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The Statement of the NG (BSDP) Presidium |
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The rigorous measures of the Belarusian authorities during the peaceful solidarity action of the political convicts on 16 September 2009 confirmed the worst concern of the democratic community of the country.
The first small steps of European politicians in the direction of the liberation of Belarus from the present regime headed by Lukashenko have been taken by the latter as a free hand to exercise political violence to his opponents.
After the illegal cessation of the action and the arrest of the participants, Mickalay Statkevich was beaten up especially hard. And it was no accidentally: the regime panics at the potential presidential candidate. In summer 2009 at the European Choice Congress in Minsk the European Coalition and BSDP (NG) leader Statkevich was nominated as a candidate at the future presidential elections in Belarus.
The Presidium pay attention of the European community and their comrades from the parties of the Socialist International to the fact that even according to Belarusian laws, such an action was legal.
We call upon the fraternal parties for solidarity actions with democrats in Belarus!
Minsk, September 19, 2009
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The Congress for free European Belarus has already taken place. The choice is made. |
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Mickalay Statkevich and Sergey Skrabetz.
On 20 June the Minsk Tractor Plant centre of cultural and social activities hosted the free European Choice Congress. Despite the authorities’ refusal a week till the event to give the room in the MTP centre of cultural and social activities and, as a result, the postponing of the holding terms, about seven hundred delegates from the political and public organizations of Belarus that stand on the European platform took part in the Congress. The most numbered delegation was represented by the NG (BSDP) – 250 delegates. The solidarity Movement “Razam” represented 200 delegates, the SDP “Svaboda” – 120 delegates, the party “BNF” – about 100 delegates.
The Congress has practically unanimously (with several votes against and some abstained) adopted the European forces of Belarus Strategy, the European Choice Declaration and the resolutions “About the social-economic condition and the relations with the authority”, “For the protection of Belarusian entrepreneurship” and “Against the persecution of the Belarusian language and culture.”
As well unanimously, Mickalay Statkevich was nominated as the only European forces candidate to an office of Belarusian president at the forthcoming elections. Of all the Congress delegates only 8 were against his candidacy and 22 abstained from the voting. The leader of the SDP “Svaboda” Sergey Skrabetz withdrew his candidacy in favor of Mickalay Statkevich. The leader of the BNF party Leonid Borzhevskiy also supported the NG leader.
Thus, the choice is made.
20 June, 2009 NG Press-Service
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THE AGREEMENT TO THE CREATION OF THE UDF HAS LOST ITS FORCE |
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The European Coordinative committee application
Having analysed the UDF situation, the European Coordinative committee declares the following:
1. The UDF were founded in November 2004 as a result of signing the Agreement between the Euopean coalition and the coalition “5+”. Among the basic Agreement principles were the European integration of Belarus, the equal rights of the UDF members and the consensus in making up decisions.
2. At the beginning of 2007 the former members of the coalition “5+” convened on their own terms the democratic forces congress by means of long blocking of the UDF work. The congress refused to keep up the former principle of making up decisions based on the equal rights of the UDF members. The UDF management passed to the presidium and the political assembly where the majority consists of communists and their supportes. Instead of cooperation and mutual search of compromise settltments, the UDF came to the dictating their will through the false majority. In the UDF administration there are non-european forces that got stably prevailing.
3. The Coordinative committee states the fact of the deviation of the part of the opposition from the basic principles of the Agreement to the UDF creation and declares, as a result, the concellation of this Agreement. We are ready to start negotiations about the UDF integration on the terms of the Agreement with the administration of parties which used to form a part of the coalition “5+”.
The Coordinative committee calls upon all the political forces, supporting democracy, independence and a european choice for our country, to unite for a real struggle in the name of the achievement of these aims. The Coordinative committee also declares the European coalition willingness to coperate with the rest of the opposition forces in the struggle for democracy against the violition of human rights in our country.
Minsk 27 October 2008
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THE PRESSURE IS GROWING |
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The European coalition has summed up the results of nominating the “European list” deputy candidates for the House of Representatives.
It was stated that the pressure applied to the candidates named on this list had increased dramatically. This pressure had reached its peak the day before and on the day of submitting documents for candidates’ registration.
Intimidation campaigns and repressions against the "European" candidates were organised by the regional KGB offices, while the management of the institutions, which employ the candidates, and other enforcement bodies served as the tools of these repressions.
So, Vadim Borshchev, a candidate from Navapolatsk District #25, pulled out of the election race under the threat of being dismissed from his job at the Naftan Oil Refinery. Under the pressure mounted through his business partners, Dmitry Shimaites never submitted the documents to the election commission for Baranavichy Country District #7, though he managed to collect the required number of signatures.
The Hrodna candidates A. Panas and S. Chernulich were invited to the local KGB office "for a talk". Y.Novikov, S. Fomin and A. Irkho, candidates from Mahilyow, were “taken care of” by the financial investigation department.
If the candidates resisted the pressure, repressions were used against them. For instance, Taisiya Kabanchuk, a candidate from Asipovichy District #89, was dismissed from her job while submitting the documents. Yesterday the police laid siege to, and even tried to break into the apartment that belongs to the parents of Alexander Irkho, a candidate from Mahilyow's Leninsky District #84. On the day of submitting the registration documents, Nikita Krasnov, a candidate from Avtozavodsky District #92, was called for an interrogation. The tax police demanded that Vladimir Novosyad, a candidate from Svisloch District #94, submit an income statement for the last 17(!) years.
If pressurising a candidate does not work, their team or even relatives of the team members are "quietly" pressurised and manipulated. For example, some members of the initiative groups of A. Irkho and S. Chernulich (Hrodna’s Zanyomansky District #49) and K. Demenchuk (Hrodna’s Central District #50) “disappeared” on the last day of submitting signatures and never came to witness the signatures they had collected. This thwarted the registration of these candidates. The parents of a member of Svetlana Chernykh’s initiative group (Senno District #30) destroyed over 100 signatures for Svetlana after “a thorough examination” done by the district authorities.
Since it was done the day before submitting the documents, the initiative group did not have time to collect new signatures, which made the nomination impossible.
Some of the candidates, mostly those from the country districts or lacking in experience of representing entrepreneurs’ groups, did not manage to collect the required number of the signatures during the “dead season” of August.
Unfortunately, the European coalition did not get a chance to secure the position of these candidates through parallel nominations by the party meetings, as it was done by the parties registered by the regime.
So as a result, taking into account this factor and the repressions mounted by the secret services, only 51 candidates from the European list were able to continue their struggle and submit the required documents to the district commissions.
All the 63 candidates on the European list nominated for the election, had about 107,000 signatures collected in their support.
The European coalition also states that the ruling regime has met one of the conditions they put forward for their participation "to the end" in the elections – the political prisoners have been freed. Yet, there remain two more conditions to be met, the European coalition reminds - cancellation or restriction of advance
voting and giving observers the right to monitor the vote-count results.
Minsk, August 21, 2008
European Coalition Press Service
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THE ASSESSMENT OF CONDITIONS AND THE OBJECTIVES OF THE EUROPEAN COALITION IN THE PARLIAMENTARY CAMPAIGN |
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THE ASSESSMENT OF CONDITIONS AND THE OBJECTIVES OF THE EUROPEAN COALITION IN THE PARLIAMENTARY CAMPAIGN
The European Coalition believes that the conditions for the upcoming parliamentary elections will be as follows:
1. The predictability of the official election results, which is guaranteed by the well-established mechanism of rigging the final tallies of precinct election commissions and backed up by the stuffing of ballot boxes during the compulsory early voting period. Ballots cast early account for up to one-third of the total number of voters.
2. The division of the election campaign into 110 autonomous campaigns according to the number of election districts owing to the lack of nationwide lists of candidates and media access on the part of the opposition and even government-favored candidates. The depolitisation of the campaign and its transformation into a communal enterprise that focuses on local problems. Real government-backed candidate promote themselves as independent and “robust economic managers” and experts. They often borrow the opposition’s slogans. At the previous elections, in particular, some of them borrowed the slogan of public control over the government. In such conditions elections turn into personal competition and a losing battle for the opposition, which is represented mostly by unemployed people, pensioners or students, because of other individuals’ fear of losing their jobs.
