Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MINSK262
2006-03-14 09:44:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Minsk
Cable title:
Harassment of Opposition Intensifies
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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
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.
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
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.
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