Harassment of Opposition Intensifies

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000262 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM BO SUBJECT: Harassment of Opposition Intensifies Refs: (A) Minsk 205, (B) Minsk 179, (C) Minsk 223 ¶1. In recent weeks authorities have greatly accelerated their petty harassment of opposition activists, leading up to the March 19 presidential elections. Police throughout the country are detaining Milinkevich activists, usually releasing them without charge after three hours, and seizing their campaign materials. On March 1, Milinkevich stated that police briefly detained 220 of his activists during the candidate nomination period alone (December 28 to January 26). Police are also detaining those attempting to deliver independent newspapers and several students have been expelled from university because of their political activities. In addition to this petty harassment, the BKGB arrested four people involved in organizing independent election monitoring (ref A),and security forces are trying to block public demonstrations (refs B and C). Most of these problems are occurring during a period when it is legal to campaign. ¶2. Below follows a brief sampling of the harassment faced by opposition activists in February. Authorities have long engaged in such behavior, but these incidents of harassment became increasingly common after elections were called in December. This list is not at all complete. Expulsions -------------- ¶3. State authorities have long used school expulsions to punish politically active youth. In previous cases, expelled youth were threatened with being drafted into the military. February 25, Vitebsk Veterinary University expelled Lyubov Kuchinskaya because of her membership in the youth opposition group Zubr. This is the second school to expel her for her activism. February 20, Malady Front local leader Sergey Marchuk was expelled from Baranavichy State University after participating in a peaceful demonstration. February 15, the Yanka Kupala Grodno University expelled Yevgeny Skrabutan after he was fined USD 135 for possession of 5,000 Milinkevich calendars (see para 6). February 14, Mogilev State University expelled Zubr member Maryna Tsvyatkova. She had been detained in January while distributing SIPDIS independent newspapers. February 6 and 7, police officers in Soligorsk visited School Number 4 (a high school) and warned six Malady Front members they faced expulsion if they continued with their political activities. �A; Brief Detentions -------------- ¶4. Under Belarusian law, police can detain an individual for up to three hours to "confirm their identity." Authorities frequently use this provision to harass opposition activists and those distributing independent newspapers. February 25, police detained Union of Belarusian Poles activist Andrzej Boris for three hours after punching him in the face and dragging him out of his car with a pistol to his head. Boris was trying to attend a concert hosted by the Polish Embassy. February 19, police in Borisov briefly detained Zubr members Mikhas Kandrashov and Ales Malchanov. February 19, police in Vitebsk briefly detained Milinkevich activists Vlada Tokarava and Konstantin Perahuda while they campaigned at the train station. February 17, police in Lida and Vaukavisk stopped several cars of Milinkevich supporters traveling to Minsk for the candidate registration ceremony. February 14, police in Minsk detained two Zubr members caught putting up a poster. February 11, police detained opposition leader Anatoly Lebedko for 2.5 hours and seized 17 independent papers and campaign materials. Seizure of Campaign Materials and Independent Papers -------------- -------------- ¶5. Under Belarusian law, it is legal to distribute campaign MINSK 00000262 002 OF 003 literature during the official campaign period (which began on February 17). Likewise it is legal to distribute properly registered newspapers, such as Narodnaya Volya and Tovarisch. However, authorities are still detaining people and seizing such materials. February 27, police in Vitebsk detained two youth for two hours and confiscated 415 copies of Narodnaya Volya. February 25, police in Gomel seized 350 campaign leaflets and a table and chair from a Milinkevich activist outside a department store. Milinkevich's campaign team reports two more of their activists were briefly detained and had campaign literature confiscated that day in Gomel. February 24, police in Gomel seized 1,400 campaign leaflets Milinkevich supporters were passing out at a bus stop. Police also detained one of the activists for three hours. February 21, police in Mogilev detained Milinkevich's regional campaign manager, Vladimir Shantsov, overnight and seized from him 26,000 election leaflets and 400 independent newspapers. Later in the day