May 21: International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners and the people of Belarus

 Solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Belarus

May 21st is the day of the political prisoner in Belarus. This event was organized by Libereco, a partnership for Human Rights is a Swiss-German NGO that advocates for the respect and maintenance of human rights in Belarus and Ukraine.

Belarus must free Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega. Stop the crackdown on freedom of expression.

Take action to demand their freedom now: https://t.co/uasdIzo2Z8 📢 pic.twitter.com/4kJDoL2pcX

— Amnesty International (@amnesty) May 28, 2021

This blog today is dedicated to Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega who today are political prisoners in Belarus.

Belarus, Europe's last dictatorship, its security services and a MiG-29 on May 23, 2021 diverted a commercial airline to kidnap a dissident journalist and his girlfriend. "Belarusian authorities scrambled a [Mig-29] fighter jet and flagged what turned out to be a false bomb alert to force a Ryanair plane to land on Sunday and then detained [Raman Pratasevich] an opposition-minded journalist, and [ his girlfriend Sofia Sapega ] who [were] on board, drawing condemnation from Europe and the United States," reported Reuters.  

Political Prisoners: Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega

According to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement released on May 23, 2021, " initial reports suggesting the involvement of the Belarusian security services and the use of Belarusian military aircraft to escort the plane are deeply concerning and require full investigation."

CNN on May 25, 2021 reported on the gravity of what happened and also quoted the CEO of Ryanair:

The 26-year-old dissident was traveling on Ryanair flight 4978 from Athens, Greece to Vilnius, Lithuania on Sunday when shortly before touchdown the plane was diverted by Belarusian air traffic control to the capital Minsk over a supposed security alert.

Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary accused Belarus of "state-sponsored piracy," telling Ireland's Newstalk radio Monday that he believed Belarusian KGB agents were also on the flight that was carrying 26-year-old Protasevich, who is wanted in Belarus on a variety of charges.

A  short while later a coerced confession was aired in violation of international standards.

The degrading and humiliating ‘interview’, showing Raman Pratasevich to be under intolerable psychological pressure, amounts to ill-treatment. Those behind this travesty must be held accountable.

You can still demand his freedom here 👇 pic.twitter.com/WdwCoCojYg

— Amnesty International (@amnesty) June 9, 2021

 

Nearly a year later on May 6, 2022 Sofia Sapega was sentenced to six years in a Belarusian prison.  Raman Pratasevich was sentenced to eight years in prison earlier this month, nearly two years after a arbitrary detention that appeared to be more of an international kidnapping.

They should have never been arrested in the first place.

Remembering the Black Cuban Spring, the failure of the UN Human Rights Council, and the legacy today

 Remembering the Black Cuban Spring, the long winter, and the future spring

2003 - 2021 Spring will return

Eighteen years ago on March 18, 2003 a crackdown began in Cuba on the eve of the United States going to war in Iraq. Scores of Cuban dissidents were rounded up and subjected to political show trials. 75 were condemned to lengthy prison terms of up to 28 years in prison. This became known as the Black Cuban Spring. 

 

The majority of the imprisoned activists had participated in the Varela Project, a petition drive that called for a referendum under the terms of the Cuban Constitution on whether there should be more freedom of expression, an amnesty for political prisoners and a chance for ordinary citizens to own small businesses. 11,020 signatures had been turned in 10 months earlier on May 10, 2002. 

 

The regime responded with its own mandatory petition drive to make the Cuban Constitution unchangeable. 

 
The Economist in its December 14, 2005 issue published a conversation with Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas titled "An unsilenced voice for change" that outlined what had taken place:

Between 2001 and 2004, Mr Payá's movement gathered 25,000 signatures in a vain attempt to persuade Cuba's National Assembly to change the constitution to allow multi-party democracy. Activists of his Christian Liberation Movement made up more than two-thirds of the 75 dissidents and journalists rounded up and jailed for long terms in April 2003. [...] Spain is “complaisant” with Mr Castro's regime, Mr Payá says. “We need a campaign of support and solidarity with peaceful change in Cuba” of the kind that brought an end to apartheid in South Africa and to the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile.

It took over eight years, but the last of the group of the 75 were eventually released. Oswaldo was murdered along with the Christian Liberation Movement's youth leader Harold Cepero on July 22, 2012. His successor Eduardo Cardet was a prisoner of conscience from November 30, 2016 through September 3, 2019. He was jailed for giving a frank assessment of Fidel Castro's legacy following his death on November 25, 2016.

11,020 Varela Project signatures turned in on May 20, 2002

On April 2, 2003 three young black men were arrested, tried and executed by firing squad nine days later on April 11, 2003 for trying to flee the island in a hijacked ferry, in which no one had been physically harmed. This drew worldwide condemnation at the time, and became known as Cuba's Black Spring, but it did not prevent the end of the mandate for monitoring human rights violations in Cuba in a backroom deal for the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council on March 15, 2006.

