On February 9, 2011 in Minsk, Belarus dictator Lukashenko has awarded five chief policemen for beating badly peaceful protesters on December 19, 2010. Five members of the Minsk militia were presented with the letters of appreciation with his signature. These letters were awarded to Colonel Igor Evseev, colonel Alexander Lukomskiy, colonel Victor Skurat, major Sergey Ivanov and Roman Kadin.
"At this crucial historical period, it is very important for me to lean on support of people like you - a true patriots, caring and loyal with warm hearts. Thank you for civic courage and active position in life "- says the message of the dictator in the letters of appreciation.
Meantime the Case of the Mass Protests in Minsk on December 19, 2010 (Bloody Sunday, as they call this day in Belarus) continues to grow as a snowball. On the list of defendants already 43 people, including seven ex-presidential candidates. Three former contestants - Andrey Sannikov, Aleksei Mikhalevich and Nikolai Statkevich still under arrest in KGB prison. Searches and arrests in Belarus continue every day. KGB investigators had already visited many opposition activists several times.
Human rights activists have told of torture and violence against opposition. On February 9th, 2011 Experts of the International Observation Mission Committee of International Control Over Human Rights situation in Belarus announced the results of the evidence-research conducted on the basis of information received from 205 people in Minsk from January 3rd to January 21st, 2011. The study analyzed 205 questionnaires answered by respondents who have been detained in the course of public action on the night of 19th to 20th of December 2010. Respondents' age from 18 to 61 years, 43 of them - women, 162 - men.
Experts assert with confidence that "the officials used violence and brutality in detentions. Violence has been applied to every fourth detainee and the acts of violence were accompanied by insults and humiliation of detainees. " It should be noted that most detainees were not resisting arrests, showing willingness to comply with the procedure of the arrest by policemen. At the same time representatives of the authorities in every sixth case of participation in the arrest did not have badges, and their faces were concealed under black masks.
Violation of judicial proceedings in administrative cases of detainees can be considered mainstream. Almost all so-called trials lasted an average of 5 to 15 minutes, while most of the detainees have never had a chance to defend themselves.
Judges conducted trials with many serious procedural violations under close doors. Lawyers hired by detainees' families were not admitted to the trials along with family members, journalists and the public. Judges refused to examine witnesses for the defense, and did not provide detainees with the explanation of the procedure to appeal their decisions.
Conditions of administrative detainees in all institutions, where they were, in many cases can be considered derogatory to human dignity. The cells were overcrowded, they were cold, ventilation was weak, the lighting was poor, and the amount of beds, bed linen and toiletries was not adequate. Drinking water was not provided, the quality of food was very low, the use of shower and exercise yards has been severely restricted and insufficient to maintain a normal lifestyle, and restrooms were poorly equipped in terms of privacy. Detention staff was very rude and partially plundered transmissions sent to detainees.
The general conclusion on the facts and the analysis can be summarized as follows: Authority of the Republic of Belarus were not ready for such mass actions of protest and failed to secure the rights and freedoms of people of the Republic of Belarus at the time of detention, during the trial and at keeping them in prison.
Searches and arrests in Belarus continue every day. KGB investigators had already visited many opposition activists several times.
European Union denied entry to 158 high-ranking Belarusian officials, including illegitimate president Lukashenko and his two sons - Viktor and Dmitry. But many international experts were disappointed: Europe did not introduce economic sanctions. U.S. will try to convince the EU to introduce against the Lukashenko regime and economic sanctions. Washington convinced that the dictator and the people around him earn huge money in oil companies deals.
In terms of the EU visa ban, the new register covers illegitimate president Aleksander Lukashenko and his two adult sons: Dmitriy and Viktor. Thirty-year-old Dmitriy is said in the EU documents to have "active participation in financial operations involving the Lukashenko family." He also runs the Presidential Sports Club.
What is interesting is that Yuriy Sivakov, a man suspected of mass-scale money laundering for so called president Alexander Lukashenko, has been quietly left out of a EU asset-freeze on the Belarusian nomenclature as Andrew Rettman mentioned in his article in EuroObserver.
According to Mr. Rettman "The Russian-born 64-year-old, a former Belarusian interior minister, appeared on the EU radar in 2004 when a Council of Europe investigation said he was part of a "death squad" (together with another former official Dmitriy Pavlichenko) that murdered four dissidents. He no longer holds office. But a leaked US cable from 2007 reports that in 2006 he ran a company called Chyest which laundered $1.5 million a day of bribery and extortion money via banks in Poland, Russia and the US on behalf of the Lukashenko´s family."
Dictator Lukashenko has studiously pretended that no sanctions undermine his authority and threatened to retaliate. On February 7th, 2011 the dictator took a short-term one week vacation and went to Sochi - a city-resort in southern Russia.
However, even official statistics have to admit that 2010 was the worst in economic history of Belarus from the perspective of the trade deficit. The trade deficit for 2010 amounted to 9 billion 642.3 million dollars (in 2009 it was $7 billion 264.8 million).
At the end of this article I would like to remind my readers that On October 6, 2004 US Congress passed the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 (H.R. 854) sponsored by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and others, to fund a broad range of measures to support democracy in Belarus. Although this is a beginning, the executive branch and Congress need to do more. Specifically, they should:
1. - Denounce publicly Lukashenko's violations of the constitution and electoral procedures, and the State Department should amplify its criticism of Belarus' flawed political system.
2. - Declare, with the EU, that the referendum, parliamentary and presidential elections are illegitimate if observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe find election falsification or other violations.
3. - Use domestic and international law enforcement agencies, such as Interpol, in cooperation with EU members, to coordinate criminal investigations into homicides, money laundering, and illegal arms trading linked to the Lukashenko´s regime.
4. - Investigate the disappearances of Lukashenko's political opponents, provided there is a jurisdictional nexus to the U.S. and/or Europe. Both the U.S. Justice Department and its European counterparts can do so. Moreover, Europe and the U.S. could initiate criminal proceedings against those in the president's circle who ordered and participated in the murder of opposition politicians and journalists.
5. - Seize assets of Lukashenka and his inner circle through criminal proceedings against illegal arms sales and money laundering operations if Belarus violated U.S. or international sanctions. The U.S. and EU would be entitled to enforce such sanctions even if the violations did not occur in America or Europe.
6. - Fund, together with the EU, an international broadcasting operation by opposition radio and television stations from countries around Belarus, and expand people-to-people and educational exchanges.
7. - Consult with Russia regarding possible political changes that would make Belarus more democratic and predictable. Such a coordinated effort would benefit Russia by making the transit route for Russian gas to Europe less prone to Lukashenko's interference and would eliminate the need for Russia to support the Belarusian economy with subsidized natural gas at a cost of over $2 billion per year.
Almost SEVEN(!) years have passed since the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 was adopted and stayed only on paper with NO or little actions.
Meantime fascism is rising steadily in Belarus in the heart of Europe.
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