144ski noted that the "election" was a step in a right direction for Belarus, however, "A ballot is democratic only when the regime has no possibilities to control the process [of voting]. "When there are possibilities for control, it always signalize about danger, and means that there is no democracy," the Polish president said.
To his mind, a process of changing ruling elites should take place in Belarus. "In other words, Lukashenko should be a person who understands that loss of power is not a failure, but it is normal," L. Kaczy%u0144ski said. "But there are no signs that Lukashenko finds loss of power a normal process".
The results of the "election" in 110 constituencies show none of the opposition figures has got to the "house of representatives".
Head of the Central Election Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna said it at a press conference in Minsk today.
The "election" ended in the first voting. According to the official data, turnout was 75.3 per cent.
This election was the most non-alternative in the history of modern Belarus. Only 2.4 candidates contested for a seat in the "house of representatives". Election was non-alternative in 15 constituencies, with one representative of the authorities. The number of constituencies without democratic candidates was 40.
There were no democratic candidates in 9 out of 20 constituencies in Minsk. 263 candidates run in the "election". 365 people applied for registration. About 80 applicants weren't registered, more than 20 withdrew their candidatures.
An extremely low rate of representatives of the opposition political parties in polling station election commissions - only 47 people out of 69.865 (0.07 per cent) demonstrates that there was no fair votes counting and the results were rigged again, the opposition thinks.
Belarus Background Reading that Might Come in Handy!
Parliamentary Election in Belarus 2008
(What Happens When Nobody Controls the Government)
Belarus will conduct a Parliamentary Election on September 28, 2008. And Belarus "President" Lukashenko promises his country's upcoming election will be open and democratic. So, let's talk about democracy (and regular dictatorship in between the lines).Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by people under a free and fair electoral system. What happens if there is no free and fair electoral system? And what happens if the whole electoral system is controlled by the government. Who is controlling the government? Nobody! The main thing is when there is no democracy - there is no control by the people over the government's actions. Ask the people of Zimbabwe do they want to live with no food, no water and 2000000% inflation. Probably, they don't. And, probably, that's what can happen when people loose control over their government.
So, when there is no control, there is no balance of power, there is no law, there is no opposition, no freedoms, no human rights, because two main principles of democracy are purposely destroyed by the government. The first principle is: all members of the society have equal access to power. And the second one is: all members of the society enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties. So, when people are separated from voting, or when they can vote for the government's candidates only, they are abused by the "tyranny" of the undemocratic dictatorial government. They are misinformed by the government's mass media and are not able to vote in their own personal interests. So, the dictatorial government does not care about people, and their votes, and their personal interests. The dictatorial government is pursuing their own personal interests and can easily falsify the results of any elections in the interests of so called president, his pocket ministers and bureaucratic representatives (in short, president's gang members).
As we know, Belarus is a presidential republic, governed (or plundered) by an illegitimate president and the National Assembly consisting of the 110-member House of Representatives, the lower house, and 64-member Council of the Republic, the upper house. Therefore, the President, Prime Minister, National Assembly, Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court, and the Constitutional Court, basically couple of hundreds of elite people in charge have ALL THE POWER what they need to do anything (stealing, killing, selling Belarus to Russia) without the rest about 10 million Belarusian people's concern.
Since the first president's election in July 1994, he consolidated all the power in his hands and dominated all branches of the government. He used a non-democratic November 1996 Referendum to amend the 1994 Constitution in order to broaden his powers and illegally extend his term in the office. This was the first time when he stole votes from the people of Belarus. After that he learned fast how to falsify any elections. Then he stole some terms in power for his personal use and began to count his 5-year term not from July 1994 but November 1996, taking illegally two more years of power. After his re-election in 2001 Lukashenko fell in love with massive vote-counting fraud forgetting forever any common standards of fairness. In 2004 he did it again fraudulently removing presidential term limits. No wander that March 2003 local elections and October 2004 parliamentary elections failed to meet any international standards. In March 2006 he re-elected himself again disregarding rights and freedoms of all Belarusian people.
What a shame!
Going back to a Parliamentary Election of October 12, 2008 there are 6523 polling stations with 110 district commissions and only 0,05% of the opposition control. How the parliament elected through not-open to voters' control polling stations can be legal? What kind of open and democratic election is that?
What Belarusian people and the opposition can not understand is that nobody is going to help them, not the US, not the EU, they have to help themselves. Every Belarus should finally admit that any election with the present "president" and his gang will be fraud and farce, and people's vote will be rigged as usual leaving then powerless to change anything again and again (for centuries?). For how long they can suffer because of the unworthy, corrupt, ignorant, illegal government obstructing any progress in Belarus. There is no better life, no progress without democracy, without legitimate elections. Did you travel to North Korea, Zimbabwe or Cuba lately? Do you want to see how people can live without any control over their government? The answer is simple; most of the people are hungry, oppressed and living in fear in very poor conditions after tens of years of rigged elections.
This time every person in Belarus should boycott the government's "election" and demand a new open, free and fair real election for all the people of Belarus. People should demand of the present government to return to the Constitution of 1994, reconsider all amendments and get dismissed. New democratic government should be elected. What the EU and US can not understand is that Belarus is not a "vassal" of Russia, the present government is. Most of Belarusian people are pro-European and pro-democratic but they never had a chance their voice to be heard during the last 14 years of Lukashenko's dictatorship. The Council of the Republic has the right to launch an investigation into charges of treason or other major crime brought by the lower chamber against the president and to dismiss the president by a two-thirds majority. All new members of the National Assembly should be elected democratically this time. Only Belarusian people themselves should fight for their rights. The real opposition is more than 9 million of people, just help them to make an informative decision, and just tell people the truth one on one.
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Ready, set, debate
Only an unworthy ignorance is obstructing progress in any human society.
Is Belarus 2011 a democracy?
Belarus 2011 is a Dictatorship?
MiaBellezza says:
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.
I know nothing about the country like that.
Reader Feedback
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Inkhand
Dec 29, 2011 @ 8:27 am | delete
- A very informative lens. Indeed, freedom is a merciless struggle. As Churchill put it: ?All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.?
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CPDInteractive
Dec 19, 2011 @ 1:32 am | delete
- Thanks for sharing such a good knowledge.
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