Fifteen years ago the United Nations Human Rights Council was founded on a small moral compromise that sacrificed human rights oversight in Belarus and Cuba in what U.N. officials called the dawn of a new era. Special rapporteurs with mandates to specifically monitor the human rights situation in those two countries were formally gotten rid of in 2007 and a code of conduct established that undermined the independence of all special rapporteurs.

Ending oversight of Belarus and Cuba not only left the victims of these dictatorships exposed to more repression, with impunity by their oppressors, but emboldened these dictatorships not only to worsen their practices at home but to undermine human rights abroad. Worse yet, both would be elected to serve on the UN Human Rights Council with other outlaw regimes.

These failings have real world consequences.

UN Human Rights Council member 🇨🇺 Cuba gives speech justifying genocide by UN Human Rights Council member 🇨🇳 China. On behalf of 64 countries.

We urged 🇪🇺 European Union & member states to oppose the election of China & Cuba to the UNHRC. They did nothing. This is the result. pic.twitter.com/y4ktdGH3nJ

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) March 12, 2021

Cuba led the charge to back up China's new security law for Hong Kong that strips citizens of Hong Kong of their human rights last year. On July 1, 2020 the Cuban dictatorship introduced a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council praising China for passing the Hong Kong National Security Law, also known as the 66 article law. 53 governments backed this resolution, endorsing the death of a free Hong Kong. Official Chinese media "celebrated" their victory at the human rights body. Belarus has also continued to back the new security law at international forums.

In spite of Cuba's terrible human rights record at home, and leading the charge to back China stripping Hong Kongers of their rights the Castro regime was re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council on October 12, 2020 with 170 out of a possible 192 votes at the General Assembly.

This did not improve Havana's behavior.

"Cuba, speaking on behalf of 64 countries including China [on March 12, 2021], said Xinjiang is 'an inseparable part of China' and urged states to 'stop interfering in China’s internal affairs by manipulating Xinjiang-related issues, (and) refrain from making unfounded allegations against China out of political motivations'." These countries led by the Castro regime are defending an ongoing genocide. 

Over the past 15 years the world has entered a long winter when it comes to human rights.

Spring will return to Cuba, but the struggle continues today in 2021 and the failures of solidarity by the international community with free Cuban is having a negative impact on human rights globally as the Castro regime backs the end of a free Hong Kong, and defends genocide in Xinjiang.

Belarus and Cuba: Castro regime backs the dictatorship of Alexander Lukashenko at the UN Human Rights Council

Translating the rhetoric of the Castro regime at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Raul Castro's presidential puppet and dictator Lukashenko

Prensa Latina is an official press agency of the Castro dictatorship, but is in reality part of its propaganda apparatus. Below is a story they published on September 18 that needs to be translated for the sake of accuracy. 

First, Cuba did not ratify anything, it was an un-elected dictatorship run by the Castro family, that on September 18, 2020 at the United Nations Human Rights Council ratified its support for the dictator of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

Second the Castro regime fails to mention that it is Alexander Lukashenko who is requesting and getting the foreign interference from Vladimir Putin. Mr. Lukashenko also wants Russian police, to terrorize the people of Belarus who have spent weeks protesting the attempted theft of their presidential election by the above mentioned dictator.

This should not be a surprise considering that the Castro regime defended the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 by the Warsaw Pact led by Russia, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980.

Third, what the Castro regime actually fears is that the Human Rights Council will hold it accountable for its crimes against humanity against Cubans and Venezuelans. This is why in the past they ignored ideological considerations and backed the military junta in Argentina, that disappeared over 30,000 Leftists, against an inquiry by the prior UN Human Rights Commission.

BELARUSIAN people are fearless. Dozens of thousands took part in the March of Justice today. Authorities did not let protesters march the planned route. However, people moved their way. In the end, the riot police attacked the participants. Hundreds are detained pic.twitter.com/vWszNVSR4N

— Franak Viačorka (@franakviacorka) September 20, 2020

There is a danger both for the Castro regime and Vladimir Putin to confuse the dictator, with the aspirations of the people of Belarus. We have not and will not. We stand with Belarus and in solidarity with the people seeking their freedom and sovereignty.

 Prensa Latina, September 18, 2020

Cuba expresses support for Belarus at the Human Rights Council

Geneva, Sep 18 (Prensa Latina) Cuba ratified on Friday its support for the people and government of Belarus and its legitimate President Alexander Lukashenko in a session of the UN Human Rights Council convened to attack that country.

'We energetically reject foreign interference against the sovereignty and self-determination of that sister nation,' assured Cuban diplomat Lisandra Astiasaran during an urgent debate on the human rights situation in Belarus, where the West is committed to destabilization.

According to Astiasaran, Cuba repudiates the imposition of this type of selective initiatives, directed against sovereign governments and with clear political motivations.

'We are facing an obvious attempt to use the Human Rights Council to legitimize a coup in a sovereign nation, and to advance the interventionist agenda of the United States and some of its allies,' she denounced.

In this regard, she warned that on Friday's debate and the resolution that accompanied it represent new signs of politicization and double standards that prevail in handling the issue of human rights.

