New facts of forced signing for Aliaksandr Lukashenka
Brest
A worker of the central city library of Brest phoned to the editorial board of the Brestsiy Kurier newspaper and told that the administration of the library obliged all its workers to bring their passport and sign in support of the nomination of Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s candidacy for the presidential election.
The local human rights defenders also found that such orders were given to all institutions to the library net of Brest. Meanwhile, the librarians are warned that their labor contracts may not be extended if they didn’t sign for Lukashenka.
Minsk
A week ago workers of the republican Unitarian enterprise Institute of Pedology and Agrochemistry were told that there was no use signing for other candidates than Lukashenka. At first it sounded as a warning that all information from the Central Election Commission would be passed to the employers.
The administration didn’t specify what punishment the scientists would receive, but advised them not to check it.
Moreover, some pre-electoral measures were taken in the institute to prevent collectors of signatures for Lukashenka’s opponents from coming there. The workers aren’t issued vacation leaves and even their sick leaves are checked more thoroughly.
On 8 October the workers of the institute were also asked to come to their head with their passports. Nobody threatened or promised to dismiss them. However, according to one of the workers (name withheld), they were said that they were warned and they shouldn’t complain afterwards if they didn’t sign for Lukashenka now.
In his TV speech Lukashenka stated about the cessation of collection of signatures in his support and urged the people to sign for his opponents. In fact, the forced signing and intimidation of people continues. Either the administration of the Institute of Pedology and Agrochemistry didn’t watch the news yesterday and wasn’t aware about the new policy of Lukashenka’s electoral team, or he is insincere and intends to get up to 1 million of signatures in his support.
Babruisk
The Babruisk human rights defenders learned that the heads of the kindergartens located in the 5th and the 6th suburbs of Babruisk collect signatures for Aliaksandr Lukashenka among kindergarteners.
Forced signing for Lukashenka also takes place in the dormitory of the automobile college. The students who turned 18 years old were ordered to bring their passports and put signatures for Lukashenka. Those who refuse are threatened with deprival of room in the hostel.
Baranavichy
On 7 October 2010 the Deputy Chairperson of the education department of the Brest Town Executive Committee Maryia Sviatlakova held a counsel with the teachers who belong electoral team of Aliaksandr Lukashenka and blankly demanded that each of them must collect at least 200 signatures in support of his candidacy.
The discontented teachers don’t know their rights and are afraid to lose their jobs, so they complain to their neighbors, colleagues and human rights defenders, not to the procuracy.
A similar situation exists in Baranavichy State University. The administration of this educational establishment stated that the students who hadn’t signed for Lukashenka would be expelled from the university on convenient pretexts. By the way, such methods were used by Baranavichy State University during the previous election.
The local human rights defenders collect all these facts in order to compose a complaint to the city prosecutor about the unlawful actions of the administration of the Baranavichy State University and the education department of the Baranaviachy TEC.
Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections
