Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly
Strasbourg, 28.04.2004
Assembly calls for ‘maximum pressure’ on Belarus until high-ranking
officials are properly investigated over disappearances:
Resolution <<>> Recommendation
Persecution of the press in Belarus : Resolution <<>> Recommendation
Strasbourg, 28.04.2004 – The Assembly today called for “a maximum of political pressure” on the current leadership of Belarus until high-ranking state officials, including current Prosecutor General Victor Sheyman, were fully investigated for their role in the disappearances of four men in 1999 and 2000 and any subsequent cover-up.
Sanctions should include the possible suspension of Belarus’s participation in Council of Europe agreements and activities as well as contacts on a political level, while co-operation with civil society should be stepped up, the parliamentarians said. They also encouraged those countries whose courts have international jurisdiction to open murder proceedings.
The Assembly was debating a report prepared by Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD) on behalf of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights which looked into the disappearances of opposition figureheads Yuri Zakharenko and Victor Gonchar, as well as businessman Anatoly Krasovski and reporter Dmitri Zavadski, formerly the personal cameraman of President Lukashenko.
Speaking in the presence of the wives of two of the missing men, Mr Pourgourides said Belarus law-enforcers who originally investigated the cases “had obviously come to the conclusion that then presidential security chief Sheyman had instructed Interior Minister Sivakov to set up a ‘death squad’ under the command of Colonel Pavlichenko, which killed, inter alia, the four men covered by my mandate.” He added: “At a crucial turning point, President Lukashenko has clearly sided with those who wanted to cover up the truth”.
The Assembly said it wanted “to send a strong signal that impunity for forced disappearances is not tolerated by the international community”.
The parliamentarians also debated a report on the persecution of the press in Belarus.
Belarus applied to join the Council of Europe in March 1993 and was granted Special Guest status – allowing it to take part in some of the Assembly’s activities – but this status was suspended in January 1997.
Disappeared persons in Belarus
Resolution 1371 (2004)[1]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The Parliamentary Assembly has been concerned for over two years by the disappearances of Yuri Zakharenko, former Minister of the Interior (disappeared on 7 May 1999), Victor Gonchar, former Vice-President of the Parliament of Belarus (disappeared on 16 September 1999), Anatoly Krasovski, businessman (disappeared with Mr Gonchar) and Dmitri Zavadski, cameraman for the Russian TV channel ORT (disappeared on 7 July 2000).
2. Allegations made in public that these disappearances had a political background were the subject of an ad hoc sub-committee of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights set up in September 2002 and of a motion for a resolution in April 2003. The Assembly commends the ad hoc sub-committee and the Rapporteur for their thorough work under difficult circumstances.
3. The Belarusian authorities refused to allow the ad hoc sub-committee to visit Minsk in order to meet with persons who could not or would not come to Strasbourg and they cancelled a second round of meetings requested by the Rapporteur after they found out about his preliminary findings by intercepting confidential communications with the Secretariat and his contacts in Minsk. The Assembly protests vigourously, in particular against the refusal of the Belarusian authorities to invite Mr S. Kovalev and the ad hoc sub-committee presided by him.
4. The Assembly expresses its respect for those Belarusian officials and human rights defenders who sacrificed their careers and took risks even for their personal safety in order to advance the cause of truth.
5. It thanks those countries who granted protection and asylum to a number of such officials, including the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Germany and Norway, and seizes the opportunity to recall the importance of the practical availability of political asylum as a last resort to protect defenders of human rights and democracy.
6. The Assembly recalls Article 1 of the 1992 United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances which states that “Any act of enforced disappearance is an offence to human dignity. It is condemned as a denial of the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and as a grave and flagrant violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, and Article 13 of the Declaration, which calls for investigations to be continued “as long as the fate of the victim of enforced disappearance remains unclarified”.
