BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

16/01/2007

Local Elections in Belarus or Against Opposition Hunting Season?

Michael Batiukov

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) is observing the elections for local soviets that began on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007. Members of the human rights group are expected to monitor the poll at the early voting stage and on the main voting day, January 14th, 2007 both in Minsk and in the provinces. Polling stations are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day at January 9 -13 early voting stage. The early voting procedure allows any voter to cast a ballot early without explaining why he/she cannot do this on the official polling day.

Meantime opposition members are detained all over Belarus. Here are some of their names and their stories:

A meeting of the leader of the United Democratic Forces Aleksandr Milinkevich with voters was held in Byaroza (Brest region) on Jan. 11th, 2007. After the meeting Aleksandr Milinkevich was detained by policemen. He hadn't been charged with anything. Policemen demanded to write down identification details of people who were travelling with Milinkevich in his car. Policemen justified their request by an order from their commanders.

Later Milinkevich's car without any explanations was stopped by traffic policemen when he was driving into Brest. After Milinkevich asked for explanation, policemen said that he was arrested. The car of the united democratic forces leader was convoyed to one of the police department of Brest. Milinkevich's wife was in the car as well. In an hour without presenting any charges Brest policemen released Milinkevich.

The activist of the United Civil Party Andrei Dzmitryev has been seized by unknown people in mufti in the center of Minsk on Jan. 12, 2007. Dzmitryev was arrested in Zakharov street by two athletic men in mufti. They had close-cropped hair. Dzmitryeu tried to fight, but his arms were twisted back, and mouth gagged. Two more men ran out of the dark green car UAZ 8912 BT7. They pushed Dzmitryev into the car and took him in an unknown direction.

A candidate for deputy in Pinsk city council Aleksandr Vasilyev was detained on Jan. 8th, 2007

and has been sentenced to 7 days of administrative arrest. He has been charged with petty hooliganism during consultations of the local vertical of power with members of election commissions. Participants of election campaign in Brest region state that it is not an isolated case of intimidation of independent candidates by the regime.

Yelena Medvedeva, a member of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party "Hramada" running in the local elections in Bobruisk, Mogilyov region, was detained by police for several hours on Sunday, Jan. 7th, 2007. The activist said that she had been detained by police nine times during the previous local elections.

Vladimir Katsora, an agent of Viktor Korneyenko, a member of the United Civic Party running for the Gomel Regional Soviet, was detained by police on Tuesday, Jan. 9th, 2007. He was pulled over by traffic police in the city's Gomselmash neighborhood and ordered to drive to a police department. "They told me that I might have killed a pedestrian and hidden the body in the trunk," Mr. Katsora told BelaPAN.

On January 12, 2007 a court of Pruzhany district sentenced a member of the United Civil Party Uladzimir Radzivonchyk to 5 days of arrest for an alleged use of foul language. Radzivonchyk was detained by policemen in his native town on January 11. During the court trial policemen charged the UCP leader with using foul language in a public place. Uladzimir Radzivonchyk tried to explain it was a lie. However, Judge Alena Lahoda found policemen's evidence valid and sentenced the opposition activist to 5 days of arrest.

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) said that observers have problem getting any information from poll workers during the early voting stage of local elections that began on January 9. "Few of our monitors have been told the total number of voters in the precinct," said BHC Executive Director Oleg Gulak. "It's impossible altogether to obtain any data about how many people have voted and how many ballots have been supplied to the polling station." Poll workers have refused to reply even to written requests for such information, according to the activist.

Democratic activists in Minsk, Homel, Bobruisk, Brest, Pruzhany, Barysau are detained every election day. As usual politicians are to be groundlessly charged with hooliganism.

Source:

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=19094