Mass Arrests Follow Elections

UNCLAS MINSK 000307

SIPDIS

KIEV ALSO FOR USAID

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BO
SUBJECT: Mass Arrests Follow Elections

Ref: Minsk 292


1. Summary: The human rights NGO Vyasna and independent press
report that at least 108 people, and likely more, were arrested
late March 20th and early March 21st. The detained include Anatoly
Lebedko, deputy to Milinkevich and leader of the United Civic
Party, and his deputy Aleksandr Dobrovolsky. Many were detained
trying to bring supplies to the small demonstration camped out of
October Square (septel). With few exceptions, authorities have not
allowed access to the detainees and have not even stated who was
arrested or for what charges. Authorities also deported seven
Ukrainians detained on the square. End summary.


108 Detained, and Counting
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2. The human rights NGO Vyasna reported to Post that at least 108
people were arrested late March 20th and early March 21st. Vyasna
received this estimate from "a friendly contact within the police."
Included in this number is United Civic Party leader Anatoly
Lebedko, his deputy Aleksandr Dobrovolsky, Belarusian Popular Front
deputy Aleksey Janukevich, and Nasha Niva editor Andrey Dynko,
arrested as he stepped off a bus with a thermos of tea. All were
detained in various incidents as they tried to bring food, warm
clothing or hot drinks to those demonstrating on October Square.
Poloff tried to attend Lebedko's trial, but was wrongly told by the
court that there was no such trial. [Note: this trial was for
charges of petty hooliganism, illegal distribution of election
materials, and a parking violation made against Lebedko on March 15
(reftel).] Post has heard the trial concluded, but the charge and
verdict have not been made public. Vyasna did learn that three
youth from Smolensk, Russia, who were detained on March 20, were
sentenced to 10 days in jail for petty hooliganism.


3. Vyasna and the independent press report that a number of others
were also arrested bringing supplies to October Square, including
30 members of Zubr. No lawyers or family are known to have been
contacted for any of these arrests, and no one has been given
access to any of the detained. Poloffs witnessed police searching
bags before allowing people onto the square. The Ukrainian Embassy
confirmed that seven of its citizens from the National Alliance,
detained on March 20 on October Square, were deported later that
same day, and the Georgian MFA claims three of its citizens were
arrested.


Milinkevich's Sons Detained and Released
--------------


4. In the evening of March 20, police detained Milinkevich's two
sons as they tried to deliver some warm clothes to those
demonstrating on October Square. They were brought to the police
station and the authorities started to draw up charges. However,
after discovering they were Milinkevich's sons the police
reportedly tore up the charge sheet and immediately released them.
[Note: Post does not know if they were released to avoid a scandal
or out of sympathy for the opposition.]


5. Also on March 20, authorities sentenced nine opposition
activists, arrested between March 17 and 19, to jail terms of three
to seven days each for petty hooliganism. A tenth activist,
Milinkevich's aide in Gomel Sergey Katsora, was sentenced the same
day to eight days in jail, also for petty hooliganism.


6. On March 19, police arrested independent election observer
Sergey Parsyukevich at a polling station. Parsyukevich, who had
been earlier detained several times for distributing Milinkevich
literature, was later sentenced to five days in jail for resisting
a police officer. Also on Election Day, police arrested Christian
Conservative Party activist Sergey Kushnerov and charged him with
petty hooliganism after Kushnerov attempted to leave a polling
station with his ballot.


Protest Organizers will be Charged
--------------


7. On March 20, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior announced
that the organizers of the March 19 public demonstration in October
Square, as well as anyone else seen to have called for violations
of the law, would face criminal charges. He added that MVD
officers videotaped the event and have evidence against many
people. The same day Lukashenko, speaking on live television,
claimed that his regime jailed so many opposition activists during
the election campaign because the activists themselves asked to be
jailed: "Those detained, part of them, are grateful to our police:
We securely accommodated them in hotels, wined and dined them.
Probably, they are all already at home."


8. Lukashenko went on to denigrate opposition efforts to publicly
demonstrate against the election, "And why were you waiting for
some clashes on the streets. Was somebody supposed to have their
necks or heads broken as you said? There was no one there to fight
with! No one! That's why we gave them the opportunity to show off
although that was illegal. Why am I saying this? Because many of
them asked us to give them some opportunity to show off before
westerners, ambassadors that gave them money. We gave them the
opportunity to show themselves in full in front of your cameras,
microphones, recorders and your eyes. You saw our opposition. If
you are intelligent people, you found that it is worth nothing."


Comment
--------------


9. So far the authorities have allowed demonstrations to occur
unhindered on October Square. However, these arrests are most
likely an attempt to choke off the protest, away from the lenses of
foreign photographers. Further efforts to end the demonstration,
if it continues, are more likely when foreign reporters and
election observers leave town in the next few days.


KROL