ECPYN calls on Belarusian authorities to respect rights of citizens

It is with grave concern, that ECPYN has taken notice of the violations of both political rights and basic human rights of its own citizens on the part of the Belarusian authorities. We call on the Belarusian authorities to set right its unjustified actions and to refrain from further violations. We call on the European Union and on all national governments to condemn the violations and to take appropriate actions to press the Belarusian authorities to make amends.

The violations of political and basic human rights of citizens on the part of the Belarusian authorities include:

- the use of excessive violence by the riot police against citizens who gathered peacefully in Independence Square in Minsk. Many people were beaten so severely, they were hospitalized, including even some minors and elderly.
- random arrest and detainment of peaceful protesters.
- intimidation of presidential candidates and other leaders of opposition parties and youth organisations on the part of the police and the secret service.
- undue expelling of students involved with political parties and youth organisations from their universities.
- unwarranted breaking and entering of the homes and offices of opposition leaders and activists.
- unwarranted confiscation of properties belonging to political parties and youth organisations.

We call on the Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners and detainees and to lift any other sanctions against opposition leaders and activists. We would like to mention specifically the detainment of Pavel Seviarynets and the house arrest of Vital Rimashevsky.

In light of the fact that the OSCE election observer mission deemed the elections to be short of accepted democratic standards and the elections can hence not be seen as free and fair, it can hardly be surprising that many citizens expressed their discontent by taking to the street. The excessive response to these protests by the authorities is unacceptable by any standard and certainly does not befit any government that would like to continue to cooperate with the European Union in the Eastern Partnership.

We therefore call on the European Union to suspend the participation of Belarus in its Eastern Partnership Programme indefinitely until the Belarusian authorities significantly improve the human and civil rights conditions, release the political prisoners and detainees and lift the sanctions against them. We also call on the European Union and national governments to enter into permanent dialogue with Belarusian opposition forces, youth organisations and NGO’s and to continuously monitor the political situation in Belarus, in order to be able to respond quickly to new violations.

Support the registration of Belarusian Christian Democracy by sending a solidarity petition to the Belarusian government and the President!‏

Dear colleagues, friends,

the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party requests you to support the process of our state registration by sending a solidarity petition to the Belarusian government and the President of Belarus.

In these documents you'll the find the account of repressions against the BCD founders (Word Document, 53 KB) and the draft of the petition (Word Document, 25.5 KB).

The addresses of the recipients are below.

We are hoping for your cooperation,

BCD co-chairpersons
Paval Sieviarynets, Vital Rymasheuski, Alaksiej Shein, Heorhi Dzmitruk.


http://www.president.gov.by/en/press23726.html
http://www.president.gov.by/en/press23726.html
press@president..gov.by


Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus http://www.government.by/en/eng_contacts.html

11 Sovetskaya St., Minsk 220010
(House of Government)

Fax: (8-017) 222-66-65
Email: contact@government.by

Press Secretary of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus

Aleksandr M. Timoshenko

Тel./Fax: (8-017) 222-41-73
Email: timoshenko@government.by


Citizens correspondence and consultation Department

9 Sovetskaya St., Minsk 220010

Tel.: (8-017) 222-60-46


--
BCD international committee
http://www.bchd.info/english/

Founding congress BCD

Official statement of BCD international committee

THE FOUNDING CONVENTION OF THE BELARUSIAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY TOOK PLACE ON OCTOBER 31 IN MINSK

In spite of the fact that the venue for the congress was provided only a day and a half before the event, the organizers managed to gather 311 delegates and app. 300 guests. Among the guests there were Stanislau Shushkevich, Viachaslau Siuchyk, Aliaksei Janukevich, Viktar Karnienka, Juras Hubarevich, Ales Lahviniets, Liudmila Hraznova, Ambassadors of United Kingdom and Hungary in Belarus, representatives of the diplomatic missions of the USA, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Lithuania, Latvia, delegates from Christian democratic parties of Norway, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Ukraine, representatives of the European Parliament, priests of different Christian churches.

The participants of the Congress were also greeted by the leader of Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Ronald Pofalla, the leader of the European Parliament delegation on Belarus affairs Jacek Protasievicz, Prime-Minister of Lithuania, Chairman of Christian Democratic party of Lithuania Homeland Union Andrius Kubilius, and also Christian democratic parties of Moldova, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Finland and Georgia.

The most important political decision was taken regarding participation of BCD in local elections in the year 2010 and presidential elections in the year 2011.

The delegates of the congress decided to support their party candidate for presidency, Vital Rymasheuski, and to form his initiative group. Vital Rymasheuski will be suggested as a single candidate from the Belarusian Pro-Independence Block, and he can withdraw his candidature to the advantage of another candidate in case the latter forms a bigger initiative group.

ATTEMPTS OF THE AUTHORITIES TO INTERVENE THE CONGRESS OF BCD

The delegates from Kobryn were stopped by the traffic police three times on their way to Minsk the night before October 31. The policemen checked the passport details of the BCD members. The delegates arrived to the Congress only in the morning.

Three cars from Babruisk were stopped on their way to the Congress as well. The whole delegation with Taisia Kabanchuk as a head was kept for more than an hour - the police checked the cars and the documents. In the end two women were fined for not wearing the safety belts in the back seat.

Two cars were stopped in Slutsk early in the morning on October 31. The first one, driven by the leader of the local BCD organization Viktar Dvurechanski, was soon released; the other was kept for several hours in the police department to check the passport details of the delegates. As a result the car with the Vice-Chairman of the Slutsk BCD organization Maksim Jurchankou was late to the Congress for several hours. The delegates arrived only to the second half of the congress.

The delegate to the Congress from Pinsk Paval Dzenisevich was stopped by the police at the local railway station after he bought a ticket to Minsk, and was kept for passport control until his train left. As soon as the last train which the delegate could possibly take to get to the Congress on time left, the policemen apologised to Dzenisevich and let him go.

The BCD member from Brest Aliaksandr K. was called for interrogation to the office of KGB. They demanded that he should withdrawal hissignature as a BCD founder. Moreover, KGB threatened that Aliaksandr and his girlfriend, who studies at the local University, would have problems.

On October 31 in the morning there was a picturesque view at the Kastrychnickaya square in Minsk (possible variant of location of the Congress). The members of BCD Mikalai Artsiuhou and Ales Ilkevich who came to the square reported on the following: 4 traffic police cars, riot police and police motorcycles rode around the square in a chain.

I never saw something like that in the center of Minsk. I think it is connected with the promise of the Minister of Internal Affairs Kuliashou to break up the BCD Congress in any case. It proves that the authorities wanted to interfere with the Congress and took certain actions towards it, but this wish was kept on a short leash due to the coming decision of the EU with regard to the sanctions, - stated the leader of BCD Paval Sieviarynets in his interview to the press-center of the Belarusian Christian Democracy.