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 -------------- ¶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. �0A; 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