Such a stance will only ensure that the Council's credibility continues, she noted.

rly/omr/ga/wmr

Message of solidarity with the people of Belarus and eternal hostility to Lukashenko, the "Fidel Castro of Europe"

 "It was never the people who complained of the universality of human rights, nor did the people consider human rights as a Western or Northern imposition. It was often their leaders who did so." - Mr. Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General

Hispanics demonstrate their solidarity with freedom struggle in Belarus

Presidential elections were held in Belarus on August 9, 2020 and official provisional results claimed that the "incumbent President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko received 80.08% of votes, whereas his opponent Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya received 10.9%." Elections were marred by government "violence, unjustified detentions and falsification of election results."

Protests broke out across the country against Lukashenko, who has been the communist dictator of Belarus since 1994. Despite brutal repression and torture by government officials the populace has taken to the street to protest the latest stolen presidential election.

Pro-regime rally on the left dwarfed by opposition rally on the right on the same day

 We are approaching the 29th anniversary of Belarus achieving its independence from the Soviet Union after more than seventy years of occupation. Nevertheless, this day is not cause for celebration because for the majority of that time and currently Belarusians have been subjected to what today is the last dictatorship in Europe under the autocratic regime of Alexander Lukashenko.

Fidel Castro and Alexander Lukashenko: Birds of a feather

Belarus dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, is called the "Fidel Castro of Europe" and upon Fidel Castro's death in November 2016 he sent his effusive condolences to Raul Castro that give an insight into the Belarus dictator's character fawning over one of the great despots of the 20th century, and his close relationship with the current Cuban dictator.

 “It is with deep pain and sorrow that I have learned the news about the death of my Friend and your Brother,” the message of condolences reads." ... “Fidel Castro left his bright mark in history as a true patriot who dedicated his life to the selfless service to the Homeland and the ideals of the Cuban Revolution. ..." His wise ideas and advice are very important for me. I am convinced that this invaluable legacy will help me in state activities and personal life,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed. Addressing Raul Castro, he remarked: “Raul, we lost a close and dear person, and a unique thinker.”

One hopes that Lukashenko is not the Castro of Europe because after 25 years in power, he would still have another 22 years in power before handing the dictatorship to a close relative in a dynastic succession in 2042 as Fidel Castro did to Raul Castro in 2006 after he fell ill, and was unable to continue running Cuba's communist dictatorship after 47 years.

Raul Castro and Alexander Lukashenko

For anyone to remain in power for 25 years, much less 47 years, normally does not rely on the consent of the governed through a democratic process, but use a repressive apparatus and the willingness to punish, torture and kill those seeking a democratic change, even if they are pursuing it nonviolently. The Castro regime had secret police fire into marching protesters on August 5, 1994. There has been a report of at least one Belarusian shot by police during current protests against Lukashenko.

Andrew Roth writing in The Guardian on August 13, 2020 reported disturbing practices committed by the authorities against those already in custody.

Those detained in police stations, jails and makeshift prisons spoke of ritual beatings, up to 55 women being crammed into a cell meant for two people and men who were kept in stress positions for hours on end. Leaked audio files and other testimony has corroborated the reports of widespread torture as Lukashenko tries to hold on to power.

One 31-year-old builder from Minsk, who asked for his name not to be used, described being arrested at 6pm on Sunday evening, a few hours before polls closed, after he filmed a column of riot police in central Minsk.

For the first few hours, he was treated well, but was then moved to a notorious holding centre on Okrestina Street on the outskirts of Minsk, where he was placed in a cell meant for four people that eventually had 21 men inside as more and more were arrested during the evening.

After two days, in which he was given water but no food and could hear the screams of people being beaten in the courtyard, he was forced to sign a paper with false information about where and when he was arrested. He was then given an 11-day prison sentence in a makeshift trial inside the prison. A few hours later, at 3am on Wednesday morning, he was told he could leave.

“They called me to the exit, but then in the courtyard riot police with their faces covered told us to lie down on the floor and then they started beating us. They were smashing me with batons all over my body. Then they were smashing me with fists. Then they told us to stand up to see if we could stand up. I didn’t really know what was happening.”

Similar and worse practices have been carried out under the Castros since 1959 and in Belarus under Lukashenko since 1994. In addition to their brutality they have also played the race card. Black dissidents have died on hunger strikes in Cuba, black Cubans have been executed by firing squad for trying to hijack vessels to flee the island, and revolutionary police shot a young man in the back and regime officials prevented protests over the killing. Today, Lukashenko tried to rally his supporters using the race card declaring "they want to impose on us NATO forces... Including black and yellow soldiers. Not on my watch!!"

Belarus and Cuba maybe thousands of miles apart with different languages and national histories but both share the ill fortune of having communist totalitarian regimes and their methods of repression are similar. The languages and customs may be different but the repression and human rights violations are the same, and so are their lies and denials. In addition the regimes in Belarus and Cuba have close bilateral ties.

