15.03.2010 Week of election campaign: numbers, events and comments
The last week completely discredited the myth about the 'liberalization' of the election process in Belarus. The results of one of the most important stages of the campaign, the formation of precinct election commissions, just confirmed the pessimistic prognoses of the country's democratic community: the authorities retain the control over the poll. The representation of the democratic community in the precinct election commissions is scanty.
09.03.2010 Election campaign: numbers and tendencies of the week
As far as the well-known Stalin's principle 'votes doesn't matter, what matters is who and how counts them' is still actual for Belarus, the week past was very important for the election campaign, because this period was connected with the nomination of representatives to precinct commissions – those who count the votes. This stage of the elections ended on the last day of the week. Now the election committees will decide who to trust to count the poll. The week was also defined by the active nomination of candidates to deputies and presentation of the necessary documents to the appropriate territorial and constituency election commissions. This process will last till 15 March. These two simultaneous processes and the general political atmosphere against the background of which they were taking place were in the focus of attention of the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections.
05.03.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in January 2010
In January, the election to the Local Councils of the 26th Convocation started in Belarus. According to Presidential decree #21 of 18 January 2010, the election was appointed to 26 April. It was the first campaign carried under the amended Election Code. As soon as the decree was published, Belarusian human rights defenders started monitoring the electoral process all over Belarus within the frames of the campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections. One of their aims was to analyze the practical implementation of new provisions of the electoral legislation. According to these innovations, the subjects who nominated their representatives to election commissions received the right to appeal their non-inclusion in the commissions. A number of public and political activists used this right and applied to court.
06.01.2010 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in December 2009
At the end of the year its results were summed up. On 22 December the leadership of the United Democratic Forces of Belarus held a press-conference at which it was stated that this year the situation for the opposition was no better than last year. The country again has political prisoners, the Ministry of Justice again denies state registration to political parties and NGOs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies accreditation to foreign media and their correspondents. Besides, democratic activists are kidnapped by unidentified persons and are arrested for participation in unauthorized peaceful street actions.
09.12.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in November 2009
In Belarus November started with the population's panic caused by the epidemic of an acute virus disease that often brought such complication as pneumonia. On 4 November Liliya Ananich, the first Deputy Minister of Information, stated the ministry 'will stop any attempts to misinform the population of the country'. The same day Valiantsina Kachan, Deputy Minister of Health, voiced the data from which it followed that 19 people had died of pneumonia during the two last weeks. All of them were tested for swine flu and in seven cases the tests were positive. This was all official information. Meanwhile, for 2-29 November 170 819 cases of swine flu and acute respiratory viral infection were registered in Homel oblast alone. 44.2% of the ill were children and 55.8% – adults. 3.3% (5 825 persons) were hospitalized. As of 30 November quarantine was declared in ten educational establishments of the Homel oblast.
10.11.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in October 2009
10 October is the World Day against the Death Penalty. The abolition of the death penalty or introduction of a moratorium on it is one of the priorities in the dialogue between the EU and Belarus. However, the Belarusian authorities show little progress in this issue. That's why in January 2009 the Belarusian human rights defenders launched the campaign Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty. They inform the population, collect signatures and distribute printed materials facing obstacles from the side of the state. In particular, the campaign activists from many regions of Belarus intended to hold pickets dated to the World Day against the Death Penalty. However, most of the actions weren't sanctioned by the local authorities. Besides, on 10 October in Navapolatsk, police detained human rights defender Zmitser Salauyou and the young activists Alina Kucharenia and Yury Palonski during an informational action.
15.10.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in September 2009
September closed the additional six-month test period the Belarusian authorities were given for starting democratic transformations in the country. Meanwhile, no significant steps were made for improving the situation of human rights in Belarus. The fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of association, freedom of expression and freedom of consciousness remained restricted. On 24 September, at a briefing for representatives of international missions and journalists, the Assembly of pro-Democratic NGOs gave a preliminary evaluation to the activities of the Belarusian authorities on normalization of the situation of NGOs for the previous six months. Siarhei Matskevich, Chairperson of the Working group of the Assembly of NGOs, stated the absence of progress on the three points set for by the European Union: the abolition of Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code, the abolition of the death penalty, the resolution of the problem of non-registration of civil organizations and introduction of a reduced-price office rent tariff for them.
