viasna on patreon

Valiantsin Stefanovich: Absolutely understandable that this is a filthy provocation

2005 2005-08-30T10:00:00+0300 1970-01-01T03:00:00+0300 en The Human Rights Center “Viasna” The Human Rights Center “Viasna”
The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

Kkhmara movement activists have not been able to receive parcels for a third day. On 30 September we were told that the special detention center was under quarantine – the day when homeless people were brought in. They do not receive parcels.
So now two citizens of Georgia Georgi Kandelaki and Luka Tseladze are in "Belarusian captivity".
This detective started on 24 August, when criminal police detained the Zubr coordinator Kobiets and two citizens of Georgia, members of the Kkhmara organization Georgi Kandelaki and Luka Tseladze. What turns this story into a detective is that from the very beginning the entire "operation" was conducted in the conditions of utmost secrecy. The information that was released first claimed that the citizens of Georgia were detained because of alleged problems with the documents. In view of the need to check their identity, they were brought to the District Department of Internal Affairs of Minsk.
This is when the "secret operation" started, which was conducted in the conditions of information isolation. For several days no information regarding the whereabouts of Georgi and Luka was known. The Interior Ministry press service demonstrated the already traditional "unawareness" of the location of the two foreign citizens. Only after two days a KGB representative for Minsk and Minsk Region said in an interview on the Belarusian TV that two citizens of Georgia Georgi Kandelaki and Luka Tseladze were detained and that KGB decided to have them deported for "interference into the internal affairs of the Republic of Belarus". The representative of the special services officially declared that KGB would continue to "crack down on" the foreigners' actions aimed at destabilizing the political situation in Belarus. What did the two Georgian boys do during their stay in Belarus? According to KGB, during their visit the citizens of Georgia disguised as journalists met with representatives of radical unregistered youth organizations Zubr, Young Front and Limon, took part in unauthorized (as if they are ever authorized) actions of distributing unregistered materials. As evidence some photos were produced, showing some young people putting up fly sheets that said (how terrible!!!) "We remember". Nothing more to add, through such actions Georgi and Luka could seriously destabilize the situation in the country. Our KGB has had a lot on their hands: struggling with cartoons, catching Georgians.
Seriously, I have always believed that if KGB really cared about the security of the state, it would have prevented the 1996 coup d'etat and the unconstitutional 2004 referendum to prolong Lukashenka's presidency indefinitely, would have found those behind the politically motivated abductions of General Iu.Zakharanka, Deputy Hanchar, the journalist Zavadzki and the businessman Krasouski. They did not have the guts to do that, catching Zubr kids and scaring publicly active students are simpler things to do? Worthless, gray, fearing little rats…Let's however get back to our Georgians. On 26 August neither the lawyer nor the diplomat from Georgia's Embassy in Kiev were allowed to see the detained activists. Despite all guarantees of legal assistance, including help to foreign nationals, the Vienna convention, neither the lawyer nor the diplomats were allowed to see detained people. The arguments of the senior lieutenant was plain as it could get: "no head in, I am a small man – do as I am told". End of story. Even the parcel, which we prepared for Georgi and Luka, this "small man" did not allow us to hand over. However, things started to become even more interesting, and events started to develop like a true detective story. Feeling reassured that tomorrow the boys would finally be sent on the Minsk-Tbilisi plane home, we left. Who knows – the boss may be out, Friday evening after all. He may be relaxing after a hard day at work…
However, on Saturday Georgia and Luka did not go home. And again no information. None whatsoever.
Only on Monday 29 August we found out that both Georgians got 15 days each for "disorderly conduct" in the court of Maskouski Borough of Minsk. Later on the details of this "disorderly conduct" were revealed – Georgi and Luka beat the cellmate. Just like the businessmen's leader Shumchanka, a member of the Union of Poles in Belarus, its former chair Tadeusz Havin in Hrodna did. Absolutely understandable that this is a dirty provocation of these gray, worthless little rats. And again the lawyer was not allowed to see the detained people. Only now this was not done by a "small" man but by a lieutenant colonel, deputy head of the public order department of the Main Department of Internal Affairs of Minsk City Executive Committee.
This is a very indicative story, in my opinion. A story of full devaluation and corrosion of laws, rights and morals. Gray little rats seized this world. For how long? It depends on us.

Latest news

Partnership

Membership