police returned the leaflets but not the newspapers. February 21, police in Gomel seized 450 leaflets, a table and display stand, and 70 copies of Narodnaya Volya from Andrey Tolchin, who was campaigning for Milinkevich outside a department store. February 13, police in Grodno stopped a car with Milinkevich activists and seized 1,200 copies of Narodnaya Volya. February 3, customs officials seized copies of the independent magazine Arche and the Ukrainian magazine Krytyka from a human rights activist because they contained articles critical of the Belarusian elections. Charges -------------- ¶6. The regime frequently uses fines and brief jail sentences, usually from 5 to 15 days, to discourage opposition activities. Since campaigning began police have increasingly charged activists with non-political offenses, such as littering and hooliganism. Demonstrators at a February protest told Poloff they heard police say they had been ordered to arrest activists and charge them with non-political offenses (ref B). February 28, five plainclothes security officers entered the apartment of Boris Vyrvich, Milinkevich's campaign leader in the village of Bolshaya Moschanitsa, at 0730 and brought him to the police station where he was charged with shouting obscenities at officials. February 22, authorities in Vitebsk charged Boris Khamaida for staging an unauthorized demonstration after he held up a sign in public calling for an election boycott. February 16, a court fined Milinkevich activist USD 27 for illegal campaigning after he was found with Milinkevich calendars, February 14, a Masty court fined Yevgeny Skrabutan USD 135 for possessing 5,000 pocket-sized Milinkevich calendars. February 14, police in Mogilev charged two Zubr activists with hooliganism after they were caught putting up an opposition poster. February 13, police in Minsk detained 21 Zubr members gathering near a store. One of them, Yevgeny Afnagel, was sentenced to 15 days in jail for allegedly shouting obscenities in public. February 13, a Minsk court sentenced small business NGO Perspektiva member Aleksandr Makaev to 10 days in jail for calling for a market strike. February 10, police in Borisov charged four Zubr members with littering after they were caught distributing opposition stickers. February 9, police in Minsk detained Zubr activist Oleg Myatselitsa for an identity check. They seized Zubr material from him and charged him with littering. February 8, police in Gomel detained Svyatoslav Shalamov and fined him USD 135 for early campaigning. They also seized 11,000 leaflets mocking state media for its official bias. February 7, police fined Yury Glushkov USD 135 also for having leaflets mocking state media. MINSK 00000262 003 OF 003 February 6, a court in Baranavichy fined Vladimir Gundar, editor of Baranavitskaya Gazeta, USD 271 for writing a story about an opposition demonstration. Searches -------------- ¶7. Authorities also use non-political pretexts to search the homes, offices and vehicles of opposition activists. Regardless of the pretext, the security forces routinely seize any political material they find. February 17, police in Borisov searched the homes of eight Zubr members and allegedly threatened them with expulsion from school. February 15, police in Masty search the homes of several opposition members claiming to be looking for a graffiti artist. They seized computers, electronic media and campaign materials. February 14, police in Baranavichy broke up a meeting of Milinkevich supporters in a private apartment. February 14, police in Grodno searched the apartment of Vadim Saranchukov, Milinkevich's local campaign manager. February 12, police stopped and searched a vehicle carrying members of the BNF party and the Swedish Moderate Party. February 11, police in Brest, claiming to be looking for illegal ammunition, searched the basement of local Milinkevich campaign manager Vladimir Radivonchik. They did not find any ammunition but seized campaign materials. February 10, police stopped the car of Malady Front leader Dmitry Dashkevich and seized campaign stickers and paint cans. February 4, police near Zhlobin pulled over and searched the car of Milinkevich campaign manager Aleksandr Bukhvostov, claiming they needed to check if the vehicle was stolen. Bukhvostov had earlier been pulled over, on January 25, when police seized 2,500 copies of an election observation manual. Comment -------------- ¶8. As the March 19 presidential election approaches, the authorities are clearly working to limit the opposition's ability to meet the public and distribute independent information. Post expects such activities to accelerate further. Despite Lukashenko's iron grip on the media and information, he apparently feels threatened by any opposition efforts to show the Belarusian people they have an alternative choice. KROL