7. It notes that the UN Commission on Human Rights, in its Resolution 2003/14 adopted on 17 April 2003, urged the Government of Belarus
“(a) To dismiss or suspend from their duties law enforcement officers implicated in forced disappearances and/or summary executions, pending an impartial, credible and full investigation of those cases;
(b) To ensure that all necessary measures are taken to investigate fully and impartially all cases of forced disappearance, summary execution and torture and that perpetrators are brought to justice before an independent tribunal and, if found guilty, punished in a manner consistent with the international human rights obligations of Belarus”.
8. The Assembly considers it an inadmissible conflict of interest that a person who has been accused of masterminding serious crimes is subsequently put in charge, as Prosecutor General, of the official investigation of said crimes. Under the circumstances, the Assembly strongly condemns this appointment.
9. On the basis of the solid results of the Rapporteur’s work separating mere rumours from facts established by evidence or well-founded conclusions, the Assembly concludes that a proper investigation of the disappearances has not been carried out by the competent Belarusian authorities. On the contrary, the elements collected by the Rapporteur have lead it to believe that steps were taken at the highest level of the State to actively cover up the true background of the disappearances, and to suspect that senior officials of the State may themselves be involved in these disappearances.
10. The Assembly therefore requests the Belarusian executive authorities:
i. to launch a truly independent investigation into the above-mentioned disappearances by the competent national authorities, after the resignation of the current Prosecutor General, Mr Sheyman, who has been accused of having himself orchestrated the disappearances in his previous function, and to keep the families of the missing persons fully informed of the progress and results of this investigation. The Council of Europe is ready to provide all possible assistance in such an investigation;
ii. to initiate criminal investigations with a view to clarifying, and punishing, as the case may be:
a. the alleged involvement of the current Prosecutor General, Mr Sheyman, the currrent Minister of Sports (previously Minister of the Interior), Mr Sivakov, and a high-ranking officer of the special forces, Mr Pavlichenko, in these disappearances, and
b. the possible crime of perversion of the course of justice committed by certain other high-ranking officials who have been involved in the investigations carried out so far and who have falsified, dissimulated or suppressed evidence in their possession in order to protect the true perpetrators of the crimes.
11. The Assembly further invites the Belarusian parliament:
i. to establish a parliamentary committee of inquiry, complete with proper investigatory resources at its disposal;
ii. to take the necessary action vis-à-vis the Executive to ensure that the requests under paragraph 10. above are fulfilled, including demanding the resignation of certain high-ranking officials accused of being involved in the disappearances in order to enable a truly independent investigation.
12. Until substantial progress is made regarding the Assembly’s demands under paragraphs 10 and 11 above, the Assembly does not consider it appropriate to reconsider the suspension of the special guest status in favour of the Belarusian parliament decided by the Bureau on 13 January 1997. As long as no substantial progress is made as regards paragraph 11 above, the Assembly considers inappropriate the presence, even informal, of Belarusian parliamentarians during its sessions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]Assembly debate on 28 April 2004 (12th Sitting) (see Doc.10062, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr Pourgourides). Text adopted by the Assembly on 28 April 2004 (12th Sitting).
Disappeared persons in Belarus
Recommendation 1657 (2004)[1]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution 1371 (2004), and recommends that the Committee of Ministers
i. request the competent Belarusian authorities
a. to launch a truly independent investigation into the above-mentioned disappearances by the competent national authorities, after the resignation of the current Prosecutor General, Mr Sheyman, who has been accused of having himself orchestrated the disappearances in his previous function, and to keep the families of the missing persons fully informed of the progress and results of this investigation.
b. to initiate criminal investigations with a view to clarifying, and punishing, as the case may be
the alleged involvement of the current Prosecutor General (previously Head of the Security Council), Mr Sheyman, the currrent Minister of Sports (previously Minister of the Interior), Mr Sivakov, and a high-ranking officer of the special forces, Mr Pavlichenko, in these disappearances,
the possible crime of perversion of the course of justice committed by certain other high-ranking officials who have been involved in the investigations carried out so far and who may have falsified, dissimulated or suppressed evidence in their possession in order to protect the true perpetrators of the crimes.
