Address of the Belarusian National platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
24.12.2010 | Publications
ADDRESSOF THE NATIONAL PLATFORM OF THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM
December 24, 2010
Minsk, Belarus
We, the representatives of Belarusian civil society united under the National platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum,
Consider savage crackdown of the peaceful protest action that took place on December 19, 2010 at the Independence Square in Minsk as roughest violation of human rights and democracy principles.
Anticipatory actions of the authorities (public statements made by individual civil servants, concentrated “tie-up” of strongarm forces represented by numerous officers together with special and military vehicles into the city center, preliminary unlawful detentions of civic activists on December 18–19, searches and seizure of property, attacks on supporters of the candidate Mr. Uladzimir Niakliaeu, beating of Mr. Uladzimir Niakliaeu and his further hospitalization) created and pressurized the atmosphere of fear and emergency situation in the capital city.
Despite this, many thousands of citizens gathered at 8 P.M. of December 19 at the October Square for a peaceful action to express their opinion and support presidential candidates. State bodies were aware of the scheduled meeting point for the peaceful action; all that state authorities are obliged to do in this matter is provide for citizens’ security. Instead, authorities have surrounded the area of the Square with an immensely loud “pillow” of music and noise, and that is why thousands of those who were present at the action were deprived of a possibility to hear the speakers.
This circumstance has forced participants of the peaceful protest action to move out to the Independence Avenue and start heading in an orderly manner towards the Independence Square.
The meeting at the Independence Square was suppressed in the toughest manner. A decision on applying forces against those present was unjustified from either moral or legal perspective — securing law and order, respect to individual rights and personal liberties. Provocative acts committed by several citizens who broke window glass in the building of a state institution were stopped by the participants of the peaceful action themselves. Numerous evidence and video-materials confirm that there were no calls upon storming the building of the government. Moreover, participants of the action insistently asked to stop instigators and not to counterstand the militia.
During the crackdown of the peaceful action over 200 people were beaten up, from 600 to 1000 people (upon different sources) were detained, held liable to administrative responsibility and placed into temporary detention facilities in Minsk and Zhodzina. Monitoring of court processes revealed outrageous violations during conduction of those.
Further actions of the authorities (arrests of candidates to the president of the Republic of Belarus, members of their staff, attacks on offices of human rights organizations and media) we assess as politically motivated persecution of political opponents. Currently there are 22 persons detained in the investigatory detention facility of KGB upon a suspicion of a criminal offence — all of them are well-known political figures and civic activists. Health conditions of Mr. Uladzimir Niakliaeu and Mr. Andrei Sannikau cause the utmost concern of publicity. Several of the detained have up till now not been granted a visit of a lawyer, thus denied a possibility to receive legal aid.
State media keep pumping the hysteria up. We receive messages that students who participated in the protest action are threatened with expulsion from their educational institutions, whereas lecturers and other employees of state bodies — with termination of employment.
In connection with the abovementioned, we urge structures and officials of state authorities and administration:
- To stop biased coverage of events that took place on December 19 and, consequently, to stop fomentation of hostility in society;
- To release all presidential candidates, members of their election staff and their supporters from custody;
- To stop politically motivated persecution of citizens who took part in the peaceful protest action;
- To provide for an objective and detailed investigation, with participation of international experts, of circumstances of provocative acts near the House of Government that became a formal cause for the crackdown of the peaceful action, to identify those persons that participated in the provocations, their motifs and to inform broad publicity about results of the investigation;
- To abstain from public statements regarding guilt or participation in mass riots until the investigation is over and the court hearing has been held.
We urge organizations, initiatives and all representatives of civil society:
- To express solidarity to those people detained and to members of their families, to provide them with every kind of support possible;
- To create a public commission for investigation of the events from December 19, to gather maximally complete evidence of factual circumstances and restore the genuine flow of events;
- In full scale to assist to protection and observance of rights and freedoms of all citizens that participated in the peaceful protest action on December 19.
