Belarus opposition parties get under pressure

Three leftist opposition parties – the Party of Communists, the Belarusian Social Democratic Party “Hramada” and The Women’s Party “Nadzeja” – have been formally reprimanded by the Ministry of Justice of Belarus for having staged a founding conference of the Union of Leftist Parties on December 17, 2006 in the town of Chernigov in the neighboring Ukraine.

The Ministry of Justice charges pointed at violation of the statues of the parties. According to the government agency, the Belarusian laws ban the political organizations registered in Belarus from carrying out their activities on the territory of foreign countries.

But, Alena Skrygan, the secretary of the Central Committee of the Party of Communists, is confident this is another attempt by the authorities to tighten the grip over the opposition.

“They reviewed the proceedings of the conference and studied all the documents. I think they were just looking for a pretext of how to find a possible snag. They failed and issued a warning because the event took place in Chernigov,” she said.

During the conference, the parties signed an agreement about the establishment of the Union of Leftist Parties and approved the union’s statue and platform. The conference also issued a statement in support of Aliaksandr Kazulin, the leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party “Hramada”, who is currently serving a prison term. Kazulin was elected the honorable chairman of the union. Lawyer Yury Cavusau answers the European Radio for Belarus whether the parties have violated the law.

“I do not spot any violation in this case, because the law on political parties entitles them to establishing international contacts and taking part in international events, etc. However, I also understand the position of the Ministry of Justice, which says that holding the founding congress of a new organization is a violation.

In my view, the Ministry of Justice would be right to reject registration of the newly found union on the grounds that it was created abroad. But, issuing warning to those parties is not justified,” he said.

The leftist parties went to Ukraine after they had been denied spaces for holding the conference at home. According to the representatives of the parties, they had filed numerous requests, asking for permission to stage their event in Belarus. Anatol Liaukovic, the acting leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party describes the actions of the Ministry of Justice as absurd.

“On the one hand, the authorities do not allow holding the conference in this country. On the other hand, they issue a warning for not allowing us to stage our event here. We were forced to do it in Chernigov. Issuing a warning to our party is illegitimate,” he said.

The leadership of the affected parties is ready to defend their rights.

“We have not yet sat together to discuss the situation, but we are likely to appeal the warning as an arbitrary interpretation of the Law on Political Parties,” said Anatol Karol, the deputy chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Parties “Hramada”.

The reaction of the authorities did not come unexpected. The Belarusian opposition has faced numerous cases of similar pressure.

Was it worth launching the Union of Leftist Parties, knowing the would-be counter-measures of the authorities? Mikola Statkevic, political prisoner and the representative of the Social Democratic movement, reflects on this situation.

“I think they had a certain political strategy, even taking into account what has happened. Possibly, it was a publicity trick. They deemed it necessary to pay for it with this warning. Perhaps, they simply did not think they would get this reaction from the authorities,” Statkevic told the European Radio for Belarus.