ii. to consider suspending the participation of Belarus in various Council of Europe agreements and activities as well as any contacts between the Council of Europe and the Belarusian government on a political level until sufficient progress has been made regarding the request under paragraph 1. above and meanwhile to step up its co-operation with civil society in Belarus in view of encouraging respect for human rights.
iii. to invite its member states and observer states
a. to apply political pressure (including sanctions) on the Belarusian government in order to send it a strong signal that impunity for forced disappearances is not tolerated by the international community, and
b. to continue protecting, to the best of their ability, those women and men in Belarus who are working for the establishment of the truth.
2. It urges the member states of the Council of Europe and the international community at large to exercise a maximum of political pressure on the current leadership of Belarus, including through sanctions, until a credible, independent investigation of the alleged involvement of high-ranking officials in the disappearances or their cover-up has been carried out.
3. It invites in particular the judicial authorities of those countries whose laws foresee the international jurisdiction of their national courts for cases of serious human rights abuses, either in general, or in the presence of certain territorial links, to open proceedings against certain high-ranking Belarusian officials for the alleged murder, for political reasons, of one or more of the four disappeared persons.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]Assembly debate on 28 April 2004 (12th Sitting) (see Doc.10062, report
of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr Pourgourides).
Text adopted by the Assembly on 28 April 2004 (12th Sitting).
Persecution of the press in the Republic of Belarus
Resolution 1372 (2004)[1]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recalls that membership of the Council of Europe requires the commitment of a state to strive for greater European unity based on the common values shared by the family of democratic nations in Europe and enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the other Conventions and Recommendations of the Council of Europe. Therefore, the authorities of each applicant state must show their willingness and capability of adhering to these values and standards. One of the fundamental democratic rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights is the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the media.
2. The Assembly welcomes the wish expressed by the Parliament of Belarus to resume the special guest status with the Parliamentary Assembly as well as the desire of Belarus to accede to the Council of Europe. It is with regret, however, that the Assembly must note that neither the Parliament nor the other state authorities of Belarus have made any progress towards democratic development since the suspension of the special guest status of the Parliament of Belarus in January 1997 due to the dissolution of the Parliament by President Lukashenko’s referendum and the subsequent non-democratic constitution of a new Parliament. The Bureau of the Assembly consequently rejected the application for re-granting the special guest status to the Belarus Parliament in January 2004.
3. The Assembly recalls that freedom of expression and freedom of the media constitutes one of the essential foundations of any democratic society, one of the basic conditions for its progress and for the development of every human being, as the European Court of Human Rights has consistently held. Where information is withheld from the people through state censorship and state propaganda reigns, true democracy can never exist.
4. The Assembly remains appalled by the fact that the disappearance of the journalist Mr Dmitri Zavadski more than three years ago and his alleged extra-judicial execution has not been properly and truly investigated. The conviction of four men for the abduction of Mr Zavadski cannot be regarded as a proper investigation for various reasons. Reference is made only to a few of them: firstly, the body of Mr Zavadski has not been traced and it has not been established that he has been murdered. Secondly, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus is in charge of all criminal investigations. The present holder of the post of Prosecutor General is Mr Victor Sheyman who is regarded by many people in Belarus as the mastermind behind this abduction and other forced disappearances.
5. The Assembly deplores the systematic harassment and intimidations carried out by state officials, in particular the Ministry of Information, against journalists, editors and media outlets which are critical of the President of the Republic or the Government of Belarus. The legal basis for such action is very often the requirement of print media to receive a state licence by the Ministry of Information. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights does not permit such licensing of print media.
6. Furthermore, the State allows a situation whereby the functioning of media outlets can be at the mercy of local administrations, of printing houses and distribution agencies. Independent media have to operate in discriminatory economic conditions.
