Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MINSK307
2009-09-10 16:00:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Minsk
Cable title:
BELARUS DENIES PARTY FOR FREEDOM AND PROGRESS REGISTRATION
how-toVZCZCXRO2621 RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHSK #0307 2531600 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 101600Z SEP 09 FM AMEMBASSY MINSK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0464 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE RUEHSK/AMEMBASSY MINSK 0471
UNCLAS MINSK 000307
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR BO
SUBJECT: BELARUS DENIES PARTY FOR FREEDOM AND PROGRESS REGISTRATION
FOR FOURTH TIME
REF: A. MINSK 261
B. MINSK 275
UNCLAS MINSK 000307
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR BO
SUBJECT: BELARUS DENIES PARTY FOR FREEDOM AND PROGRESS REGISTRATION
FOR FOURTH TIME
REF: A. MINSK 261
B. MINSK 275
1. (U) On August 26, the Belarus Supreme Court refused to
overturn an earlier denial of registration of the Party for
Freedom and Progress (PFP). This was the party's fourth
registration attempt since 2003.
2. (U) During the appeal hearing, the Belarus Ministry of
Justice representative claimed that the PFP failed to obtain the
required number of petition signatures, indicating that the PFP
only had 691 of the required 1000 valid signatures needed to
register a political party. (The group claimed they had 1011.)
Further, MOJ claimed that there were discrepancies between the
names of people listed as being at founding conventions and
those who were actually present, and that 91 of the group's
followers were still students and could not be counted toward
the number of participants. In addition, MOJ claimed that some
of those listed as being founders denied being party members, in
addition to several alleged bureaucratic mistakes with
paperwork, including missing dates of birth and patronymic names.
3. (U) While not directly addressing the MOJ's claims in their
response, the PFP countered that the registration process was
complex and that the technical errors made in the registration
filing could have been easily corrected had the MOJ allowed the
PFP the opportunity. The PFP also alleged that the MOJ coerced
some of the petition signers to recant their support of the
group during the MOJ's investigation. PFP members asked for a
different judge at the start of the hearing; after a 30 minutes
recess, the judge in question issued a decision to keep himself
on the case.
4. (U) The PFP has not indicated whether they will attempt to
register the party again. Lacking registration, group members
risk arrest for participating in the activities of an
unregistered organization.
5. (SBU) COMMENT: The PFP's registration denial is the third in
a recent series of almost identical MOJ decisions upheld by the
Supreme Court, including the July refusal of the Belarus
Christian Democracy group and the August refusal of the Nasha
Vyasna human rights NGO. The GOB continues to use exacting
enforcement of bureaucratic rules as a tool to prevent groups
from registering, with denials based in part on typographical
mistakes, missing patronymic names, incorrect job titles, and in
one case, capitalization of a word ("Vyasna", reftel). The MOJ
has also been accused of using pressure to encourage petition
signers to recant earlier support, thereby denying groups of the
necessary number of petition signatures for registration. Civil
registration is required for groups to operate in Belarus, and
cases such as these demonstrate the GOB's ability to use civil
registration as a tool to effectively regulate who is able to
legally participate in the country's political process.
SCANLAN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR BO
SUBJECT: BELARUS DENIES PARTY FOR FREEDOM AND PROGRESS REGISTRATION
FOR FOURTH TIME
REF: A. MINSK 261
B. MINSK 275
1. (U) On August 26, the Belarus Supreme Court refused to
overturn an earlier denial of registration of the Party for
Freedom and Progress (PFP). This was the party's fourth
registration attempt since 2003.
2. (U) During the appeal hearing, the Belarus Ministry of
Justice representative claimed that the PFP failed to obtain the
required number of petition signatures, indicating that the PFP
only had 691 of the required 1000 valid signatures needed to
register a political party. (The group claimed they had 1011.)
Further, MOJ claimed that there were discrepancies between the
names of people listed as being at founding conventions and
those who were actually present, and that 91 of the group's
followers were still students and could not be counted toward
the number of participants. In addition, MOJ claimed that some
of those listed as being founders denied being party members, in
addition to several alleged bureaucratic mistakes with
paperwork, including missing dates of birth and patronymic names.
3. (U) While not directly addressing the MOJ's claims in their
response, the PFP countered that the registration process was
complex and that the technical errors made in the registration
filing could have been easily corrected had the MOJ allowed the
PFP the opportunity. The PFP also alleged that the MOJ coerced
some of the petition signers to recant their support of the
group during the MOJ's investigation. PFP members asked for a
different judge at the start of the hearing; after a 30 minutes
recess, the judge in question issued a decision to keep himself
on the case.
4. (U) The PFP has not indicated whether they will attempt to
register the party again. Lacking registration, group members
risk arrest for participating in the activities of an
unregistered organization.
5. (SBU) COMMENT: The PFP's registration denial is the third in
a recent series of almost identical MOJ decisions upheld by the
Supreme Court, including the July refusal of the Belarus
Christian Democracy group and the August refusal of the Nasha
Vyasna human rights NGO. The GOB continues to use exacting
enforcement of bureaucratic rules as a tool to prevent groups
from registering, with denials based in part on typographical
mistakes, missing patronymic names, incorrect job titles, and in
one case, capitalization of a word ("Vyasna", reftel). The MOJ
has also been accused of using pressure to encourage petition
signers to recant earlier support, thereby denying groups of the
necessary number of petition signatures for registration. Civil
registration is required for groups to operate in Belarus, and
cases such as these demonstrate the GOB's ability to use civil
registration as a tool to effectively regulate who is able to
legally participate in the country's political process.
SCANLAN