In the early years of the Communist Revolution in Cuba when the Castros old compatriots had returned to the hills and mountains of the Escambray carrying out a guerilla struggle to achieve democracy, the regime brought in hundreds of Soviet counter insurgency experts to assist the Castro regime in crushing this democratic resistance in what Mary O'Grady in The Wall Street Journal in 2017 called a Soviet cleansing.

Today in Belarus it is a mass nonviolent movement of millions, and although the Soviet Union ceased to exist 29 years ago, its KGB agents are still in positions of power.
Lukashenko has a choice: listen to Belarusians demands and reach a democratic accommodation or appeal to the former KGB officer, now despot of Russia, Vladimir Putin to assist him in cracking down on the democratic aspirations of his countrymen.

The historical rally is happening in Minsk. Now there are two options for Lukashenka:
1) negotiations with opposition;
2) Putin to come pic.twitter.com/v1txzVzyCl

— Franak Viačorka (@franakviacorka) August 16, 2020

It appears that repression tactics are universal which offers another reason why a universal human rights standard is not an idealistic abstraction but a concrete response to real world problems.

Finally, the close relationship between these two brutal dictators demonstrates once again the need for victims of repression to work in solidarity with each other. A Czech dissident who died under interrogation by state security over three decades ago called it the solidarity of the shaken. His name was Jan Patočka.

This is why on the 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union we joined in worldwide protests of solidarity, and it is why today we are speaking out for Belarusians experiencing repression and torture for wanting to be free. 

This evening concludes the largest protest in the history of #Belarus. By different reports up to over a million people gathered on the streeets of #Minsk demanding freedom, free election results and step down of #Lukashenko. pic.twitter.com/uEsNdFUJsc

— Belarus Free Theatre (@BFreeTheatre) August 16, 2020

European Union continues its retreat on human rights accommodating another dictatorship

The talk today is of globalization, but we must state that unless there is global solidarity, not only human rights but also the right to remain human will be jeopardized. - Oswaldo Paya, European Parliament, December 17, 2002

Today a majority of the European Parliament rejected the legacy of Vaclav Havel putting profits over principle, abandoning Cuban dissidents to advance a commercial relationship with the Castro regime. By a vote of 567 votes to 65, with 31 abstentions, European Parliament members backed the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) between the EU and Cuba. Previous rapprochements with the dictatorship in Cuba have coincided with a worsening human rights decision and the death of high profile dissidents.

Ideas have consequences and the rejection of Havel's ideas began back in 2014 when Czech deputy foreign minister Petr Drulák argued that a "foreign policy with its stress on human rights was wrong and harmful." This abandonment of human rights did not begin with Cuba but in February of 2015 when the European Union lifted sanctions on the Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. This was followed in February of 2016 with lifting sanctions on the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus. This is the continuation of a decline in human rights around the world that has been going on for over a decade. Empowering and appeasing dictators had terrible consequences in the 20th century and this mistake is being repeated in the 21st century.  The case of North Korea should be a cautionary warning for those advocating this approach.

This latest retreat from a human rights centered policy occurred while Amnesty International has issued two urgent actions in the space of a week on human rights activists on hunger strikes in Cuba protesting harassment, intimidation and arbitrary imprisonment. On Sunday 50 Ladies in White ( EU Sakharov Prize laureates) were arbitrarily detained to prevent them attending Mass and peacefully marching for the release of Cuban political prisoners. Ignoring all this and the murder of 2002 Sakharov laureate Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and youth leader Harold Cepero of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) on July 22, 2012 and the imprisonment of the current MCL leader Eduardo Cardet is a sad testament to the current political climate where the worse are full of passionate intensity and those who know better pay lip service to human rights while legitimizing murderous dictatorships in Zimbabwe, Belarus and Cuba.

If the members of the European Parliament were serious about human rights in Cuba they would immediately suspend the newly announced agreement, because the provisions on human rights are being violated by the Castro regime.

The Case for Belsat: Media Censorship in Belarus, Europe's last dictatorship

#белсатжыві #LiveBelsat!

Belarus is Europe's last dictatorship and the situation in that Eastern European country is not improving. A clear example of this is found in efforts to shut down the few remaining sources of independent news. One of these last media outposts is Belsat, and its web site provides a brief history of the channel: 

Belsat TV is the only Belarusian language independent television channel. It was formed in 2007 by a group of Belarusian and Polish journalists as part of Telewizja Polska S.A. ... The launching was done in cooperation with members of the Association of Belarusian Journalists – recipient of the prestigious Andrei Sakharov Human Rights Award of the European Parliament. Belsat TV broadcasts nearly 20 hours a day all year round. Its original content is prepared by more than 100 associates from all over Belarus supported by around 80 editors, managers and technicians in Warsaw.

The regime in Belarus is seeking to remove satellite dishes en masse that will coincidentally curtail viewing of Belsat TV in the country. However they may be wasting their time because international solidarity is ebbing for democrats resisting tyranny around the world, Europe is not immune from the trend, and Belsat TV may lose support from neighboring Poland that has helped to keep the channel broadcasting into Belarus. 