7. The Assembly condemns as totally unacceptable in a democratic society subjecting journalists to imprisonment, including forced labour, for criticism of the President and state officials, which is currently possible under the provisions of articles 367, 368 and 369 of the Criminal Code.
8. The Assembly is deeply concerned by the level of state control over the electronic media, in particular the public television and radio company of Belarus which works under a Presidential Decree, but also the private joint-stock companies where the state typically holds major shares and interests. The same concern is also caused by the fact that the printing companies and the companies distributing print media are largely state controlled. In a genuine democracy, state media must not function as a voice of the president and the executive branch of power, but should rather provide an impartial service for the public at large by disseminating news and commentary in an open, unbiased and truthful way.
9. The Assembly believes that the current controlled media landscape does not provide for the freedom of information through the media necessary for the preparation and conduct of democratic parliamentary elections in autumn 2004. All political candidates, political parties and political civil society organisations must have equal access to the media without a restrictive control by the state. Otherwise, voters in Belarus will not be able to receive the information necessary to form their own opinions about the situation in their own country.
10. The Assembly therefore regrets that legislative reform of the Law on the Press and other Mass Media and other relevant laws, long announced and awaited, has not been finalised in time before the coming parliamentary elections by the President of the Republic, the Ministers in charge and the Parliament and that the Belarus authorities have not fulfilled their commitment to send the draft to the Council of Europe for examination. The Assembly resolves to continue monitoring the situation concerning the media in the Republic of Belarus until the new Law on the Press and other Mass Media is enacted.
11. The Assembly notes with regret that the Belarus Parliament refused to co-operate with the OSCE in the organisation of a seminar on the media in Belarus on 27 February 2004. Furthermore, the Assembly regrets that the Vice-Chairman of its Chamber of Representatives, Mr Vladimir Konoplev, refused to receive a joint delegation from the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament from 22 to 24 January 2004, which would have allowed the members of the Parliament of Belarus to hold a dialogue with European parliamentarians on issues including freedom of the media.
12. The Assembly calls on all member and observer states of the Council of Europe not to tolerate any longer the existing state of affairs in Belarus. Fundamental rights and freedoms are systematically violated in Belarus with the sole aim of keeping a non-democratic regime in power. The regime of President Lukashenko bases its existence on repression, intimidation and fear. The measures of repression and intimidation are directed not only towards the media but also towards all other democratic institutions, human rights activists and the people at large. Belarus remains in the year 2004 a police state with conditions similar to those prevailing in the country during the Soviet Union era. It is imperative to do everything possible in order to bring democracy to Belarus. Millions of Belarusians were killed during the Second World War fighting bravely against the forces of Hitler. But freedom has not yet come to their land. All member and observer states of the Council of Europe have a duty to ensure that Belarus ceases to be the last dictatorial state in Europe.
13. The Assembly calls on the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to:
i. constantly bear in mind the people of Belarus and step up targeted action in favour of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Belarus;
ii. allocate, in co-operation with the Committee of Ministers, sufficient resources for projects on strengthening democracy and freedom of the media in Belarus in preparation of the parliamentary elections in autumn 2004 and, more generally, aimed at enhancing the understanding of democratic standards in the media field and reinforcing public opposition to any form of repression against free speech.