3. A considerable part of society considers the pro-democratic opposition to be an a priori negative alternative to the present government. The public opinion still associates democracy with the economic crisis and the transformational shock of the early 1990s. This stereotype is carefully cultivated by the regime’s propaganda machine.
The European Coalition will participate in the parliamentary race to achieve the following goals:
1. Connect the pro-democratic forces with the successful European project by using the slogans of Belarus’ integration into Europe, thus improving the opposition’s image and showing democracy to be a guarantee of the successful European future.
2. Politicise the campaign around the European theme. Reveal the true face of the government and its candidates, who rig ballots for their selfish interests and obstruct people’s way to guaranteed prosperity.
3. Put pressure on the government to democratize electoral regulations by threatening to withdraw from the race or even encourage some organizations to boycott the elections and stage protests on the polling day.
The European Coalition believes that the predictability of the official results of the elections for the decorative “parliament” entitles pro-democratic forces to use the election campaign for a practical and diversified search for an optimal election strategy and ways of changing the conditions for such campaigns in the future.
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The European forces of Belarus have selebrated the 1 May and the Day of Europe |
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The regular Narodnaya Gramada Presidium, where the celebration results of the Solidarity Day on May 1 and the Day of Europe were considered, took place without the participation of the party leader Mickalay Statkevich. “The organiser of an unothirised meeting at an authorised meeting” (this way the judge of Pervomayskiy district characterised the activity of M.Statkevich) has been arrested for 10 days “for the participation in an unauthorised action” on May 1.
The Presidium members noted a significant role played by the Narodnaya Gramada leader, the coordinator of the European coalition and public campaign “European Belarus” Mickalay Statkevich in the orgainisation of the 1st May celebration by European forces. The Social Democrats leader was able to avoid a preventive arrest before the action. Despite the fact that such attempts have been constantly made by the authorities. He managed to do all necessary work to arrange the celebration.
A great contribution into the action was made by the public organizations which are included in the European coalition and the public campaign “European Belarus”: “Malady Front”, “Jeans za svabodu”, “Narodnaya Gramada”, “Volnaya Molad”.
The Presidium states that this year the supporters of the European choice declared their position at the meeting organised by the Trade Union Federation of Belarus at the square in front of the National Library. And this was made at the meeting where 7-10 thouthand people were present.
At the meeting the only critical speech of the Belarussian Trade Union Federation on “the deplorable state of medical workers” confirmed the necessity to express an alternative and true position. The participants of the European coalition and the public campaign “European Belarus” raised the flags of the European Union. Mickalay Statkevich spoke before the participants. He noted that “... The supporters of the European choice of Belarus had always expressed their solidarity with workers and with hired ones in particular. Like Social Democrats, other representatives of European forces are always against the regime which leads to the decline in living standards of the majority of population. We are against the contract system in its present form and demand for its changing...”. The reaction of the law enforcement agencies was nervous and inadequate: the special squad soldiers began to take away the flags and detain people for no reason. And they often did it rudely, with unjustified roughness. Mickalay Statkevich paid the participants’ attention at the fact that the leading regime is even against the raise of the European Union symbols, not to mention the integration into United Europe.
As a result of militia’s activities, about 30 people headed by Mickalay Statkevich were detained.
The trial took place the next day on May 2. M.Statkevich refused to testify, that’s why the judge having heard the witnesses – the special squad soldiers - read out the judicial resolution at once – 10 days of imprisonment.
Mickalay Statkevich explained his position to the Radio “Svaboda” as the following: “I organized an unauthorised meeting iside an authorised one... What can I say... I refused to testify because the judge violates the Constitution as he doesn’t speak one of the state languages”.
Mickalay Statkevich declared that he wouldn’t appeal against the sentence. He commented on the fact that he had been the only one arrested: “...because I was the initiator of the participation of the youth, guided by Europe, in the 1st May celebration. I don’t recognize this trial. I didn’t testify. I said to the judge that I didn’t participate in a perfomance with a determined ending. I’m very glad that I’m the only one who has been arrested because political struggle for democracy mustn’t turn into the crusade of children. I’m indignant at the fact that none of the leaders came at this action”.