However there are efforts underway to campaign for keeping Belsat TV on the air through social media campaigns. This blog entry is my own small contribution to that effort. Long live Belsat TV! 

In Solidarity with Civil Society in Belarus

"We wish to express our solidarity with all those who suffer from any form of oppression and injustice, and with those in the world who have been silenced or marginalized." - Oswaldo Paya 

"Solidarity is stronger than repression."

August 4th, 2011 was the day Ales Bialiatski was arrested, he is a leading figure in the defense of human rights in Belarus, was the chairman of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", and the vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights. Two years later Ales remains unjustly imprisoned. It is for that reason that activists in Belarus have designated today an International Day of Solidarity with Civil Society in Belarus.

Please take a moment out of your day today to demonstrate your solidarity with civil society and the defenders of a free society in Belarus.  Their struggle is also ours because we are all interconnected. Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963 explained it:

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea."

He placed this in the American context talking about the American South but 50 years later we understand that it holds true internationally either for good or ill. 

The past half century has demonstrated how agents of injustice cooperate and collaborate in expanding their zone of power of influence. Cubans have seen first hand how the Castro dictatorship has embraced and collaborated with the worse dictatorships on the planet to undermine civil society and human rights standards. The Castro brothers have a close working relationship with Alexander Lukashenko, who has also been called the "Fidel Castro of Europe."

This is not a call to armed intervention or political violence but to solidarity and nonviolent resistance with the forces in Belarus that advocate for justice and freedom. Solidarity is stronger than repression in the same manner that justice is more powerful then injustice.

Below is some information on the current state of affairs in Europe's last dictatorship prepared by Belarus activists:


About Belarus

Why Belarus?

• Belarus is a country with rich history in the middle of Europe
• Belarus is a country where old castles were preserved, where one can still find beautiful national parks and wild nature preserves;
• In Belarus the following famous people were born: revolutionary and national hero of Belarus, Poland and the USA Tadeusz Kościuszko, one of the first publishers in Europe Francysk Skaryna, poet and revolutionary Konstanty Kalinowski, painter Mark Shagal, writer Vasil Bykaŭ, Nobel Prize in physics Zhores Alferov, science fiction guru Isaac Asimov, etc.
• Belarus is a country where lots of our friends and beloved, relatives and colleagues and just many good people live.

In Belarus there are lots of civil society organizations and groups, journalists, activists, artists, musicians, thinkers, philosophers and poets. In Belarus progressive ideas are being discussed, people work on creative projects and new civil universities are established. It means that in that country we can find something what is called all over the world “civil society” and where we can meet people, who are ready to take responsibility for their country and its future.

But at the same time it is very hard to live in this country because of the following:

1. The authorities very seldom pay attention to the National Constitution, governing by the orders of president Lukashenko, and simply ignore or violate international human rights obligations.
2. The Belarus authorities don’t respect the Law. Belarus is the only country of the continent, where European Convention of Human Rights does not apply. On one side, the legislature frequently passes bills that limit civil liberties of citizens; on the other side the executive do it anyways - without any laws. Judicial system doesn’t meet international standards of justice and in cases between the state and a citizen, there is close to zero chance for just verdict.
3. Belarus is the only country in Europe where death penalty is still being applied. In March 2012 two people accused of organizing and conducting a terrorist attack in 2011 in Minsk Metro were sentenced to death and executed. In the opinion of experts and independent observers their guilt wasn’t proven beyond any reasonable doubts. According to the law their bodies are not handed over to the relatives and their burial place remains secret.
4. In the past 10 years every single election has been followed by mass protests and unlawful detentions of hundreds of people (in 2010- more than 700), as well as massive searches (in 2010- more than 1000), including in the offices of civil society groups. Practically, every presidential candidate (except Lukashenko) was either accused of mass rioting, imprisoned or forced to emigrate.
5. In Belarus penitentiaries there are prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, including human right activists, journalists, opposition figures, whose sentences are due to their criticism of the authorities. Belarus authorities frequently use political prisoners in negotiations and political exchanges with European Union, the USA and Russia.
6. In Belarus participation in unregistered organization is a criminal offense punishable by up to two years of prison. This can can apply to any group, for example those that help children in orphanages, clubs of journalism enthusiasts and most of all to any human rights group or political opposition initiative.
7. In Belarus almost all public actions (if they do not support the regime) are prohibited and their participants face arrest for up to 15 days (sometimes, several times in a row). After mass actions of “silent protest” (people gathering together in random squares without signs or slogans and simply clapping) “massively organized inactivity” was also made punishable. During mass actions, a number of people who are detained for swearing or other acts of “hooliganism” increases manifold as the authorities use those petty offenses as pretext for placing activist under arrest for a few days.
8. The authorities of Belarus may prohibit their citizens to go abroad (some recent cases include men over 40 and women - for “avoiding military service” or yet “not implementing court decisions” event if there has been no trials – all as pretexts for placing exit bans on human rights defenders and opposition activists). The authorities also wrongfully refuse entry for citizens of other countries, including Belarus neighbors and partners with visa free border regimes. In 2012 the KGB (still the name of secret service) has been officially entitled to refuse exit for “unreliable people”, whose names have been entered in their “preventive list”.
9. Belarus is a country which suffered the most from Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster in 1986 and now the authorities hide the real ecological situation on contaminated areas, planning to build a new nuclear power station with money of Russian citizens. The plans continue in spite of local protests and objections of ecologists.
10. In Belarus for a long time Belarus language was prohibited. Till now, its authorities do nothing to restore historical memory about repressions which occurred in the period of USSR, On the contrary they restore Soviet-era monuments, like “the line of Stalin”.
11. In Belarus students are often expelled from universities and schools under political pressure, first of all, because of beliefs and openly expressed opinions.