14. The Assembly calls on the President of the Republic of Belarus, the Government of Belarus and the National Assembly of Belarus to:
i. launch a truly independent investigation into the disappearance and alleged extra-judicial execution of the journalist Mr Dmitri Zavadski which occurred more than three years ago and make the final results of this investigation public; a prior requirement to such an investigation is the removal from office of Mr Victor Sheyman;
ii. consider revising the penal laws and Article 5 of the Law on the Press and other Mass Media in order to allow political criticism of the President of the Republic and the members of the National Assembly; the honour and dignity of the President of the Republic and the heads of state bodies must not be protected unconditionally;
iii. take due account of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations as well as Articles 3 and 4 of the Law on the Press and other Mass Media; thus the courts of Belarus should not impose disproportionate penal sanctions against media and journalists criticising the President of the Republic;
iv. revise Article 9 of the Law on the Press and other Mass Media in order to abolish the licensing requirement for print media, because this is contrary to the right to freedom of the press as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
v. abolish administrative sanctions and oral reprimands against media by the Ministry of Information because they violate the fundamental principle of the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary and are contrary to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights; the Law on the Press and other Mass Media should be revised accordingly;
vi. initiate legislation which fully implements Article 33, third sentence, of the Constitution of Belarus and which would prohibit any monopoly over the mass media by the state; for this purpose, the high concentration of state interests in joint-stock media, printing companies and distributing companies should be reduced and the national broadcasting company should become a public service broadcaster independent of direct control by the President of the Republic or other state organs along the lines of Recommendation 1641 (2004) on public service broadcasting;
vii. ensure that printers and distributors of print media neither discriminate against private media independent of state support, nor against foreign press;
viii. ensure that the Central Electoral Committee and the national broadcasting company provide for free, equal and fair access to airtime for political parties as well as independent candidates before elections in Belarus; the authorities may be guided by Recommendation No. R(99)15 of the Committee of Ministers on measures concerning media coverage of election campaigns; this is particularly important in preparation of the coming parliamentary elections in autumn 2004;
ix. revise all Presidential Decrees which excessively restrict the right to receive and disseminate information about the state under Article 34 of the Constitution of Belarus;
x. ensure that the National Assembly can take up its role as legislator and become the initiator of legislation and legislative amendments in the media field; in this regard, the National Assembly should seek to include in the Constitution of Belarus a provision on freedom of the media and the inadmissibility of censorship similar to Articles 3 and 4 of the Law on the Press and other Mass Media;
xi. refrain from restricting the right to freedom of association of journalists and editors, as guaranteed by Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations and by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights; the state authorities of Belarus must not hinder the work of the Belarusian Association of Journalists by intimidating and harassing its staff and members.
15. The Assembly calls on the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission not to tolerate any longer the systematic violation by Belarus authorities of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under Articles 10 (freedom of expression) and 11 (freedom of association) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Articles 11 (freedom of expression) and 12 (freedom of association) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and to take appropriate action in their relations with Belarus.
16. The Assembly calls on the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media not to tolerate any longer the systematic violation by Belarus authorities of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Articles 19 (freedom of expression) and 22 (freedom of association) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations in relation to the obligations of Belarus under the Helsinki Final Act and paragraph 22 of the Istanbul Summit Declaration of the OSCE and to take appropriate action against Belarus.
17. The Assembly calls on the United Nations and, in particular, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, never to tolerate the systematic violation by Belarus authorities of Articles 19 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations and to take appropriate action against Belarus.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Assembly debate on 28 April 2004 (12th Sitting) (see Doc. 10107, report
of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteur: Mr Pourgourides and Doc. 10165,
opinion of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education, rapporteur: Mrs
Muttonen).
Text adopted by the Assembly on 28 April 2004 (12th Sitting) .
Persecution of the press in the Republic of Belarus
Recommendation 1658 (2004)[1]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe refers to its Resolution 1372 (2004) on the persecution of the press in Belarus and recommends that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe:
i. take into account this Resolution when deciding on action concerning Belarus;
ii. forward this Resolution to the governments of member states and observer states and request them to support in their bilateral relations with Belarus the fulfilment of the catalogue of requirements contained in this Resolution with regard to freedom of the media;
iii. encourage member states to provide objective and impartial broadcasting programmes and print and Internet publications aimed specifically at the Belarusian public.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]Assembly debate on 28 April 2004 (12th Sitting) (see Doc. 10107, report
of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteur: Mr Pourgourides and Doc. 10165,
opinion of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education, rapporteur: Mrs
Muttonen).
Text adopted by the Assembly on 28 April 2004 (12th Sitting).
www.4humanrights.org : www.hrd1.org : DONATE
