ABM -- Post-Referendum Events -- January and February, 1997

This File Last Updated: 1997/09/05

Post-Referendum Events, January and February, 1997

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The Referendum of November, 1996 web page
Summary of Pre-Referendum Events web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, through December, 1996 web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, March and April, 1997 web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, May and June, 1997 web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, July and August, 1997 web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, September, 1997, to present web page

January, 1997

Stanislau Shushkevich has been prevented from traveling to Poland because his diplomatic passport is invalid, Reuters reported on 5 January. At the end of last year, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka decreed that diplomatic passports held by members of the 1996 legislature were no longer valid. Previously, Syamyon Sharetsky, speaker of the 1996 parliament, had been prevented from traveling abroad for the same reason. Shushkevich said he tried to obtain a regular passport, but the Interior Ministry refused to issue the document without approval from the presidential Security Council. OMRI Daily Digest, 6 January 1997; Ustina Markus
Alyaksandr Lukashenka dismissed several officials over the disruptions in the supply of food to the population this winter, ITAR-TASS reported on 5 January. The officials included the first deputy trade minister, the first deputy chairman of the board of directors of the Belarusian Cooperative Union, the president of the Belarusian Food Industry, a deputy chairman of the Brest regional executive committee, and a deputy chairman of the Mensk city executive committee. Over the winter months, there has been a shortage of butter, sour cream, sugar, and meat. An investigation concluded there should have been an ample supply, but commercial structures had bought up the products and then exported them for profit. OMRI Daily Digest, 7 January 1997; Ustina Markus
Belarus may lose its observer status in the Council of Europe because Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has ignored its protests over the 24 November constitutional referendum, AFP reported on 7 January. The referendum gave Lukashenka sweeping new powers, but there were allegations of irregularities in the voting and the conduct of the campaign to promote Lukashenka's new constitution. The council's 40-member committee is to meet later this month to consider the proposal to expel Belarus. Belarus has had a special guest status in the organization since September 1992, and applied for full membership in March 1993. OMRI Daily Digest, 8 January 1997; Ustina Markus
Belarus's shadow cabinet convened for the first time on 8 January, Russian Public TV (ORT) reported. Meeting at the headquarters of the United Civic Party, it announced the formation of a coalition of democratic parties. Unlike the shadow cabinet set up by the Belarusian Popular Front in 1992, the new shadow government embraces parties from the entire political spectrum, including democrats and communists. Its main goal is to offer an alternative to the incumbent regime. Henadz Karpenka, head of the shadow cabinet, said one of the primary tasks of the coalition is to draw up an economic program to pull the country out of its economic crisis. The shadow cabinet also plans to establish contacts outside Belarus, in particular with Ukraine's parliament and some deputies in the Russian State Duma. OMRI Daily Digest, 9 January 1997; Ustina Markus
Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Syanko has agreed to the European Union's request to allow an EU fact-finding mission into the country to assess the situation in Belarus, AFP reported on 9 January. German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, meeting with Syanko in Berlin the same day, expressed EU concerns about recent political developments in Belarus. The same day, ITAR-TASS reported that First Deputy Foreign Minister Valeryi Tsypkalo has begun talks with the EU and the Council of Europe. The council is considering revoking Belarus's special status with the organization later this month. The Belarusian National Assembly, the new lower house of parliament, also ratified a number of international agreements on minority rights, the rights of deportees, and other human rights issues. OMRI Daily Digest, 10 January 1997; Ustina Markus
Syamyon Sharetsky, speaker of the parliament that was dissolved last year, arrived in Warsaw on 9 January to meet with Polish officials, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. A number of deputies to the 1996 parliament continue to meet under Sharetsky and refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the new legislature. Opposition leader Zyanon Paznyak, who was granted political asylum in the U.S. last year, is also in Warsaw. The same day, Radio Rossii reported that the nationalist Belarusian Popular Front picketed the presidential administration building in Mensk. They protested food shortages in the country and demanded that President Alyaksandr Lukashenka guarantee to make dairy and meat products available in shops at prices correlated to wages and pensions. The previous day, Belarusian TV reported that Lukashenka has appointed former Justice Minister Valyantsin Sukala as head of the Supreme Court. Sukala supported the president during last year's political crisis. OMRI Daily Digest, 10 January 1997; Ustina Markus
The Council of Europe suspended Belarus's special guest status in the organization on 13 January, international agencies reported. Council President Leni Fischer said the new Belarusian constitution does not respect human rights. The pan-European body is geared toward promoting democracy and human rights. Fischer added that the council cannot recognize the new Belarusian parliament, which was not elected under the new constitution but formed on the basis of the deputies' loyalty to the president. As Belarus has become more alienated from the West and its East European neighbors, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been pushing for tighter ties with Russia. OMRI Daily Digest, 14 January 1997; Ustina Markus
The Council of Europe warned Belarus on 16 January that further cooperation and eventual membership are conditional on that country's greater respect for democratic principles and human rights, international agencies reported. Earlier this week, the CE Parliamentary Assembly suspended Belarus's special guest status, which was conferred four years ago and allowed the country to participate in assembly meetings without voting rights. The assembly said the reason for the suspension was the "undemocratic" way in which the November 1996 referendum was held. The plebiscite gave sweeping powers to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The CE, however, has said it is prepared to continue assisting Belarus in the development of a civil society and free media. Meanwhile, Niels Helveg Petersen, the new president of the OSCE, has voiced concerns over Belarus's failure to restore democracy. He called on the government to respect OSCE norms and principles by entering into a dialogue with the opposition and ensuring freedom of the media, Reuters reported. OMRI Daily Digest, 17 January 1997; Sergei Solodovnikov
First Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Prakapovich announced on 20 January that the Belarusian economy grew by 2.6% in 1996, the first increase since the USSR collapsed in 1991, Western agencies reported. The opposition Belarusian Popular Front issued a report the same day claiming the economy actually shrank by 4%-5% and that about 1.5 million people, around a third of the work force, are unemployed. Prakapovich acknowledged that the country's foreign trade deficit in 1996 was $1.4 billion and that industrial goods worth $633 million are languishing in warehouses. OMRI Daily Digest, 21 January 1997; Saulius Girnius
http://www.css.minsk.by/Publications/MinskEconomicNews/

