Belarus is focus of Helsinki Commission Hearing (05/30/99)

Belarus is focus of Helsinki Commission Hearing

by Orest Deychakiwsky

WASHINGTON - Witnesses focused attention on the erosion of human rights and the assault on the rule of law stemming from President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's extension of his personal powers in testimony presented on April 27 at a hearing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation (Helsinki Commission) titled "Belarus: Back in the USSR?"

The hearing - the first ever in Congress on Belarus - was attended by Reps. Chairman Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) and Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), members of the Helsinki Commission.

Chairman Smith opened the hearing by recalling the anniversary of Chornobyl and its devastating legacy for Belarus, noting that President Lukashenka's amassing of power in the illegitimate 1996 referendum has been described as a "legal Chornobyl." He cited the efforts of the international community, including the Helsinki Commission, to encourage greater compliance by the Belarusian government with Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) norms, principles and commitments in the area of human rights and democracy.

Rep. Smith also called upon the Belarusian authorities to release from prison former Prime Minister Mikhail Chyhir, a presidential candidate in the opposition-organized May 16 presidential elections, and to "begin a constructive dialogue with the opposition to address the current constitutional impasse created by the illegitimate 1996 referendum."

In his opening remarks Sen. Brownback stressed that it's not the West isolating Belarus, but Belarus isolating itself by transgressing fundamental principles presented in the Helsinki Final Act and other international human rights agreements.

Testifying at the hearing were Ross Wilson, principal deputy to the ambassador at large and special advisor to the secretary of state for the new independent states; Ambassador Hans-Georg Wieck, head of the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Miensk; Arkady Cherepansky, chargé d'affaires at the Belarusian Embassy; Andrei Sannikov, former deputy foreign affairs minister of Belarus and international coordinator for Charter 97; Rachel Denber of Human Rights Watch; and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick of the International League for Human Rights.

Mr. Wilson testified that President Lukashenka has "destroyed the constitutional balance of power, disbanded the Supreme Soviet, installed a rubber-stamp legislature, and subordinated the judiciary, ... clamped down on dissent and independent political organizations, ... rejected economic reform, worked to keep the old Soviet economic machine in his country alive." Nevertheless, Mr. Wilson stressed that U.S. must not ignore Belarus and must continue to work with the OSCE, the EU and other democratic partners to push for change. He also described the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's continued recognition of Belarus' 13th Supreme Soviet, which President Lukashenka abolished in following his illegal 1996 constitutional referendum, as a "burr in the side of President Lukashenka."

Mr. Wilson characterized the U.S. assistance program in Belarus as active and focusing on supporting democratic change, with no assistance going to the government.

"Belarus had promise," he noted, "in years following independence. That promise reflected the democratic and European aspirations of the Belarusian people, who have seen such suffering in this century. We want to see it live up to that promise."

Rep. Hoyer echoed Mr. Wilson's observation about "not forgetting the Belarusian people" and emphasized that "we keep in mind, as we are involved in Kosovo and Serbia, that our argument is not with the Serbian people or with the people of Belarus, but with the leadership and the dictatorship that's being imposed upon them."

Mr. Wilson observed that progress to implement a union between Belarus and Russia has been slow and that "Belarusians are not as supportive of the idea of Belarusian-Russian unity as some might pretend." He also noted that Belarus' relations with Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania are complicated, and that governments of all three have shared their concerns with the United States, as well as directly with the Belarusian leadership.

Ambassador Wieck outlined the OSCE's strategy. He noted a willingness and readiness not only among the opposition, but even within the Belarusian government itself, to move towards democratic structures. The objective of the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group (AMG) he leads is to "further the peaceful solution to the existing conflict within the country and to introduce the principles, as well as the practice, of peaceful conflict resolution into the political climate of the country," pursuing these objectives through programs to further democratic legislation and the rule of law, and human rights monitoring and education.

While acknowledging that a great deal needs to be done to further these objectives, Ambassador Wieck argued for the West's continued constructive engagement with Belarus, stating: "The renovation, the innovation, the modernization of industrial potential of Belarus cannot be achieved with Russia, it can be achieved only with the West."

Mr. Cherepansky, Belarus' chargé d'affaires in Washington, defended his government's human rights record, arguing that there has been progress in comparison to the Soviet era and that "the only substantive aspect in the current discussion should be the pace of democratic and political transformation in the country."

He reiterated his government's position that any dialogue between the government and opposition should proceed on the basis of President Lukashenka's 1996 Constitution, considered illegitimate by most of the international community.

Commissioners Smith and Hoyer challenged Mr. Cherepansky on his perspective on the pace of reform, contending that the issue is not only the pace of transformation, but the direction of that pace, namely, that the direction is away from democracy.

