January 1, 2004
As the European Union continues its expansion, Belarus, situated on the E.U.'s new eastern border, continues its isolation from Europe and the rest of the world. The government persists with Soviet-style practices of tightly controlling the media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and preventing free and fair elections. Continuing abuses in 2003 included government crackdowns on independent media, NGOs, and the political opposition.
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- Restriction on the Press
- Restrictions on Civil Society
- Biased Elections
- Disappearances
- Key International Actors
Restriction on the Press
Conditions for journalists and publishers deteriorated significantly, prompting the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to list Belarus among the ten "Worst Places to be a Journalist" in 2003. In May 2003, the government issued more warnings to independent publications in one week than it had throughout all of 2002. The Ministry of Information suspended Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta (Belarusian Business Paper) and its supplement BDG. Dla Sluzhebnogo Polzovania (BDG Restricted) from circulation for three months after a number of warnings had been issued to the editorial boards stating that articles published in the independent periodicals defamed the "honor and dignity" of the president. A number of independent newspapers, some of which had published BDG materials received similar warnings.
The government expelled Pavel Selin, Belarus correspondent for the Russian television network NTV, in July 2003 for alleged biased reporting and closed NTV's Minsk office soon thereafter.
Belarusian radio is also facing tighter restrictions. As of July 1, 2003, the contents of all news programs must be presented to the Ministry of Information one day before broadcast.
Independent media have also been burdened by steep increases in charges for printing and distribution services, which are controlled by state-owned companies. Between early 2002 and late 2003, charges rose by 40 percent for printing and 66 percent for distribution services, increases which some analysts have alleged were arbitrary and politically motivated.
Restrictions on Civil Society
The government's continuing assault on civil society threatens the survival of independent citizens' groups. In 2003 several major nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were liquidated, mostly on petty administrative charges. The activities of many others were severely constrained by Presidential Decree No. 8, a 2001 order that significantly increases the tax burden of organizations that receive foreign aid, and Decree No.13, a 2003 order prohibiting non-governmental organizations, from representing ordinary citizens (non-members) in court.
Biased Elections
Unfair elections remain a major obstacle to reform. Analysts in 2003 reported blatant fraud in the conduct of March local elections; international observers were not allowed to attend the polls. Appointments to electoral commissions at all levels were made according to individuals' loyalty to the authorities and few members of democratic parties and NGOs were represented on commissions. Members of the political opposition reported harassment during collections of signatures and problems registering candidates, including having candidates stripped of registration on doubtful pretexts with no opportunity to appeal the decisions.
Disappearances
In early 2003, Belarusian authorities halted investigations into the "disappearances" of Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, and Yuri Zakharenko, all opponents of President Lukashenka, as well as the "disappearance" of journalist Dmitry Zavadsky. After the wives of Gonchar and Krasovsky complained to the Procuracy General, the investigation was reopened in July with a new investigator.
Christos Pourgourides, a PACE rapporteur on disappearances in Belarus who visited Minsk in November 2003, suggested in his report that Belarusian authorities, including former Security Council Secretary Viktar Sheyman (now prosecutor-general) and former Interior Minister Yury Sivakou (now minister of sports) may have been implicated in orchestrating the disappearances. He urged the Council of Europe member states to put "maximum political pressure" on the Belarusian leadership to compel an independent investigation of the disappearances. In December, 2003 the Belarusian Prosecutor's Office resumed the investigation into the disappearance of Dmitry Zavadsky.
Key International Actors
In late 2002, Belarusian authorities ordered the OSCE's Advisory and Monitoring Group out of the country. Lukashenka accused the mission of supporting the opposition and interfering with the country's internal affairs. In response to the closure, the United States and fourteen E.U. countries imposed a travel ban on Lukashenka and several high-ranking politicians. After long negotiations the OSCE was able to return Belarus with a scaled-back mandate in January 2003 and, in April, the travel ban was lifted.
In early 2003 Lukashenka attracted international attention with his remarks on Belarus' unstinting friendship with Iraq and his support for Saddam Hussein's "reasonable policies." It therefore did not come as a complete surprise when, in June 2003, several high-ranking Iraqi officials were found to have been issued Belarusian passports.
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) issued a resolution on Belarus in April 2003, in which it expressed deep concern about human rights in Belarus, and urged the government to release journalists and other individuals detained for politically motivated reasons and to cease harassment of non-governmental organizations and political parties.
In spite of Russia's traditionally close ties to Belarus, Lukashenka's policies increasingly have become a source of irritation for Russia in its relationship with Europe and the United States.
The economic and political union between the two countries that has been under discussion for eight years still seems uncertain. Steps taken in July 2003 toward a common currency contrasted sharply with Russia's unvarnished criticism of Belarus's failure to liberalize its economy.