February, 1997

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) repeated on 7 February its call for Belarus to restore democratic institutions and renewed its offer to mediate the country's political crisis, Reuters reported. OSCE Chairman and Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Peterson said in a statement released in Vienna that neither the preparation for last year's plebiscite, nor the new constitution, which gives sweeping powers to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, lives up to democratic standards. Peterson urged the Belarusian government to restore respect for democratic principles, enter into dialogue with the opposition, and ensure free media. The statement also expressed Peterson's personal doubts that the government would respond positively. OMRI Daily Digest, 10 February 1997; Sergei Soldovnikov
Several hundred women marched through downtown Mensk on 22 February to protest plummeting living standards, international agencies reported. To stress their plight, they banged on empty cooking pots as they made their way through the capital's streets. The demonstration was organized by the previously unknown Working Women's Organization and was backed by the Belarusian Popular Front. Demonstrators blamed Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka for falling living standards and demanded his resignation. The police stood by but did not try to break up the rally. Also on 22 February, ITAR-TASS reported Belarusian Defense Minister Alyaksandr Chumakau as saying the reorganization of the armed forces into an army composed of 113,000 troops had been completed. That statement contradicts previous statements on the size of Belarus's armed forces. Last year, the armed forced were reported to be around 70-80,000 strong. OMRI Daily Digest, 24 February 1997; Sergei Solodovnikov and Ustina Markus
Prosecutor-General Aleh Bazhelka, speaking on national television on 23 February, denied that former National Bank of Belarus chairwoman Tamara Vinnikova is being held for political reasons or has been maltreated. He refused to disclose details of her case in order not to impede his office's investigation. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka dismissed Vinnikova in early January and had her arrested for embezzlement. Bazhelka said he had agreed to talk about the case in order to dispel rumors in the media of her mistreatment or the political nature of the case. He warned that the Information Ministry would decide what to do about newspapers that published stories casting doubt over the legitimacy of her detention. Commenting on Vinnikova's health, Bazhelka said doctors monitor prisoners who are kept in isolation. Vinnikova was moved to a hospital in mid-February, but doctors saw no reason for not continuing to keep her in isolation, he added. OMRI Daily Digest, 25 February 1997; Ustina Markus
Aad Kosto, head of a six-member mission of representatives from the OSCE, the EU, and the Council of Europe, has submitted to EU foreign ministers an oral report about the political situation in Belarus, international agencies reported on 24 February. Although the report was highly critical of President Lukashenka, there was no mention of the state of democracy in Belarus. They did comment, however, that the situation there is "not satisfactory" and that they will use "economic and political means" to pressure Belarus to restore democratic norms and freedom of speech. OMRI Daily Digest, 25 February 1997; Sergei Solodovnikov
The EU is to send another fact-finding mission to Belarus, RFE/RL reported on 25 February. The decision comes one day after the EU foreign ministers heard an oral report by a fact-finding mission composed of EU, Council of Europe. and OSCE representatives on the political situation in Belarus (see OMRI Daily Digest, 25 February 1995). The second mission is to start work next week and will be headed by the Netherlands' Aad Kosto, who led the previous mission. One of its tasks will be to convey to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka the ministers' disapproval of the November 1996 referendum and the subsequent dismissal of the democratically elected parliament. The plebiscite gave Lukashenka sweeping powers. Since then, European bodies have criticized his authoritarian rule and threatened to suspend assistance to Belarus until democratic norms are respected. OMRI Daily Digest, 26 February 1997; Sergei Soldovnikov
World Bank representative to Belarus Christopher Willoughby has blamed the government's indecisiveness for the bank's refusal to grant Belarus any loans over the past three years, Belarusian TV reported on 25 February. Willoughby noted that if Belarus wanted to become a regional economic power, it needed foreign investment, a tight budget, the completion of privatization, and a competitive market environment. Similar statements have been made on many occasions, but the Belarusian government has so far failed to take decisive action to implement any of those measures. OMRI Daily Digest, 26 February 1997; Ustina Markus
The parliament has adopted a resolution criticizing the government's agricultural policies, Belapan reported on 26 February. Henadz Usyukevich, head of the parliamentary Committee for the Development of the Agro-industrial Complex, said the country is threatened by major food shortages. He alleged that the government is extorting money from farmers by forcing them to sell foodstuffs to the state cheaply and that it is also withholding benefits from those who refuse to sell their produce at state prices. The same day, an RFE/RL correspondent reported that the IMF has compiled a critical report on Belarus. Although the IMF has refused to comment on the existence of the report, Belarusian newspapers published fragments of the document, which asserts that the state has "interfered excessively" in almost every aspect of the economy. OMRI Daily Digest, 27 February 1997; Sergei Soldovnikov
According to the Chairwoman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Tatsyana Pratsko, Belarus is "on a par with Iran or Iraq" as regards human rights, Belapan reported on 26 February. Pratsko said the least respect is being shown for civil rights, such as personal freedom and security, equality before the law, presumption of innocence, freedom from interference in private life, and freedom of movement. Pratsko considers the requirement of residence registration to be "the crudest violation of the right to free choice of abode." Other rights most frequently abused are freedom of speech, the right to receive and spread information, and the freedom to hold peaceful demonstrations, she noted. OMRI Daily Digest, 28 February 1997; Sergei Soldovnikov

The Referendum of November, 1996 web page
Summary of Pre-Referendum Events web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, through December, 1996 web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, from March, 1997, through Present web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, May and June, 1997 web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, July and August, 1997 web page
Summary of Post-Referendum Events, September, 1997, to present web page

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