On May 1 all the detained participants were held by militia of Pervomayskiy district. At first the minors, and then about 20 activists were allowed to go after they were photographed and their fingerprints were taken. The reports were drawn up on Mickalay Statkevich, Arthur Phinkevich, Zmitser Dashkevich, Eugene Aphnagel, Pavel Jukhnevich and Zmitser Khvedaruk for the participation in an unauthorised action. The report was drawn up on Maksim Sergiets, who was beaten up when detained, for the contempt of militiamen.
In several hours, all the participants except Mickalay Statkevich were released after giving the receipts to appear before the court by the first order.
The Narodnaya Gramada Presidium members thank all participants of the action near the National Library on May 1 and express their solidarity with the political prisoners of Belarus and all activists of working-class movement in Belarus and abroad.
May 4, 2008 Narodnaya Gramada press-service
www.bsdpng.info
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The Coordinating Committee of the European Coalition... |
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The Coordinating Committee of the European Coalition has held another meeting The Coordinating Committee expressed indignation at the latest series of politically motivated convictions in Belarus and the emergence of new political prisoners. The Committee expressed solidarity with the convicted people and urged the Belarusian public and the international to also stand in solidarity with them. The Coordinating Committee of the European Coalition decided to hold a European awareness event in Minsk on May 1 on the occasion of the May Day and an anniversary of the EU’s eastward enlargement. The event will be held within the framework of authorized celebrations and will be part of the European Belarus civil campaign. It is scheduled to begin on the square in front of the National Library of Belarus at noon. Participants at the meeting discussed the progress made on the European list of parliamentary nominees. The list currently contains about 60 names. The coordinating Committee decided to step up efforts to finalize the list within the next month. The Coordinating Committee also discussed the performance of the United Pro-democratic Forces (UPF) and adopted a statement to this effect. The statement, which was sent to the UPF Board later on that day, has been posted on the party’s Web site: http://www.bsdpng.info.
April 24, 2008 Narodnaya Gramada press office.
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ON THE PRINCIPLES OF UNITY AMONG THE PRO-DEMOCRATIC FORCES |
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A Statement of the Coordinating Committee of the European Coalition
A look at the United Pro-democratic Forces (UPF) at the current stage has led the Coordinating Committee of the European Coalition to state the following:
The UPF was established in November 2004 under an agreement signed by the European Coalition and the Coalition Five Plus. Belarus’ integration into Europe, equal rights of the UPF’s members and consensus-based decision-making were among the fundamental principles of the Agreement.
As early as 2005, the ruling regime unleashed a campaign of persecution against the organizations and leaders of the European Coalition. As a result, most of the members of the Coordinating Committee were imprisoned. They were freed only a short while ago. Communists and their sympathizers took advantage of the clampdown on the European Coalition and deleted the message of Belarus’ integration into Europe from the UPF’s platform.
A sustained campaign of obstructing the UPF and vilifying its leader has enabled the former Coalition Five Plus organizations to force their own terms on a new Congress of Pro-democratic Forces that was called at their insistence in May 2007.
Unlike the previous Congress, which brought together delegates elected at the UPF conferences, the 2007 Congress was a gathering of people who got themselves nominated for participation by collecting signatures, a process that was not objective or transparent. The nomination of delegates thus turned into a competition of party purses. The Congress was dominated by non-European forces with sentiments radically different from those held by not only the opposition activists but also Belarusian public in general. Fifty-two percent of the delegates thus voted against even considering the project of the UPF’s European strategy. Some of the delegates threatened the fist leader of the independent Belarus, Stanislaw Shushkevich, with imprisonment for “breaking up the Soviet Union.”
The Congress abandoned the principle of the equality of all the UPF members in making decisions. The control of the UPF was handed over to the Board and the Political Council that are dominated by Communists and their sympathizers. Instead of cooperating and jointly searching for compromise solutions, the UPF has degenerated into a group that is forced to follow the decisions made by an artificial majority.
