Viasna Human Rights Centre: “Belarusian authorities keep expressing unwillingness to initiate democratic changes”

Viasna Human Rights Centre made statement on brutal dispersal of two opposition rallies on February 14 and 16.

Here is the full text of the statement, issued by Viasna Human Rights Centre:

On February 14 and 16 2008, peaceful demonstrations in Minsk were brutally dispersed by special purpose groups of the Ministry of Internal Affaires.

On 14 February 2008 the unregistered Young Front organization conducted a peaceful youth demonstration; on February 16, an action of solidarity with arrested Vaukavysk entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau, and Uladzimir Asipenka, and youth activist Artsyom Dubski was held.

In spite of the fact that the two actions were peaceful, the demonstrators were attacked by representatives of the Belarusian riot police, using violence and compliance weapons. As a result, dozens of citizens were beaten up. However, none of the participants of the action was detained, which indicates the deliberate character of the violent actions, aimed at intimidation and display of power by the Belarusian authorities. The violence used was demonstrative and deliberately excessive.

The Human Rights Center Viasna considers the actions by the authorities an outrage against human rights, guaranteed by the Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – the right to the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of expression. The brutal actions by the Belarusian police indicate that the Belarusian authorities keep expressing their disrespect for the fundamental human rights standards, along with unwillingness to initiate democratic changes.

Considering this, the Human Rights center Viasna expresses its protest and once again calls upon the Belarusian authorities to abide by their human rights commitments and secure the Constitutional rights of the Belarusian citizens.

The Human Rights center Viasna calls on the international community to give an adequate estimation of the actions by the Belarusian authorities.

The Human Rights center Viasna addresses the European Union bodies with a request to take the brutal violation of human rights into account, when evaluating the implementation of the EU recommendations in the field of democratic changes of the state regime by the Belarusian authorities.