Harry Pahanyajla: “In Belarus everything is serving to retaining power”

Human rights activists believe that turning the Operating Analytical Centre (OAC) into a special service was needed as Lukashenka distrust any secret services.

The OAC under the president of Belarus has a right to carry out operational-investigative activities at the territory of Belarus. On January 4, 2010 he signed the law “On amending some laws of Belarus to clamp down on criminal activity”. By the law No. 107-3 of January 4, 2010 amendments have been made to the Law “On Operational Investigative Activities” of July 9, 1999.

Who needs one more special service? And what stands behind that? Harry Pahanyajla, a human rights watchdog, has shared his opinion with “Belarusian partisan”.

- This Operating and Analytical centre is a part of the structure of the Presidential administration and is subjected directly to the president. The OAC is supervised by the Security Council.

The OAC’s turning into a secret service was needed as Lukashenka does not trust any secret services. That is why he needs his own special service. Once Sheiman was doing that surreptitiously, after he created an operating structure inside the OAC. And now Lukashenka has decided to legalize the existing structure.

- What can the OAC do in a capacity of a secret service?

- The same work all the secret services do, but the difference is tat this secret service is in a greater degree to provide security of the president. All the security agencies are subject to the leader of the state, but he wants to have his own operational structure for intelligence and counterintelligence activities, as he does not trust any secret service completely.

- They say that the OAC is to turn serious attention to the Internet…

- It is not excluded. As the OAC has been legalized as a special service by the law “On Operational Investigative Activities”, it means that it will have all the rights, all the operational investigative authorities. That is, the rights of all other special services. But it is to be financed much better and receive better technical equipment: Lukashenka has infinite possibilities in this area.

- From now on the OAC can be figuratively characterized as “supervisor over supervisors”?

- I think so. Operational services have a rich experience of planting its people in other structures, on carrying out secret work, including political surveillance.

- Mr Pahanyajla, is this decision connected with the upcoming presidential elections?

- Certainly, without doubt. In this state everything serves to one aim, to keeping power.