The complicated situation and the permanent pressure exerted by the authorities on the civil sector of Belarus are frequent topics for both the country’s society and the international community. But what happened the other day staggered even some of the most sophisticated human rights activist and representatives of other NGOs in Belarus. In the night of 24 October a window of the office of Zhodzina-based regional branch of the Human Rights Center Viasna came under gunfire.
A preliminary version suggested by the police says that someone shot 6 charges from a German-made pneumatic pistol on the lower part of the window, the desk level. This was not the first attempt to intimidate Zhodzina human rights activists – several days before, on 18 October, the office windows were stained with red paint.
Sviatlana and Aliaxei Lapitskis, of the regional Viasna branch, believe that their year-long hard struggle for their kid’s constitutional right to learn in Belarusian, in which they finally succeeded, is the reason. Obviously, someone did not like this persistence. Most probably, the pro-fascists rogues of the Russian National Unity, were behind the attack.
The Zhodzina law enforcement agencies launched criminal proceedings by terms of Article 339, part 1 of the Criminal Code – malignant conduct. We would like to believe that the authorities will be able to solve this crime, showing the same amount of persistence which they apply to the persecution and elimination of all independent and uncontrolled pressure groups and non-governmental, above all human rights, organizations.
Over the past few years the Belarusian authorities tried many various method of fighting the third sector. Since 2003, courts have liquidated 89 NGOs. Also, about 200 organizations had to stop their activities for various reasons, the most widespread of which was the inability to get a legal address. Functioning on behalf of unregistered public associations in this country is banned, those committing this “offence” have to face consequences such as fines and arrests.
The next step in the struggle against non-governmental organizations was the adoption by the National Assembly of the new version of the Law “On Public Associations”. Many independent experts and NGOs themselves regard this Law as expressly discriminatory and limiting the people’s right of assembly and association.
By the way, this Law has provided for the term “Republican state public organizations”, to which the Law “On Public Associations” does not apply. What regulates their activities is unknown, but what is known is that these organizations are financed by the state and are in fact state structures.
Thus, today two opposing tendencies can be observed in the public sector in Belarus: on the one hand, state public organizations are created, and on the other hand – the government continues to consistently work toward eventual elimination of independent NGOs that it cannot control.
