Biélorussie: une dictature aux frontières de l'Europe

Voici copie d'un courriel reçu au sujet de la Biélorussie, adressé ce jour par
Office for Democratic Belarus.

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Dear friends and colleagues,please see below a short summary of the recent attacks on the Belarusian opposition members and the statements made by the international community on what is happening in Belarus before the presidential election on March 19.On March 2, one of the presidential candidates, Alyaksandr Kazulin, was beaten and detained (later freed) when he tried to register as a delegate for the All-Belarusian Peolple's Assembly: http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/03/02/koz.Police fired warning shots, then beat and rounded up about 20 Kazulin supporters who gathered at the police station to demand his release: http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/03/02/aktSeveral Belarusian and foreign journalists have been beaten on the same day; press photographers from Reuters, Associated Press, 'Nasha Niva' and 'Belgazeta,' who were at the scene by the police department, were detained. Their cameras were confiscated but released after law-enforcers discovered that the reporters had not managed to capture the car firing: http://baj.ru/indexe.htm, http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/03/02/kp, http://baj.ru/indexe.htm. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the Belarusian authorities for the assaults on journalists. "This is a shocking violation of democratic rights," said Aidan White, IFJ general secretary.Several thousands of opposition supporters rallied in the Belarus capital of Minsk in the evening of March 2 amid rising tensions in the run up to the presidential election. Alyaksandr Milinkevich addressed the crowd: http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/03/02/volki.Presidential candidate from the unified democratic opposition, Alyaksandr Milinkevich, expressed solidarity with Kazulin, his colleagues, and journalists who suffered at the hands of security forces. He said that authorities have demonstrated their boorishness and lack of respect to the law, human rights, and dignity.The United States and European Union condemned the actions of authorities in Belarus. A U.S. statement to the OSCE said that in recent weeks authorities in Minsk have harassed and intimidated non-governmental organizations, opposition political figures, and civil society groups. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner condemned what she called "serious violations" of the campaigning rights of the opposition candidates. She also noted that a declaration adopted by EU foreign ministers in January said the EU is ready to take "further appropriate restrictive measures against the responsible individuals" if the elections are not conducted in a democratic manner: http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/03/03/over. Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Anatoli Buteiko said that his country would join the EU statement on the situation in Belarus.U.S. President George W. Bush`s national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, denounced the beating and said the world needed to show more outrage about Belarus. U.S. State Department official David Kramer said the White House condemned Kazulin's beating and arrest and called on the acting Belarusian government to ensure free and democratic election": http://fpc.state.gov/fpc/62511.htmFreedom House strongly condemned the beating and detention of opposition presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin by police. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) expressed concern about the violent arrests of Kazulin and his supporters. "Any arrest of a candidate during an election campaign raises concerns and needs immediate clarification by the authoritiesA delegation from the Russian State Duma, headed by speaker Boris Gryzlov, took part in the session of the so-called 'All-Belarusian People's Assembly,' which opened in Minsk. Gryzlov said that Russian leadership is convinced of "victory" for Lukashenka in the presidential elections. "It is pleasant that we are always forming a united front, united force, asserting our common interests," he said. Gryzlov had not expressed any concern over today's repressions against presidential candidates and members of their teams.Organizers of independent observation at presidential elections Mikalay Astrejka, Enira Branitskaya, Alyaksandr Shalajka, and Tsimafej Dranchuk were presented accusations under Article 193 Part 2 ("heading an unregistered public association, entrenching upon rights and responsibilities of citizens"). Under this article, they face an arrest for up to six months, or restriction of liberty for up to three years. All the detainees are kept in the KGB detention facility, though Minsk prosecutor's office is in charge of the case of the independent observers: http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/02/24/ngo, http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/02/28/cc.Today the Washington-based National Democratic Institute has published a statement on situation in Belarus. As the chairman of the director's council, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said, "The National Democratic Institute condemns attempts of the Belarusian authorities to deny its citizens realization of their fundamental right, to carry out observation at the presidential elections on March 19".

Olga StuzhinskayaOffice for Democratic Belarus