Vyasna Human Rights Center (Mensk)

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Viasna Human Rights Center (Mensk)

• On the WWW: http://www.spring96.org/English/index.html

• Early in 2000, the Viasna (Vyasna) Center published its 130 page, 1999 report, and it is available on the Internet (in Belarusian, English, and Russian):
  "Valentin Stefanovich, a Viasna representative, said during a news conference at the Viasna office on February 29 [2000] that the human rights situation in Belarus had worsened significantly last year. He said that disappearances of opposition politicians in 1999 placed Belarus among Latin American countries such as Paraguay and Chile, during the rule of dictators there."

• Also see news articles:
  • Justice Ministry Threatens to Outlaw Human Rights Center in Mensk   (December, 2000).

  • Authorities Sieze Vyasna 96 Office Equipment   (October, 1999).

  • Vyesna-96 Human Rights Centre Publishes a Book about Kudinov   (July, 1998).

  
  

  Chairperson: Ales Byalatski

  Deputy Chairperson: Valentin Stefanovich

• Justice Ministry Threatens to Outlaw Human Rights Center in Mensk (Minsk)

  "The Ministry of Justice has issued another formal warning to the Miensk-based human rights center Vyasna (Spring)."

  "Last time, on October 26, Vyasna was warned for calling itself simply 'human rights center' in one of its bulletins, omitting the words 'public association' that form part of its official title on the ministry's register. This time the ministry says that Vyasna has failed to provide documentary evidence that the shortcoming has been eliminated. The center claims to have sent a proper letter, but the letter apparently never reached the ministry."

  "The ministry has given Vyasna two weeks to meet the requirements. A statement signed by Mikhail Sukhinin, chief of the ministry's NGO department, notes that regulations allow the authorities to initiate the closure of any organization after two formal warnings for the same irregularity within one calendar year."

  Source: BelaPAN, No. 121; Friday, December 29, 2000; 11:00 p.m.