Politicians opposed to Belarus’ integration into Europe have come to dominate the governing bodies of the UPF. It stands to reason that not only the Communists but also the leaders of the right parties voted against listing “the demonstration of Belarusian public’s aspirations to integration into the EU” as one of the objectives of the October 2007 European March. Since last summer, the UPF leadership has stubbornly ignored the European Coalition’s repeated calls for including the European agenda in the opposition’s parliamentary platform, which caused the Coalition to begin drawing up a European list of parliamentary nominees.
As Belarus faces a decisive geopolitical choice between integration into the EU and incorporation into Russia, the fact that the pro-democratic opposition has come under the control of politicians who stubbornly ignore European leaders’ signals about Belarus’ EU prospects creates a new threat to the independence of Belarus. The only thing that holds up the ruling Belarusian regime is the enormous amount of financial support that it receives from the Kremlin in exchange for promises about Belarus’ incorporation into Russia. The attempts by some UPF leaders to play the Russian card suggest that they are more willing to compromise the nation’s sovereignty than Lukashenka himself.
The Coordinating Committee of the European Coalition is in favour of unity among the pro-democratic forces as they engage in a real struggle for an independent, democratic and European Belarus. At the same time, we do not want to be involved in a mock fight and serve as a façade for those who trifle with our nation’s independence. The Coordinating Committee notes that the UPF has abandoned the basic principles of the 2004 Agreement and declares that the European Coalition therefore has a moral and legal right to unilaterally pull out of the Agreement. We invite the leaders of the former Coalition Five Plus parties to start talks about restoring the principles of the November 2004 Agreement. In the meantime, the European Coalition will withdraw its representatives from the UPF’s governing bodies.
The Coordinating Committee urges all pro-democratic, pro-independence and pro-European political forces to unite and make a real effort to achieve these goals.
The Coordinating Committee also declares that the European Coalition is ready to cooperate with other opposition forces in fighting for Belarus’ spiritual and national revival.
Minsk, April 22, 2008.
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Narodnaya Gramada protest against the liquidation of Frederick Ebert’s mission in Belarus |
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The other day the meeting of the Presidium of NG (BSDP) Central Organizing Commitee took place in Minsk. The members of the Presidium made a protest against the actions of Belarussian authorities that caused Frederick Ebert’s Fund to liquidate its Belarussian mission. The members of the Presidium consider that the activities of Frederick Ebert’s Fund played an extremely positive role in the development of civil society in the country. That’s why they called on the Belarussian authorities to take all necessary measures to resume the activities of Frederick Ebert’s Fund in our country.
The members of the Presidium also discussed the results of the 90th anniversary celebration of the Belarussian People’s Republic that took place on March 25, 2008. They discussed the tough, inadequate actions of the authorities against the demonstrators who gathered in downtown Minsk. Along with this, the members of the Presidium consider that the main goal of the democratic forces’ action – the mass celebration of Independence anniversary in the downtown Belorussian capital – is achieved. Narodnaya Gramada suppose that the celebration took place due to the decisive actions of the leader of Narodnaya Gramada Nickolay Statkevich. N.Statkevich, the only leader among the parties-declarants of the action, didn’t resign his comission as an organizer, was able to organize a mass demonstration along the arterial highway of the Belarussian capital – Independence Avenue, and, also, a 3-thousand meeting in the downtown city.
The members of the Presidium discussed as well the process of making the European list of candidates at the planned parliamentary elections in Autumn 2008. They noted that this list had been already made up in the majority of Belarussian regions and numbers 57 potential candidates (elections in Belarus are held in alltogether 110 districts). The members of the Presidium noted the importance to represent the idea of European integration of Belarus at the planned elections. The currency of this problem is growing too in the connection with increasing Russian influence within the United Democratic forces. For example, in the officially authorized meeting on the occasion of the anniversary of the union state of Belarus and Russia took part the representatives of all left-wing and left-of-centre opposition parties of Belarus except Narodnaya Gramada.
April 6, 2008 Narodnaya Gramada Press-service
www.bsdpng.info
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The Executive Bureau of “Narodnaya Gramada” held another meeting on May 24 to discuss preparations for this fall’s parliamentary elections. It paid particular attention to the progress made in drawing up the European list of parliamentary nominees.