Another Provocation? :: Charter'97 :: News

On October 22 representatives of law-enforcing agencies sealed a Zhodzina office of a public association of Afghanistan war disables persons, and on October 23 a search was held there. About 300 copies of the newspaper “Narodnaya Volya”, computers and 300 forged dollars were confiscated. The search has been carried out in the framework of the criminal case brought up against Alyaksandr Kamarouski, the chairman of the public association of disabled Afghan war veterans after 500 forged US dollars were found in his things at Belarusian-Polish border on October 21 overnight. The leader of disabled Afghan war veterans was on his way to Warsaw for a meeting with partner organizations representatives. In Brest customs office forged banknotes were suddenly found in his hat. Brest customs officers and policemen took him off the train and interrogated him for many hours.

Alyaksandr Kamarouski is a retired lieutenant colonel, a participant of the war in Afghanistan. 20 years ago he founded a public association of disabled Afghan war veterans. A. Kamarouski calls the incident a provocation.

He told to the Radio Svaboda: “I have published two my articles in the “Narodnaya Volya”. That is the reason, I think. Besides, I am a principled, independent commander in Afghan movement”.

In A. Kamarouski’s articles, published in the “Narodnaya Volya” and in some internet sources, including the internet-site of the Charter’97, the regime and Alyaksandr Lukashenka are publicly criticized. In particular, the author informed that he is going to found an oppositional party based on Afghan war veterans’’ movement.

In Zhodzina Alyaksandr Kamarouski started open cooperation with local oppositionists. For instance, in August a summer camp for democratic youth was organized with the assistance of veterans of Afghan war. The camp was disbanded by police. A young activist Pavel Krasouki is among the supporters of A. Kamarouski. He has commented the situation in the following way: “I agree that it was a provocation of special services. It is obvious that such a respected man couldn’t have been transporting fake dollars. He always helps young people of the city, to the elderly, he helps to find work for the unemployed”.

A human rights activist Valyantsin Stefanovich believes:

“The fact of bringing up a criminal action against the head of Zhodzina public association of Afghan war veterans, whose member Pavel Krasouski is as well, is alarming by a strange consistent pattern. As soon as A. Kamarouski publicly raised his voice in support of Pavel, detained and suspected of Vitsebsk blasts and even murders, forged money are found in his things soon after. Such situation doesn’t seem a coincidence for me, as forged dollars have been used many times in politically motivated crimes. Let me remind the case of Miakhail Marynich, when a former diplomat was charged with keeping a large sum of forged dollars, however an examination denied that. This method of planting illicit drugs or forged money, is rather often used in some countries of the post-Soviet space, that is why the criminal case against Alyaksandr Kamarouski is obviously not accidental”.