Usual and regular reply of Belarus authorities to criticism on behalf of civil society and almost any type of civic activism- is either a ban or arrest.

Of course, we can say that the situation in Belarus is not the worst one, there are some countries where it is much worse
 
BUT  first, it’s not the reason not to do anything for Belarus;
second, if there is possibility to change the situation in this country it means that we can also help other countries.

After all, if we agree with injustice and take it for granted, then it comes into reality.

More information about Belarus you can find here:
Human Rights reports  about the situation in Belarus
The list of Belorussian organizations and groups

Freedom House Report on Authoritarian Internationalism

Ever wonder why human rights have been on a steady decline for the past 7 years? Freedom House offers an explanation with this report.

Exporting Repression

March 26, 2013

written by

Daniel Calingaert 

Executive Vice President

Freedom House

Authoritarian regimes around the world are exporting their worst practices and working together to repress their own citizens and undermine human rights standards internationally. They have collaborated extensively to strengthen their grip on power, often in the face of domestic discontent and international criticism. This cooperation, which might be dubbed “authoritarian internationalism,” presents a significant challenge to democracy around the world and has likely contributed to the decline in global freedom registered by Freedom House over the past seven years.

The interactions between authoritarian regimes are largely opaque, but they have become evident as methods of repression are replicated from country to country, direct assistance is provided across borders to crack down on dissent, and joint efforts are made to chip away at international protections for fundamental freedoms. Authoritarian internationalism is manifested in multiple ways:

Photo Credit: Malika Khurana

• The “China model”: China, with its combination of rapid economic growth and political repression, presents an appealing policy model for other authoritarian regimes. It offers a supposed alternative to democracy as a route to prosperity, and its vague ideological emphasis on national sovereignty and the guiding role of a permanent ruling party is easily transferrable to other regimes that seek to resist international pressure and crush political opposition. However, the sustainability of China’s economic growth under the existing system is increasingly questioned by experts, and dictatorships that claim admiration for the Chinese example often function as mere kleptocracies, where economic gains come from the extraction of natural resources rather than industrial expansion and accrue largely to the benefit of a small elite.
   

Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka at Hugo Chávez's funeral.
Screengrab from Canal de n24fuenteno

• Close ties between dictatorships: Authoritarian regimes have built extensive economic, military, and political ties with like-minded governments, both in their neighborhoods and further afield. The government of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, for example, provided $82 billion in grants and subsidies to more than 40 countries from 2005 to 2011, according to the opposition’s estimate, and established close relationships with distant countries, such as Iran, that have little in common beyond a shared opposition to democracy. The mutual affinity of dictators around the globe was on display during Chávez’s funeral on March 8, when Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka bade a tearful farewell to his Venezuelan counterpart.
  
  

  Counter protesters attack LGBT rights advocates peacefully demonstrating in Voronezh, Russia. Photo Credit: Article20.org

• Replicating worst practices: Authoritarian regimes tend to adopt the same kinds of restrictive laws and policies as their peers. Their laws on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), for instance, often share features like ambiguous or onerous registration requirements, wide discretion for authorities to block NGO activities, and restrictions on foreign funding. Foreign prodemocracy groups have increasingly become the targets of repression; they were put on trial in Egypt, kicked out of the United Arab Emirates and Russia, and vilified in the media in Azerbaijan. The pattern of copying worst practices was evident most recently in a wave of bills to ban “homosexual propaganda” that were introduced in Russia, Ukraine, and other settings.
   
• Technology exports: China has set the standard for sophisticated methods of control over the internet and actively exports technology for monitoring digital communications. It has reportedly supplied telephone and internet surveillance technology to Iran and Ethiopia and provided several Central Asian governments with telecommunications infrastructure that may increase their ability to spy on their own citizens.
   
• Security service collaboration: While authoritarian regimes naturally try to avoid notice of cooperation between their security services, indications of such cooperation have surfaced. Cuban intelligence officials are reportedly working within Venezuelan government and military structures. Central Asian governments appear to have carried out several renditions of their citizens from Russia, probably with the complicity of Russian officials. And Russian opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev was abducted last October in broad daylight in Kyiv, where he was seeking political asylum, then driven to Russia, abused, and pressured into signing a confession.
   