The commissioners asked Mr. Cherepansky whether there would be a massive crackdown against opposition political parties if they carry out elections on May 16. Mr. Cherepansky assured the commissioners that no massive crackdown would occur, "though those elections will be in violation of existing law. The only punishment meted out will be according to the current laws of the government. We are actually working with international experts on a new criminal code."

Rep. Hoyer then pointed out that "if your existing laws are not compliant with international standards, it does not rationalize them or excuse the denial of human rights to your people."

Chairman Smith emphasized concern about Presidential Decree No. 2, which introduces extensive restrictions on non-governmental activity and mandates re-registration of political parties, NGOs and trade unions, asserting that "we stand as a commission very determined to ensure that non-governmental, as well as the opposition party members, be free to express themselves without hindrance, without having the government retaliate and do some of the awful things that have happened in the past."

In addition to criticizing the Belarusian government's violations of OSCE human rights commitments and Mr. Lukashenka's illegal concentration of power in his hands, Ambassador Sannikov, Ms. Fitzpatrick and Ms. Denber, while recognizing the challenges that the OSCE's AMG encounters in dealing with the Belarusian government, criticized aspects of its work.

Ambassador Sannikov urged support for Belarusian independence, questioning the legitimacy of President Lukashenka's efforts to realize a Belarusian-Russian union, as the will of the people cannot be expressed freely in Belarus. Mr. Sannikov also stressed that the Belarusian democratic opposition, of which he is a leading member, is "unanimous in its views that President Lukashenka's term of office expires on July 20, 1999. International recognition of the legitimacy of President Lukashenka after July 20 will perpetuate the situation of dictatorship in Belarus, and give the authorities a free hand in abusing every human right and basic freedom," he said.

He contended that the authorities have rejected conditions that would be conducive to a serious dialogue between the government and opposition, namely, opposition "access to the mass media and the release of political prisoners and cessation of the harassment and intimidation of the opponents of the regime."

Despite initially welcoming the AMG, "today, unfortunately," said Mr. Sannikov, "the AMG's activities in Belarus are seen by many in the democratic opposition as too loyal to the authorities and aimed at the gradual recognition of the unlawful constitution and President Lukashenka after his July 20 term expires."

Mr. Sannikov said the AMG funds spent on election training and monitoring "were a waste of the resources of the OSCE participating states. It is wasted in a country that doesn't have the rule of law."

Both Mr. Sannikov and Ms. Fitzpatrick called for the return of the U.S. ambassador to Miensk, arguing that the presence of an American ambassador would help to put pressure on Belarusian authorities to move towards democracy. Ms. Fitzpatrick also called for an aggressive plan of outreach to opposition and civic groups, and programs to improve foreign radio broadcasting to Belarus, as well as funding of activities to strengthen civil society, including academic exchanges and a major media development fund.

She urged the AMG to make public its interventions with the Belarusian government and to note publicly when it was denied access to prisons, and called for future OSCE elections observation to be linked explicitly to the re-registration of NGOs, trade unions and parties under international standards for freedom of association.

Ms. Denber observed that the conditions prevailing in Belarus have only worsened since the Advisory and Monitoring Group began its work in February 1998, especially the growing impasse between the government and opposition. She argued that the AMG's early reliance on quiet diplomacy resulted in a failure "to make its presence felt among the people who needed it the most" and urged the AMG to focus more attention on cases and "to intervene on behalf of besieged and marginalized institutions and actors in Belarus, NGOs, individuals".

Echoing the sentiments of Ambassador Sannikov and Ms. Fitzpatrick, she urged greater transparency in the AMG's work in Belarus. Ms. Denber did note, however, that as of a few months ago, Human Rights Watch began to notice marked improvements in the work of the AMG, especially a greater willingness to intervene in political cases and monitor trials.

A few days after the Helsinki Commission hearing, U.S. Ambassador Daniel Speckhard, who was present at the hearing, returned to Belarus for a visit for the first time since last summer, when foreign ambassadors were evicted by President Lukashenka from their residences in the Drazdy compound.While in Belarus, Ambassador Speckhard said the United States regards the May 16 presidential elections in Belarus as a statement of the political will of the Belarusian people, and expressed hope that the opposition's elections will lead to a constructive dialogue between the government and opposition.

Copies of the witnesses' prepared statements are currently available on the Helsinki Commission website, http://www.house.gov/csce/, and the complete hearing record will soon be available by contacting the commission.

Orest Deychakiwsky is a staff advisor at the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) whose country responsibilities include Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Hungary.

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