Alkaeu: “Today we can speak about Lukashenka’s involvement in abducted politicians’ case”

A presentation of the book “The Firing Squad” by the former Minsk remand prison number 1 Aleh Alkaeu has taken place in The Hague.

In an interview to Radio Racyja, Aleh Alkaeu told to what languages his book would be translated, and expressed an opinion that Alyaksandr Lukashenka should be ranked among suspects in abduction of Belarusian politicians.

- A book “The Firing Squad” is available for 16 millions audience, population of the Netherlands, and influence of the Netherlands in the European Union is great. What is your evaluation of what has been done over the last months?

- I understand perfectly well that the weakest spot of the Belarusian government today is the topic of disappeared politicians. In general, I avoid the word “disappeared”, I call them abducted and murdered. Things should be called by their proper names. As this topic fades from time to time, it is hushed, it is avoided, it is feared, and that’s the only way to attract attention of political structures in Europe to it. I won’t stop at that. Now the book is translated into English. The geography is expanding greatly. I think this project would be realized in 2009. And I will work at finishing the second part of the book.

- Could you tell about short outline of the book?

- The contents of the book in its Dutch version haven’t been changed. It has been only supplemented by comments of politicians, officials and some persons who were political prisoners in Belarus. And the content of the book is the following: the book tells about how politicians were abducted in Belarus, how they were deprived of political influence and how they died. The variant of the book is not finished, as in the conditions in which I had been working, it was impossible t publish the final version. Now I have the necessary volume of information. Today I can confidently name the circle of the guilty in this tragic process. In the first variant of the book the figures involved in abductions of politicians are former secretary of the Security Council Viktar Sheiman and former commander of the special rapid response unit Dzmitry Paulichenka, now this circle of guilty persons has been expanded considerably. Today we can speak about Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s involvement in this case. Not least because for the last 10 years he is actively barring investigation. And according to the law, interfering with investigation is assisting to criminals. And it is a criminally liable act.

We remind that vice speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet of Belarus, the chairman of the Election Commission Viktar Hanchar and his friend, businessman and public leader Anatol Krasouski, a former Interior Ministry head Yury Zakharanka who joined the opposition, as well as a camera operator of the Russian ORT TV channel Zmitser Zavadski went missing in 1999-2000 in Belarus.

The world community constantly states the necessity to shed light on the fate of Belarusian oppositionists. The demands to establish the truth about their disappearances is contained in the resolutions of the UN Commission on Human Rights, of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the OSCE.

A number of high-ranking officials in Belarus, in particular minister of internal affaires Uladzimir Navumau, head of the president’s administration Viktar Sheiman, former minister of internal affaires Yury Sivakou, and former commander of special task squad Dzmitry Paulichenka are banned from entry into the EU countries and the US, because they are suspected of involvement in kidnapping of the oppositionists.