01.10.2009 Brief description of the events that took place in Minsk on 9 and 16 September 2009
On 9 September several tens of people came to Kastrychnitskaya Square of Minsk to protest against the arrival of a military contingent of the Russian Federation in Belarus for participation in the joint Belarusian-Russian military trainings. The protesters were holding the banner ‘Russian Army Go Home!’ The action was peaceful. Its participants did not hinder the traffic and the movement of pedestrians. They were standing in the center of the square and did not interfere with the work of shops and normal vital activity of other citizens. Several minutes after the beginning of the picket people in mufti tired to tear the banner out of the hands of participants of the action, but did not succeed. Then, several minutes later, the riot police arrived and started detaining the present people with the use of physical violence. All in all, about 20 persons were detained that day. Some of them were detained by people in mufti preventively, before the action: the leader of the Young Front Zmitser Dashkevich, the member of the BPF Youth Siarzhuk Karpovich, etc. Such detentions took place when the activists were approaching Kastrychnitskaya Square. The majority of the detainees were guarded to Tsentralny district police department of Minsk. The reports about violation of Article 23.34 (violation of the order of organizing and holding mass events) of the Administrative Code were drawn up on them. A report about violation of Article 17.1 (petty hooliganism) was also drawn up on Zmitser Dashkevich. 17 detainees were locked up in the center for isolation of delinquents for the night. In the morning they were taken to the Tsentralny district court of Minsk.
08.09.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in July-August 2009
A year passed since the celebration of the official Independence Day on 3 July 2008, at which more than 50 people had been injured after the explosion of a home-made bomb. A criminal case under the article 'malignant hooliganism' was brought on this fact. Aleh Piakarski, Chairperson of the organized crime department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, stated to Interfax that, 120 persons were considered as suspects in the explosion case since 3 July 2008 till 3 July 2009, but none of them proved to be guilty.
09.07.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in June 2009
June was marked by trials of the politically motivated criminal cases against participants of the 'Process of 14' and human rights defender Leanid Svetsik. The under-aged Maksim Dashuk was punished with 15 months of personal restraint without direction to open penitentiary institution. Despite the adoption of the law on amnesty, only one participant of the 'Process of 14', Mikhail Pashkevich, was amnestied. Personal restraint was replaced with twice larger terms of corrective labor for two other participants of the 'Process of 14', Ales Charnyshou and Ales Straltsou.
08.06.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in May 2009
In May several mass actions took place, all of them under vigilant police surveillance. In particular, on 7 May an action marking the tenth anniversary of disappearance of opposition politician, former Interior Minister Yury Zakharanka was held in the center of Minsk. Scores of civil activists were detained on the eve. Haunting also continued in different parts of Minsk after the action. A total of 30 people were detained. The detainees were pulled into busses where they were insulted and beaten by police. As written by Maksim Serhiyets in his complaint, police officers humiliated and threatened him. They took away his mobile phone and then hit him in stomach with hands and feet and smothered him. These actions were accompanied with four-letter words. One of the policemen seized the activist by the coat and tore it. When Mr. Serhiyets was thrown down on the bus floor, one of the policemen walked on his back. Other detainees also lied down on the floor and were beaten. Then all detainees were guarded to the Tsentralny district police department. In several hours they were let go without being explained the reasons for the detention. No reports were drawn up.
06.05.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in April 2009
Few people gathered for the traditional action Chernobyl Way at the end of April. 'The past rally can be called an action of recession', commented Liavon Barshcheuski, Chairperson of the BPF Party. Meanwhile, persecution of democratic activists is going on. Human rights defenders are of the opinion that only point changes have taken place. The Minsk city executive committee banned holding of the action on the route that was proposed by its organizers. Democratic activists were detained in different regions of the country.
11.04.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in March 2009
Celebration of anniversary of the Belarusian People's Republic is one of the traditionally important events of March. 25 March 2009 was the first time in the recent years when the appropriate street action went on peacefully, without forced dispersals and detentions. However, one can't say that everything was alright and the right to peaceful assemblies was not violated. On the day of the event the police and security services conducted a number of preventive searches and detentions in the Belarusian capital and regions. In the afternoon the police burst into the apartment of Aleh Ladutska, a Minsk activist of the For Freedom movement, and searched it. They also detained Palina Dziakava, an activist of the For Freedom movement. The apartments rented by the Young Front activists Dzianis Karnou and Valer Matskevich were searched as well. In both cases police referred to telephone calls informing them about fights in the apartments.
03.03.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in February 2009
In February police dispersed two peaceful democratic actions: on 14 February – in honor of St. Valentine's Day and on 16 February – an action of solidarity with political prisoners and families of the missing political and civil activists. Some of participants of these actions applied for medical aid. No one was detained.
05.02.2009 Review-Chronicle of Human Rights Violations in Belarus in January 2009
The universal financial crisis did not pass Belarus. The National Bank set a new currency exchange rate, as a result of which the Belarusian ruble was at once devalued by 20%, which inflicted loss to ordinary citizens and the importers who bought goods for currency.
