MOTHER OF FUGITIVE OPPOSITION ACTIVIST DELIVERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MINSK 000639 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BO SUBJECT: MOTHER OF FUGITIVE OPPOSITION ACTIVIST DELIVERS LETTERS TO EMBASSY, PRESIDENT BUSH REF: MINSK 365 Classified By: AMBASSADOR GEORGE KROL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) On June 12, Galina Sivchik, mother of opposition activist Vyacheslav Sivchik, told DCM that prosecutors dismissed her complaint against the authorities' failure to investigate the circumstances surrounding her son's March abduction and beating during post presidential election demonstrations (reftel). According to Galina, the prosecutors considered her complaint baseless. Galina said she was in contact with her son, who was still residing in Kiev without documents. On May 19, Sivchik was convicted in absentia of participating in an unsanctioned demonstration and sentenced to 10 days in jail. Galina passed DCM a letter (faxed to Belarus Desk) addressed to President Bush explaining what happened to her son during the elections and pleaded to not support Russia at the upcoming G-8 summit in St. Petersburg because of Russia's support for Belarus and alleged FSB involvement in her son's abduction. She also gave DCM a letter, in Belarusian, from the mothers and wives of repressed opposition activists ad dressed to all heads and governments of democratic countries (see para 2 for unofficial translation). ¶2. (SBU) BEGIN UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION. To the Heads and Governments of the Democratic Countries An Appeal We, the Belarusian women, have gathered together on Children's Day. Our hearts are grieving because we are not able to protect our relatives and those close to us. It has been three days since an unprecedented and essentially horrible act of protest against the repression of the Malady Front members and leaders began in our country. The youth, including 13-year old children, announced a hunger strike. They are forced to do so due to the lawlessness and violation of human dignity governing in the country. We are mothers. We know the value of life. We speak against such extreme ways of protesting. However, we comprehend that their inability to protect their rights by less radical means prompted the young people to take this step. There are no law enforcement agencies and institutions in our country that would honestly perform their functions to advocate the rights of the citizens. We are appealing to you for help and support, with a request to undertake everything possible to rescue the lives and health of our noble, self-sacrificing youth. June 1, 2006 Volha Antsypovich Sofya Afnagel Tamara Valkovich-Khashchavatskaya Volha Savadskaya Iryna Kazulina Tatsyana Kaspyarovich Alena Kiyko-Yarmolenka Tatsyana Klimava-Leanovich Yadviga Labkovich Yanina Poushkina Tatsyana Sevyarynets Galina Sivchuk Valyantsina Statkevich Laryssa Soushkevich Lyudmila Sharamet Lyubov Shchoukina Raisa Shydlouskaya Tatsyana Yalavaya End Translation. Krol