• Military intervention: When heavy-handed police methods are insufficient to quell unrest, authoritarian regimes at times intervene militarily to save a fellow dictator. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent troops into Bahrain in March 2011 to help put down peaceful protests. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are reportedly advising Syrian generals and using Hezbollah to build a large Syrian militia to fight in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
   
• Challenging international norms: In an effort to blunt international criticism, authoritarian regimes seek to water down accepted international standards for human rights. Russia has sponsored a series of resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council to recognize “traditional values,” which serve as a handy excuse to infringe on the universal values of human rights that are codified in UN conventions. At the World Conference on International Communications last December, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and other authoritarian states pushed for an international treaty to give governments greater control over the internet.
   
• Undermining international institutions: Authoritarian governments have tried to impede and even gut international institutions that protect political and civil rights. Russia and like-minded Eurasian dictatorships have made concerted efforts to hamper the ability of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to issue hard-hitting observation reports on flawed elections. Meanwhile, Ecuador is leading leftist-populist governments in its region in attempts to stifle the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, particularly by defunding the special rapporteur for freedom of expression, who has strongly criticized restrictions on media in Ecuador and elsewhere in Latin America.
  
  

  Muratbek Imanaliyev and Vladimir Putin. Photo Credit: Premier.gov.ru

• Counter-organizations: At the same time, authoritarian regimes have built up their own regional organizations to provide a counterweight to existing international institutions. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a prime example. It promotes security and economic cooperation between China, Russia, and neighboring Central Asian states. The Commonwealth of Independent States’ Election Monitoring Organization directly challenges the OSCE by white-washing flawed elections. It called Ukraine’s parliamentary elections last October “transparent and democratic”; the OSCE said they were “a step backwards” and criticized the lack of a level playing field, of transparency in campaign finance, and of balanced media coverage.

The reach and vigor of authoritarian internationalism point to the need for democratic countries to bolster their own cooperation. The pushback against democracy extends beyond the borders of autocratic states and threatens international norms and institutions that contribute to global stability. The world’s democracies cannot afford to let the authoritarian challenge go unanswered.

Issues: 

Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Freedom of Association, Human Rights Defense, Intergovernmental Bodies, Internet Freedom, Rule of Law, United Nations

Regions: 

Americas, Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Middle East and North Africa

Countries: 

Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Iran, China, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia

http://www.freedomhouse.org/blog/exporting-repression

Oswaldo Paya’s daughter addresses UN Human Rights Council

 On March 12, 2013 at the United Nations Human Rights Council the Castro regime with some of the other of the worse human rights violators of the world tried to censor this two minute speech. What where they afraid of? Read on and you be the judge. 

Rosa Maria Payá at the United Nations Human Rights Council

 Rosa Maria Payá, daughter of late Cuban dissident Oswaldo Payá, took the floor today at the UN Human Rights Council and presented an appeal by 46 public figures calling for an inquiry into her father's suspicious death in July. Organized by UN Watch. Full story here. UN Watch has a transcript of the presentation along with the interruptions. Below we offer the text without them.

Thank you, Mr. President.

My name is Rosa Maria Payá, of the Christian Liberation Movement and daughter of its national coordinator Oswaldo Payá, opposition leader and Sakharov Prize laureate of the European Parliament.

My father dedicated his life to working for legal and nonviolent change for Cubans to enjoy all their rights.

He promoted the Varela Project, a referendum supported by over 25,000 citizens, who have defied repression to demand changes in the law that guarantee freedom of expression, association, free elections, freedom of nonviolent political prisoners and the possibility of having private companies.

So far the government has refused to realize this plebiscite and imprisoned the majority of its leaders.

Yosvani Melchor Rodríguez is 30 years old and has spent three in prison as punishment because his mother is a member of our movement.

Cuban authorities said my father and Harold Cepero, a youth activist, died in a traffic accident. But after interviewing the survivors, we confirmed that their deaths were not accidental. The driver of the car told the Washington Post, that they were intentionally rammed from behind. The text messages from the survivors on the day of the event
confirm this.

The Cuban government’s state security calls my family home in Havana to say: We're going to kill you. They are the same death threats that were made to my father. The physical integrity of all members of my family is the responsibility of the Cuban government.

Today we present an appeal, signed by 46 political leaders and activists from around the world. We urge the United Nations to launch an independent investigation into the death of my father.

The truth is essential to the process of reconciliation that the transition to democracy in Cuba needs. We do not seek revenge, we have a right to know:

Who are responsible for the death of my father?

When will there be a response to the demands of human rights of the people of Cuba to enjoy democracy and basic freedoms?

Thank you, Mr. President.