Uladzislau Vialichka, Temporary Speaker of the EaP Civil Society Forum, National Coordinator of the Forum on Belarus, International Consortium “EuroBelarus”
Elena Tonkacheva, Foundation for Legal Technologies Development
Olga Smolianko, Legal Transformation Center
Galina Cherepok, Legal Transformation Center
Olga Stuzhinskaya, Office for a Democratic Belarus (Brussels)
Uladzimir Matskevich, Humanitarian Technologies Agency
Tatsiana Vadalazhskaya, Humanitarian Technologies Agency
Andrei Shutau, Humanitarian Techniques Agency
Siarhei Mackevich, Assembly of NGOs of Belarus
Zhana Litvina, Public Association “Belarusian Association of Journalists”
Tatiana Gatsura, International Helsinki human rights association
Ihar Lalkou, Belarusian Popular Front “Adradzhenne”
Dina Shavtsova, Civil Initiative “For Religious Freedom”
Svetlana Koroleva, Alternative Youth Platform
Vyachaslau Pazdnyak, Analytical Center “Wider Europe”
Dmitrij Karpievich, Public Union “Education Center “POST”
Aliaksandr Karalevich, Public Union “Education Center “POST”
Tamara Mackievic, National Public Association “Belarusian School Society”
Vitaut Rudnik, Public Association “Centre for Informational Support of Public Initiatives “The Third Sector”
Marina Malinina, International Public Association “Education Without Boundaries”
Uladzimir Rouda, PhD, Professor of European Humanities University (Vilnius), Informational and Analytical Center for NGOs
Tatiana Poshevalova, Public Association “Center for social innovations”
Leonid Kalitenya, Public Association “Center for social innovations”
Andrei Yahorau, Center for European Transformation
Oksana Shelest, Center for European Transformation
Siarhej Drazdouski, Public Association “National Association of Wheelchair Users”
Miraslau Kobasa, Enlightening Public Association “Leu Sapieha Foundation”
Irina Sukhy, Public Association “Ecohome”
Irina Kaparicha, Public Association “Ecohome”
Zmicer Chertkov, Public Association “Ecohome”
Igar Kutalouski, Public Association “Ecohome”
Ina Arekh, Public Association “Ecohome”
Tatiana Novikova, Public Association “Ecohome”
Tatsiana Stryzhankova, Public Association “Ecohome”
Yaroslav Bekish, Green Alliance of Belarus
Natalia Porechina, Green Alliance of Belarus
Ryma Ushkevich, Green Alliance of Belarus
Ivan Kouzel, Green Alliance of Belarus
Georgij Kozulko, Public project “Belovezhskaya Pushcha ХХI”
Pavel Nazdra, Public Association for Animal Protection “Zoozaschita”
Antonina Yelistratova, Youth association “Next Stop — New Life”
Elizabeth Efimova, Youth union group "Student' Council"
Alexander Adamiants, Center for European Studies, “New Europe” magazine
Irina Vidanova, Multimedia magazine ”34”
Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions
Iryna Zhykhar, National Public Association “Belarusian Organization of Working Women”
Ludmila Petina, Public Association “Women independent democratic movement”
Viktar Karneyenka, Movement for Freedom
Alaksandr Łahviniec, Movement for Freedom
Nadezhda Meleshkevich, Pubic Association “Belarusian committee ”Chernobyl children”
Anatolij Shvetsov, Public Association “Defense of rights of fathers and children”
Katerina Przybylska, Belarusian Schuman Society
Vitali Silitski, Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS)
Dzianis Melyantsou, Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS)
Barys Chernahlaz, Pastor, Religious Community Christians of Full Gospel “Church of Jesus Christ” (Minsk)
Olga Karatch, Centre of Civil Initiatives “Our House”
Siarhei Androsenka, LGBT Human Rights Project “GayBelarus”
Wojciech Przybylski, “Res Publica Nowa” Magazine (Poland), EaP Civil Society Forum 2010 (Berlin)
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