Site search

Opinion of the Secretary of the Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic on the actions of the dictatorship The crimes of the Lukashenka’s regime, which he has been committing for 27 years, are so large-scale and varied that they immediately claim a number of "honorable" statuses — up to international terrorism. There is an opinion that the actions of the illegitimate authorities, moreover, even in the "dock-like" period, are quite "pulling" even for genocide. Polina Prismakova, Secretary of the BPR Rada, Associate Professor of the Department of Public Administration at the Atlantic University in Florida, USA, adheres to this. Here are quotes from her speech at the NAM legal conference in Nuremberg. "Crimes against humanity began in Belarus long before 2020 and bear the character of genocide of Belarusians. There should be no statute of limitations for such cases, and all of them should be considered by the tribunal". "I urge you to turn to such a mechanism of international justice as the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. We should not wait until hundreds of thousands are killed to make sure that the Lukashenka’s regime is ready to do anything to keep power. We already have those who have died, been arrested, have gone through and are going through torture and political persecution". "We must prevent mass terror of the Belarusian nation". "Pay attention to the widespread prohibition of everything Belarusian: starting with the 1995 referendum, the first step towards limiting the Belarusian language and symbols, and up to the persecution of Belarusians in 2020−21 for possessing something white-red-white. This demonstrates the anti-Belarusian, anti-national orientation of the repressions and gives the events in the country the character of genocide". "Just like the Nazis killed Jews because they are Jews, so Lukashenka’s junta is destroying us because we are Belarusians. Examples range from the recent liquidation of the Belarusian School Society to the closure of the Belarusian-language Lyceum named after Kolas in the past". "The illegal persecution by the junta of representatives of all strata of our people and the targeted extermination of the most visible "conscientious" — this is more than political repression". "And the ability to determine your future through the election of the president is not a political conviction, but the right and duty of every citizen, guaranteed by the Constitution".

— Vyacheslav Orlovsky, Head of the so-called GUBOPIK — one of Lukashenka’s militant groups — stated that the regime intends to put pressure on Belarusians who support the idea of using an absolutely legal and prescribed in the electoral code method of expression of will in a "referendum" — an invalid ballot. Every voter in a referendum has every right to put a sign in two squares, and this action is absolutely legal. Already now, the regime is preparing to break the law, realizing that it has no reason to obstruct the referendum strategy proposed by the democratic forces. This means that our strategy is correct.