At 01:11:48 the video begins for this item: 31. United Nations Watch, Rosa Maria Paya - (Point of Order: Cuba, USA, China, Russian Federation, Pakistan, Belarus) http://webtv.un.org/watch/item:4-general-debate-contd-30th-meeting-22nd-regular-session-human-rights-council/2220338624001/# 

International Day of Solidarity with civil society of Belarus

“The solidarity of the shaken can say ‘no’ to the measures of mobilization that make the state of war permanent. … The solidarity of the shaken is built up in persecution and uncertainty: that is its front line, quiet, without fanfare or sensation even there where this aspect of the ruling Force seeks to seize it.” - Jan Patočka

"We wish to express our solidarity with all those who suffer from any form of oppression and injustice, and with those in the world who have been silenced or marginalized." - Oswaldo Paya

In the midst of the pain and sorrow surrounding the untimely deaths of Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero it is still necessary to remember those in other parts of the world suffering repression at the hands of tyrants. Today, August 4, 2012 has been set aside as the International Day of Solidarity with Civil Society of Belarus.

This is what Oswaldo would do if he were physically with us today because he believed in the power of human solidarity and the importance to demonstrate it and apply it for the sake of humanity itself. Oswaldo Paya placed solidarity into the modern day context observing: "The talk today is of globalization, but we must state that unless there is global solidarity, not only human rights but also the right to remain human will be jeopardized."

August 4th, 2011 is the day selected because a prominent dissident and human rights defender Ales Bialiatski was arrested on that day. Ales is a leading figure in the defense of human rights as chairman of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", and vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights. It also important to remember the crucial role played by the arts in civil society to create spaces of freedom.

Furthermore, the tyrant of Belarus visited the tyrant of Cuba in March of 2012 and reached out to cooperate with a fellow repressive dictator. This adds another reason as to why free Cubans and Belarusians need to reach out in solidarity with one another in confronting their shared challenges to obtain freedom.


The organizers of the event published a statement explaining the significance of the day stating that their objective is to attract attention to the human rights situation in Belarus, and to express solidarity with the Belarusian citizens fighting for their civil rights under permanent pressure and harassment. I joined together with other friends in celebrating the 20th anniversary of Belarus's independence from the Soviet Union on August 25, 2011. Today my prayers go out to Belarus's civil society and two Cubans who died under mysterious circumstances on July 22, 2012. At the same time reproducing the important document below released by the organizers of the solidarity day.

Manifest

International Day of Solidarity
with civil society and human rights movements in Belarus

We, the activists of civil and human rights organizations from various countries around the world declare our initiative to establish International Day of Solidarity with the civil society and human rights movement in Belarus on the 4th of August.

Being in the heart of Europe, Belarus is the only country of the continent, where the death penalty is enforced and where the European Convention on Human Rights does not apply.

Even in such conditions, civil society in Belarus is one of the most powerful in the post-Soviet area. Every day, Belarusian human rights defenders provide legal support to dozens of people. The lawyers from Belarus win cases in the Human Rights Committee and other UN bodies. Directors, artists, writers and musicians continue to create. The Belarusian rock-band "Lyapis Trubetskoy" is known all around the world for their songs and civil position, despite the fact that at home they are included in the "black list" of banned artists.

Politicians of our countries criticize the authorities of Belarus, then they sit down to talks; they impose sanctions, but keep on trading; they threaten Belarusian authorities with isolation, at the same time maintaining relations. But leave it to politicians!

In contrast to politicians, we – civil society activists, human rights defenders and simply concerned citizens – consider it important to express our support to the Belarusian civil society, members of which carry on promoting and protecting human rights standards and the rule of law, offering new ideas and initiatives, helping people to meet, talk, write and create. And all of this is taking place in spite of the systematic violations of fundamental human rights: freedom of assembly, association and expression – the foundations, without which civil society can not exist.

We want to draw attention to the situation in Belarus and to show our solidarity with those people who fight for their freedom under constant pressure and persecution. On this day, we’d like the attention of mass media, news agencies and citizens of our countries being as much as possible attracted to what is going on with civil society in this European country, to its problems and difficulties. We want our colleagues in Belarus feel our support to help them go further with strengthening human rights and the rule of law in their country.

On this day - August 4, 2011 - Ales Bialiatski was arrested. He is one of the leading Belarusian human rights defenders, the head of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and the vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights. For many people this moment marked a new phase of pressure on human rights defenders and civil activists in Belarus, where massive human rights violations had become common practice.

We have established this day not to support any political opposition. On this day, one should not hear calls to overthrow the existing political regime in Belarus, but calls to comply with international obligations in the area of human rights, undertaken by Belarus.

We believe that freedom has no boundaries. We think that the situation in Belarus should be considered as a challenge for civil society all across Europe and Eurasia. We are convinced that all of this area can not be considered the territory of freedom, as long as there are countries (like Belarus) where freedom is restricted.

We believe that while there is at least one state that easily and with impunity shows disregard for the opinion of its own citizens as well as international norms and principles, such a scenario will be possible in other countries, authorities of which continue seeking new ways of how to silence voices of their critics and opponents, and quickly adopt the "worst practices" of their neighbors. In fact, the only thing we can oppose to it – is our international solidarity.

We will observe this day every year, until the situation of civil society in Belarus changes: until  its authorities put an end to imprisoning people for human rights activities, until there is a guarantee of fundamental human rights: freedom of expression, assembly and association.