Uladzimir Matskevich: “In the abnormal situation one must act in the active and creative way”

In the abnormal situation one must act in the active and creative way (Let’s talk once again about an ombudsman)

 

Uladzimir Matskevich,
Humanitarian Technologies Agency

 

 

 

At the beginning of his work, at that date the legitimate President Lukashenko said that he would not lead his people in the civilized world. At that time it was perceived by everybody as a misunderstanding, but 17 years of ruling showed that these were not just words thrown in the heat of the moment, but the basic position of the regime. Having uncontrolled authority, the president can lead the country in one direction or another, and actually he really does, not asking the people's opinion. During the years of his ruling in Belarus institutions of influence of the public opinion on decision- making have been practically destroyed. Even the voice of society has almost disappeared. But this does not mean that the society agrees with that line of policy that holds the head of the state and the government.

Function and purpose of public organizations and associations of citizens are to articulate alternative opinions that exist in the society, to bring these opinions to notice of everybody whom it may concern, primarily of the state authorities. In a democratic country just to articulate an alternative view is often enough for it to be taken it into account while government decision-making.

But if the state is arranged in such a way as to ignore all the alternative views? If all the state policy is designed to ensure that public opinion wasn’t heard at all? Such a state restricts all possible ways of articulation and spreading of alternative views, prevents the emergence of public opinion as such. In such cases, everythings depends on the degree of activity of the society. Passive society is reconciled with the dictatorship and allows it to do everything that the last is able to make. Active society is fighting for its rights and in many cases creates alternative or parallel state structures and institutions, even the institutions of realization of the society decisions that do not coincide with the actions of the state.

It is in this situation there lives our country and the civil society in Belarus so far for many years.

When government institutions refuse to notice public activity, to register public initiatives and organizations, then these initiatives and organizations start to act without being registered and their activity continues without interaction with the state. This situation is reminiscent of the secularization [that took place five centuries ago], when the church was separated from the state and so their co-existence began. In Belarus, the society is separated from the state. But in this case, to realize its goals, to solve its problems the society must create structures and institutions independent from the state. These will allow the society not only to exist and survive, but to confront the state in socially significant areas in which the interests of the state and society are not only different, but directly opposite.

So it is with the line of policy of the state in direction opposite to what is common in the civilized world. Civil society is interested in the contrary - in the integration of Belarus with the civilized world, in particular with the United Europe. Moreover, in the integration of all the aspects and areas of life and activity.

Lets’ consider just one of aspects that is stood up particularly acute before the country in recent months, after illegal use of force by the state against the society on December 19^th,, 2010.

Belarusian society was outraged by a simulation of the election process and at the end of voting during the presidential elections walked out on the square to express its outrage. Manifestation of public opinion in such a form, in lacking of the society of other forms and opportunities, was faced up by the regime in a very aggressive way. The social activity was severely suppressed. For its part, the society was not prepared to oppose to the brutality and aggression an organized resistance. The state has used the situation to liquidate any possibilities for the society and individual citizens to protect themselves and their rights, has increased pressure on human rights organizations, while the last had been tend to exist without registration, as in a parallel space. Any attempts to expand human rights activities are suppressed. The independence of the advocacy - the oldest institution of citizens' rights protection - is practically liquidated.

The state of emergency has been established de facto in the country. The implementation of the basic constitutional rights is limited: right for legal defence, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Mass arrests, interrogations, forced fingerprinting, court verdicts handed down by the order – all this have become normal everyday occurrences.

How does the society behave in this situation?

The positive aspects of society's response to an emergency rule imposing are to show solidarity with the victims of the arbitrary rules. Many people are assisting the victims. This is done by just as spontaneously formed groups so by the long-standing human rights organizations.

Human rights defenders and journalists are attentively watching over all cases of rights’s violations, fixing all the facts, constantly monitoring the situation.

But surveillance is not impaired by reduction of repressions, reducing of arbitrary rules. Illegal arrests and detentions are continued and are carried out not only with violation of laws and legal procedures, but more, without any sane excuse (for example, the case of detention of group of people gathered at V.Shchukin's apartment for his birthday).

If the belarusian society is interested in the cessation of repressions, in leaving the state of emergency, in the transition to the normal functioning of the society and the state, it is necessary to change a simple observation, monitoring and assistance to an active position, to pass from observation to resistance to tyranny.

For this we need to develop and improve the social structures and institutions. Modern human rights organizations in Belarus are handling their part of work well. But there are challenges and problems that they can not do.

In all states, members of the Council of Europe, as well as in hundreds of countries around the world, it is introduced the institution of human rights attorney - the ombudsman, whose function is to ensure interaction between the society and the state in the field of human and citizen rights and to control the freedoms and loyalties execution by public enforcement structures. Ombudsman is the public position. In some countries, this position is established by Parliament, in others – by the head of a state. In Belarus there is no Parliament. And the acting head of the state, former President Lukashenko will never recognize in the state a public position that would exercise control over his actions, also.

The function, which is implemented by the ombudsman in civilized countries, is not exercised in Belarus by anyone. So, if the state is not interested in presence of such a function and position in our country, then it becomes a matter of the society.

Human rights organizations should have built a National congress immediately after the events of December 19^th, to elect a public ombudsman and to continue taking actions on a national scale through this institution. Evidently, in a state of emergency in the country, human rights defenders have been taking into account too many concerns and worries, more than usual. They have had things to do.

Now the state of emergency is collapsing and getting it’s close somehow. When all the courts end, the authorities will reduce repression. There will be less new victims, and so the struggle for the liberation of political prisoners must be carried out in other forms. Then the position of the public ombudsman will be in demand as never before.

Therefore, it is suitable to hold out the Human Rights Congress in May or in early June 2011.

Moreover, it should be not the Congress of human rights defenders, but the Human Rights Congress, since the problems of rights protection have now become a national affair. Today, any social activity is practically becoming a human rights activity. In these circumstances, the ombudsman is needed by everybody.

Certainly, there will be troubles with recognizing of the position and the person who will be elected for it, both in the country and abroad. But civil society in Belarus has already got experience of non-traditional creative activities, that are accepted in Europe, even if not immediately. Still, the civil society is a phenomenon of the civilized world, and civilized people, unlike the uncivilized ones, know how to negotiate and understand each other.

Harder will be in relationships with the state. But exactly these relationships have become such a tension that traditional and stereotyped ways of acting are not possible anymore.

It is a public ombudsman that should be a person who will start the settlement of relationships between society and government on the most live and urgent issues, when any normal relations of the society and the state are impossible until there are dozens of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. Now all the relations are abnormal. And these need to be normalized. If the state is unable to make a step towards normalization, the civil society should do it itself.