(Minsk, BELARUS, March 16-17, 2010)
On March 16th, 2010 police burst in Charter'97 website's press-room in Minsk, Belarus. Computers were seized. Editor of site Charter97.org Natallya Radzina was beaten. This is connected with professional activities. At about 3 p.m. police officers and people in mufti have burst in the office rented by journalist Natalya Radzina.
There were 7 persons in the office during the search. Police officers were justifying that by the fact that they are carrying out operative work on finding a person called Igar Svabodzin in frames of criminal case connected with corruption in law-enforcement structures. Policemen seized the computers and other office equipment.
The policemen were using force to break into the flat. As Natalya Radzina came out of door, they ran down the stairs and pushed her to prevent her locking the door. One of the policemen hit Radzina's face damaging her eye. Only after that they demonstrated official order for the search signed by prosecutor of Gomel region Valyantsina Shayevaya.
Inspector of Leninski district police department Alaksandr Tchuy was in charge for the search. About 10 policemen of Leninski district police department and Minsk city police department were taking part in the search together with unidentified persons in black masks. Only police officers captain Andrei Kryvalevich and captain Dzmitry Kanyuhevich identified themselves. Masked people reacted in Nazi hail when they were asked to identify themselves. Eight computers were seized as a result.
"Policemen were dressed in mufti, and behaved like thugs while breaking into the office. They hit my face for executing my professional duty. It is obvious that they are trying to shut us up and to seize our opportunity to say the truth. And it is not occasionally. Just yesterday our site published the information that leader of "European Belarus" Andrei Sannikov will nominate for presidency. Today the office is ruined, journalists beaten, computers confiscated. This is both stupid and terrible. Yes, it will be harder for us to work. But we will continue our work and masked thugs with Nazi hails will not stop us. Lukashenka's regime embarassed itself with its shameful behavior again because they are so afraid of freedom of speech and real opponent on the elections," - said editor of Charter97.org Natalya Radzina.
A special press-conference of "European Belarus" leader Andrei Sannikov, the editor-in-chief of charter97.org website Natallya Radzina (Radina) and a journalist of "Narodnaya Volya" Maryna Koktysh was held on March 17 in Minsk.
We remind that yesterday policemen forced entry to charter97.org news office and seized all computers. The editor-in-chief of the news website Natalya Radzina was punched. Searches wer also held in the flat of "European Belarus" leader Andrei Sannikov and his wife, a well-known journalist Iryna Khalip, in the office of "Narodnaya Volya" newspaper and in the flat of a journalist of the newspaper Maryna Koktysh. During the searches all office equipment and data carriers were seized.
"What is happening has nothing to do with the so-called "hunters' case". It is obvious now. The hunt has been started, if we are speaking about "hunters' case", against independent journalism, independent mass media, and the most popular news outlets, charter97.org website and "Narodnaya Volya" newspaper, "Belarusian partisan" website.
It is no mere chance that these events took place on March 16. It is the Day of Solidarity. Not only searches and attacks have taken place, but the trial over political prisoners Mikalai Autukhovich, rallies of solidarity disbanded, people are arrested. All day long police, KGB, special services simply demonstrated how they are frightened by these days of solidarity. And solidarity is what we need today. Solidarity of Belarusians and solidarity worldwide. We know that it has aroused a reaction in the world, and the reaction is to become stronger. I can say that Alyaksandr Lukashenka should start forgetting about Western loans, as I do not know who would lobby his interests now, finance the dictatorship which is demonstrating its real face more and more clearly," stated the leader of "European Belarus" civil campaign.
As said by the politician, now the world is also waiting for the reaction of Belarusians to the events taking place in their county.
"Days of solidarity are to become actions of solidarity. And the nearest occasion is our holiday, Freedom Day March 25. We know that organizers have applied for holding a rally, leaflets have appeared, organizational work is done. Nobody should intimidate us, and we shouldn't be intimidated. Belarusians are strong people, but we must understand that not attacks against journalists, against the free press, some politicians, but against the entire Belarusian nation are taking place now. Belarusians should make their statement, demonstrate their reaction to the total lawlessness. The changes are close. I am sure about that, I believe in that. And what is going on now demonstrates that Lukashenka's regime has no answers to really tough challenges of the time, has no answers to the crisis; no reforming of the economic system is taking place, life standards are worsening, and dictatorship simply does not want to hear the truth we are telling Andrei Sannikov noted that repressions will continue: yesterday late in the night policemen tried to burst in the premises of Aleh Bebenin, Charter'97 press-secretary, and to a coordinator of "European Belarus" Zmitser Bandarenka. It is not excluded that these attempts may continue.
"But again, it depends on how we would bear it and on how we would react," Sannikov is convinced.
Belarusians and the world," "European Belarus" leader said.
During the press-conference, Natalya Radzina, charter97.org editor, expressed gratitude to Belarusian and foreign journalists, human rights organizations for their solidarity and support during yesterday's raid to the news office. According to the journalist, the attack of policemen against her and her workers, as well as seizure of al computers, shows that the regime had decided not to wait for July 1, when the hideous Lukashenka's decree on censorship on Internet in Belarus is to come to force.
"The fear of the authorities is obvious. On March 14 we publish Andrei Sannikov's interview, who had stated his intention to run for presidency, on March 16 searches and seizure of equipment is carried out in our news office. The regime is in such a fear that they cannot wait, they need to squeeze, strangle everything free which is still left. Judging by the course of events, a unit of measure of freedom of speech in Belarus could be called 1 chuj, or 1 korzh. Ivan Korzh is KGB man who had been allegedly labeled by journalists, and Alyaksandr Chuj is an investigator of the police department of Leninski district, who with his guys zealously burst into the news office of Charter'97 website. But I want to assure you that you won't be able to suppress us. Yes, it is even more difficult for us to work, but we will perform our professional and human duty - to day the truth," Radzina said.
We remind that yesterday during the asttempt to force entry to the editorial office of the website, policemen in mufti punched the journalist's face. Natalya Radzina has a hematoma of the eye area, and today she is set to complain to the prosecutor's office against such actions of policemen.
During the press-conference a journalist of "Narodnaya Volya" newspaper Martyna Koktysh, whose apartment and the editorial office had been searched too, informed that she read in the documents shown by policemen that a criminal case related to defamation of Homel regional KGB head Ivan Korzh, a formal ground for searches, was initiated on December 31, 2009. The search warrant was written by the head of Homel Interior Affairs Department on February 23, 2010, and the paper that a search should be carried out in the flat of the journalist arrived from Homel to Minsk on March 4. The search was held on March 16. Thus, the warrants for searches had been signed before and were waiting for their time.
Answering questions of journalists what a reaction of the European Union to the events in Belarus should be, Andrei Sannikov stated:
"The reaction of the EU should be unambiguous - they must admit defeat of their inapt policy of "reforming" the dictator, admit that democratization is not taking place on its own. They should understand that there are no democratic institutions, independent press, independent courts in Belarus. And the reaction should be adequate, they should stop playing these games. These games lead to destroying of the nation, to destroying of the independent state".
No comments:
Post a Comment