No Limitation Period for Those Gone Missing in Belarus

No new loans should be granted to Lukashenka without investigation of "sensational cases".

On March 21 Y.V. Varavko, head of the investigative group, informed that the case of Yury Zakharanka was extended until June 24, 2016. He also informed that "results will be additionally provided."

On the one hand, the Belarusians are far from the story about gone missing ex-Interior Minister Yury Zakharenka, Deputy Speaker of the Supreme Council and Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission Viktar Hanchar (Lidziya Yarmoshyma - current head of the Electoral Commission - was not agreed by the Supreme Council in 1996), businessman Anatol Krasouskaha and operator of the ORT TV channel Dzmitry Zavadski, but their fate is also connected with non-resolution of the case with true guilty persons.

Sanctions Are Lifted, but not All of Them

The Foreign Ministry of Belarus does not have any relation to the suspension of sanctions. Europe and the USA effected release of political prisoners. Later they decided to suspend sanctions, it was one of the steps towards negotiations on human rights in Belarus. However, it is early to talk about complete lifting of sanctions on high officials of Belarus, who are involved in kidnaping of people.

Belarus has still not provided responses on individual complaints of Iryna Krasouskaya (businessman's wife) and Uliana Zhakharanka (general's mother) to the UN Human Rights Committee and the Council of Europe on the report of deputy Christos Pourgourides, as well as to the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances on application of Volha Zakharanka (general's wife). Belarus has failed to provide any evidence of non-involvement of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, Viktar Sheiman, Yury Sivakou, Uladzimir Navumau, Dzmitry Pavlyuchenka and others in removal of opponents.

Trust-based and serious dialogue with the USA and the EU is impossible, unless the Belarusian government reveals all circumstances of disappearance of opposition leaders.

I have doubts that a serious investor starts projects in Belarus until such issues are urgent on international arena.

Brussels and Washington DC still have the issue on the agenda. The EU will not launch the dialogue on a new agreement unless fates of gone missing people are revealed. Everyone understands their disappearances are not related to a crime or accidental death, but to their opposition activity, moreover, two of them took the highest state positions in Belarus.

It follows that Belarus may not have loans of the IMF and other European banks.

Time Will not Heal the Problem

For now it is clear that no real investigation is carried out. The extension is of formal nature. It was possible to investigate thousands of criminal cases over 17 years. Cases of Zakharanka, Hanchar, Krasouski and Zavadski will not be investigated properly by the current government.

If someone involved in these crimes hopes that time will heal the problem, then he is wrong.

Today the list of people involved in crimes has more than 50 people from the MVD, KGB, Prosecutor's Office. They will have to give evidence to the future independent parliament of the country about the fate of those kidnapped politicians.

There will be a serious investigation. It will be necessary to tell the whole truth about those people who wanted to be democratically elected to high positions to reestablish credibility with Brussels and Washington DC, as well as to restore the status in the Council of Europe.

International Investigation Can Put the Lid on the Matter

Today Belarus experiences a very serious economic crisis, Lukashenka needs European and American loans. Not only transformations in the economy must guarantee new loans, but investors and creditors must be convinced there are no politically-based disappearances in the country. The international democratic community realizes an unprecedented gravity of enforced disappearances, it is considered crimes against humanity.

If Minsk is interested in trust relationships with the EU and the USA, it should take an active stand and make steps towards clearing of those in the sanction list of suspicion.

Being a civil right activist and former investigator of the Prosecutor's Office, I believe that steps of the Belarus' government should be as follows:

- ratify an international convention to protect everybody from enforced disappearances.

- no results in investigation on involuntary disappearances of citizens of Belarus imply that the government should seek international assistance in countries with the experience on the matter (Spain, England, Germany, USA, the Netherlands and other countries).

Moreover, European politicians have repeatedly offered to create an international group on investigation of circumstances of disappearances to provide assistance in search, tracing and identification of suspects involved in the crimes. Corresponding mechanisms exist in international practice.

- To provide an opportunity to the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus Miklós Haraszti, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Méndez, and the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Michael Georg Link to come to Belarus and to meet with officials involved in investigations, relatives of those gone missing, civil rights activists to obtain comprehensive and unbiased information on sensational cases;

- To develop cooperation with the UN Human Rights Committee, the OSCE and provide full-length information on the work done for seventeen years.

- to oblige the Investigative Committee of the RB to provide a complete information to relatives of gone missing politicians about preliminary investigation including versions, suspects and other data.

- to declare death of Yury Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasouski and Dzmitry Zavadski for their relatives to come into an inheritance and dispose of property.

There is no limitation period.

Aleh Vouchak, Head of the Human Rights Center "Legal Assistance to Population", especially for charter97.org