04.02.2009 Human rights activists have a meeting with vice-Minister of Justice

The Minister of Justice accepts citizens only once a months, on the first Wednesday. On 4 February the Belarusian human rights activists, founders of the Nasha Viasna NGO Ales Bialiatski and Tatsiana Reviaka came to the Ministry of Justice to meet with the minister. However, the official was away and the audience was held by the vice-minister Alexander Simanau.

03.02.2009 Belarusian courts ignore UN rulings

Leninski district court of Minsk refused to consider a complaint against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that ignores the UN ruling prescribing the legal rehabilitation of the Civil Initiatives NGO.

02.02.2009 Will Justice Ministry register ‘Nasha Viasna’?

The Ministry of Justice is sending letters to the founders of Nasha Viasna (Our Spring) NGO. Judging by the its preceding practice in registration of NGOs, such actions seem to be aimed at finding some inaccuracies concerning the constituent assembly that was held by the initiators of the establishment of the NGO.

02.02.2009 Union of Poles under Surveillance?

On 31 January the citizens of Poland, teachers Piotr Borania and Galina Zajkowska were deported from Belarus. The official reason is that their having moved to a new apartment.

02.02.2009 Masty: authorities provide no legal address for registration of NGO

Masty district executive committee refused to provide a legal address for registration of the NGO For European Mastoushchyna.

30.01.2009 Political analyst Chavusau comments on Nasha Viasna registration

‘The case of Nasha Viasna is one of the most significant issues that could become an evidence of positive changes in the field of the freedom of association in Belarus. Viasna was closed down along with hundreds of other Belarusian NGOs as a result of a mass liquidation campaign by the Ministry of Justice. It was later supported by the UN Human Rights Committee and the EU Parliament, who stress the significance of the matter for the reform of the Belarusian civil society. So I hope that the Belarusian authorities will have the foresight to abide by the law and grant registration the Nasha Viasna human rights organization, along with other NGOs, still lacking official status.’

29.01.2009 Activist of “European Belarus” called in for questioning

Palina Dzyakava, activist of the civil campaign “European Belarus”, is called in the Tsentralny district militia department for questioning.

A summons, the girl has received today morning, says she must come for questioning at 9.00 a.m. January 30 as a witness in a criminal case.

As Dzyakava said, for the last two months, she has been receiving telephone calls from different people, who introduced themselves as militia officers and demanded that she go to the Tsentralny district militia department of to the Frunzenski district militia department. When she asked to send her a summons, they threatened and insulted her.

28.01.2009 Ales Bialiatski: ‘Registration or non-registration of Nasha Viasna will show the readiness of the authorities for changes pertaining to NGOs’

Mr.Bialiatski’s interview concerning the registration of the Nasha Viasna human rights organization. Q: Mr.Bialiatski, Belarusian mass media have repeatedly mentioned that the Nasha Viasna human rights organization, founded by members of the liquidated Human Rights Center Viasna, has applied for registration to the Ministry of Justice.

27.01.2009 Minister of Justice speaks on Belarusian civil society

At a special press-conference on 26 January in Minsk, the Belarusian Minister of Justice Viktar Halavanau said 94 NGOs were granted registration and only 28 were closed down in Belarus in 2008. The minister said over 70% of the liquidated NGOs had not been active in 2008, some of them had brutally violated the Belarusian legislation. ‘We just had to sue such organizations and close them down by force of law,’ said Halavanau. ‘We were very cautious when closing them down,’ he added. In total, at present there are 16 political parties, 36 trade unions, 2,221 public associations, 22 unions and 75 foundations in Belarus.

23.01.2009 IBB refused to accommodate Christian Democrats assembly

The German International Educational Center IBB will not host the constituent assembly of the newly created Belarusian Christian Democracy organization. IBB Representatives said the application was correct and the conference hall is not occupied on 28 January, but refused to accommodate the assembly.

21.01.2009 Hrodna NGOs and opposition interrogated in connection with bomb threat

A number of Hrodna NGOs and political parties have received letters from the town police department urging to provide explanations concerning the 20 May 2007 bomb threat, the day when the For Freedom constituent assembly and an activity organized by Poland’s General Consulate in Hrodna, the latter having caused a diplomatic scandal, were stopped by the police due to ‘a phone bomb threat’. Captain Kalemeitsau demands to inform the police of the events that took place on 20 May, 2007 and to provide a list of persons that took part in those activities.

21.01.2009 Youth activist forced to join army

Ihar Salavei, an activist of the For Freedom movement, is going to join the army in spite of a heart problem, says www.milinkevich.org. The activist says his political activities are well-known to the military registration and enlistment office. This seems to be another case when a young activist is forced to join the army despite objective reasons for draft deferment or ineligibility for military service.

19.01.2009 Implementation of the right to freedom of association in Belarus: 2008 analysis

In 2008 the situation in the field of the freedom of association in Belarus was extremely ambiguous. With the government expressing unfavourable attitude towards the activity of independent NGOs and opposition political parties, there emerged a number of new tendencies, dealing with the Belarus-EU and Belarus-US dialogue. The inner political situation was aggravated by a factor of foreign-policy, by making it even more multidimensional; the freedom of association is still controlled by the Belarusian government. The circumstances admit of no haste in taking evaluating the freedom of association and the situation with NGOs in 2008: one would not speak of any cardinal change, neither would one state the absence improvement in the field.

19.01.2009 Polish minority protest action in Hrodna

On 17 January some 200 members of the unregistered Union of Poles in Belarus, headed by Andzelika Borys, held an unsanctioned action of protest in front of the building of the Union of Poles in Hrodna. The demonstrators expressed their discontent with the town authorities’ decision to confiscate the building constructed at the expense of the Polish government.

17.01.2009 Pro-dem NGOs Assembly to be held in Minsk

The assembly is due to be held on the premises of the Minsk-based International Education Centre (IBB) on 6-7 March 2009. On the same day the members of the organizing committee (Siarhei Matskevich, Barys Zvozskau and Alena Valynets) also had a meeting with the first secretary of the German embassy to Belarus Dr. MatthiasBiermann.