2000 press releases

Charge d'Affaires of U.S. Mission to OSCE on Belarus (September 14, 2000)

Thank you, Madame Chairperson. September 16 will mark the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of 13th Supreme Soviet Deputy Victor Gonchar, and local Minsk businessman Anatoly Krasovsky. Since resigning as Central Election Commission Chairperson to protest the illegal 1996 constitutional referendum, Deputy Gonchar had become a leading member of the democratic opposition in Belarus. Messrs. Gonchar and Krasovsky disappeared following a televised call by President Lukashenko to crackdown on "opposition scum."

There is no indication that the Belarusian authorities have taken serious steps to investigate the disappearance of Deputy Gonchar and Mr. Krasovsky, the earlier disappearance of opposition figure and former Interior Minister General Yury Zakharenko, or the recent disappearance of ORT journalist Dimitry Zavadsky on July 7, two cases which you have also mentioned.

Instead there are allegations that the Belarusian authorities have harassed witnesses, forcing them into silence. President Lukashenko and the state media have claimed that the disappeared have gone into hiding to embarrass his regime or that the democratic opposition is responsible for the disappearances.

The fact that Deputy Gonchar and General Zakharenko were under police surveillance before they disappeared makes us skeptical that authorities have no knowledge of these events.

Concern regarding the response of Belarusian authorities to these cases is further aggravated by a Minsk city government ban that prevents the United Civic Party from holding a demonstration on September 16 to mark the one-year disappearances of Messrs. Gonchar and Krasovsky.

At a time when President Lukashenko has promised a "period of peace" in the run-up to parliamentary elections, these disappearances serve as stark reminders that the Belarusian authorities' record should be measured by deeds, and not by words.

We reissue our call for the Belarusian authorities to investigate expeditiously, thoroughly, and openly all the disappearances and punish those responsible. As long as these cases remain unexplained, the climate of fear in Belarus cannot be dispelled and international confidence in Belarus cannot be restored.

Unfortunately, additional problems undermine our confidence in the Belarusian government's commitment to meeting the international community's criteria for free elections.

The 13th Supreme Soviet Deputy Valery Shchukin has been denied permission to register as a candidate. This, after President Lukashenko touted an invitation to Shchukin to participate in elections as evidence of the Belarusian government's commitment to a "period of peace."

The OSCE's Advisory and Monitoring Group's September 12 report notes concern about government interference with electoral commissions. There are even reports that executive committees of regional and local governments have been called upon in a "threatening manner" to ensure government-supported candidates are elected. The Advisory and Monitoring Group report rightly notes this is "incompatible with the letter and the spirit of the election law."

The Advisory and Monitoring Group also notes that the distribution of leaflets supporting a boycott of the elections is prohibited by the administrative code. This is part of a broader ban on any advocacy of an electoral boycott. The Parliament has eliminated this stipulation from the administrative code, but the decision needs to be signed by the President.

Just yesterday, September 13, Belarus National Front Deputy Head Victor Ivaskhevich was arrested and charged with advocating a boycott.

As the Advisory and Monitoring Group report notes, this prohibition puts "the credibility of the Government's 'liberalization actions' into doubt."

Additionally, the Advisory and Monitoring Group report describes a "hairsplitting war" waged against the NGO community. Official warnings have been issued to non-governmental human rights organizations and to political parties such as the United Civic Party because of small discrepancies between the name of the organizations as identified in their stationary with the official registered name. Two warnings issued to political parties or NGOs could lead to their closure.

Again, the Advisory and Monitoring Group correctly notes that such actions put "into doubt the credibility of the official commitment for fair elections to be conducted in the spirit of President Lukashenko's pledge with regard to the "period of peace."

Finally, with regard to the case against Mr. Chigir, the Advisory and Monitoring Group report notes that while the Supreme Court returned his appeal to a lower court, an investigation into a charge of tax evasion against Mr. Chigir was recently opened by the General Procurator's office.

In the context of Mr. Chigir's parliamentary campaign, the Advisory and Monitoring Group described this re-activation as "inappropriate pressure" and noted that it "works against the Belarusian authorities' commitment to honor a period of peace before the elections."

These are the facts. Most are noted in the OSCE mission's own report. They make it abundantly clear that the OSCE's criteria for free and fair elections are simply not being met.