Unification around a common action. Lena Zhivoglod and Dmitry Shchigelsky — on the strategy of action at the "referendum" Community leader *Honest people and the NAM coordinator Lena Zhivoglod and representative of the "Supratsiu" movement Dmitry Shchigelsky discussed what to do at the "referendum". It is important for us that, we, Belarusians, come to a common plan and a single strategy through discussions. Only common and coordinated efforts will help us achieve freedom and democracy in our country. Dmitry Shchigelsky: "The boycott [at the "referendum"] will not work. In order the boycott to work, a unified position of all democratic forces is needed. The politicization of society is necessary. A completely different socio-political situation is needed, which does not exist now. The position is very simple: if we cannot prevent a crime, we do not participate in it. De facto, we will get an ignore, not a boycott. There are no forces and means, circumstances and prerequisites for a boycott and, apparently, will not be". Lena Zhivoglod: "Lukashenka's "referendum" is really a crime. But my position is to discourage crime. Come to polling stations and invalidate ballots. We have not announced further plans yet, but the scenarios of actions are currently in development. Tactical steps will be added to the basic plan published by the democratic forces". Lena Zhivoglod: "We do not dictate to Belarusians what to do. Closed sociological studies of real agencies, not polls in the telegram, show that Belarusians want to go to a "referendum". And the democratic forces have united to help in this and to take the action that will benefit all of us and interfere with Lukashenka’s plans. If we ignore the "referendum", then we will move along the path of depoliticizing society and return to the state before 2020 ". Dmitry Shchigelsky: "In theory, it is easier to calculate the turnout than the voting results. How is the turnout calculated? They put people near the polling stations — and they record how many people have come. But in our conditions, I doubt that someone will let someone stand like this. The security forces will come and take everyone away. Therefore, yes, we will not be able to confirm the boycott either. But we, at the very least, do not become accomplices. I understand that this is a position that many do not like, that it may be weak, but the second position is even worse". Lena Zhivoglod: "I agree with Dmitry that everything is complicated in Belarus, that people are afraid that no one has taken power. But my position is to address these issues. Ignoring and boycotting do not help us get things moving forward. For me, ignoring a "referendum" sounds like a proposal to wait for a better moment, and not create it ourselves. I am also convinced that the people of Belarus are subject to decide what to do. We can help with the infrastructure and the plan — and this is the proposal of the democratic forces". "If we ignore the 'referendum', it will be a real gift for the regime." For what go to the polling stations and invalidate ballots. Advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Alexander Dobrovolsky, member of the the NAM justice team Artsiom Praskalovich and strategic communication manager of the Office of Svitlana Tsikhanouskaya Anastasia Kostyugovatalk about the future "referendum" of Lukashenka: In the video you will learn more about the unified strategy of the democratic forces. The participants will also remember the same 1996 referendum and explain why the boycott actually does not work and why it is possible to win only with a single strategy. "I think that Lukashenka can seek legitimization both in the" referendum "itself and in the future new post of the chairman of the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly. The dictator is under pressure from both external and internal circumstances, so he comes up with new attempts to create the illusion of change. But if his plan works, everything will change only for the worse: all power and, possibly, the right to elect the president, will go to the APA. If we ignore the "referendum", then for citizen Lukashenka it will be a real gift: everything will be quiet, calm and according to the scenario of the regime", said Artsiom Praskalovich.

We share our vision and look forward to your ideas When Lukashenka’s regime becomes a "turned page", all those who have suffered from his illegal actions during all these 27 years must be rehabilitated. This is even more than an act of justice. This is an important part of the foundation of the New Belarus. The future rehabilitation will be the first large-scale and full-fledged (as opposed to attempts to rehabilitate victims of Stalinist repression) procedure of this kind in the history of independent Belarus. We not only have to build it with our own hands. We need people who will be the guarantors of this process. Arbitrators from the Belarusian society, whom it fully trusts. Today we are starting a conversation about the National Commission for Rehabilitation, whose members, according to our Concept, will be authorized to consider the cases of victims of repression. The final decision on its composition and regulations will be possible only after the fall of the dictatorship, but we already have a definite vision. We want to share it with you, and besides, we are waiting for your ideas: in the comments, @NAUsupport chatbot and letters to Justice@belarus-nau.org. We have identified three main, in our opinion, issues regarding the Rehabilitation Commission: What functions should it perform? Who should be part of it? What principles should it be guided by? You can find our thoughts on this in the cards. And we are looking forward to hear yours. Rehabilitation of victims of political repression in Belarus National Commission: how will it work? Functions According to our vision, the National Rehabilitation Commission will be empowered to: consider statements of victims of repression on issues within its competence; make decisions on the immediate release of those who have reason to be considered victims of repression; initiate consideration of materials in relation to the repressed for the unconditional restoration of their, repressed, rights and legitimate interests; organize the provision of material and other support to the repressed; maintain a database of victims of repression; inform citizens about rehabilitation issues. Composition Unfortunately, political repressions in Belarus are extremely diverse and harmed people in different ways: material, physical, moral. The National Commission should become a team capable of assessing the consequences of repression and the necessary support in each individual case, therefore, in our opinion, include itself at least: legal experts; economists; doctors; psychologists; representatives of independent media and trade unions; human rights defenders; civil society representatives; former political prisoners. Principles The rehabilitation process will not only help to restore justice, without which it is impossible to build a truly free country. It will prevent a repetition of what the regime has been doing all these years in the future. Therefore, we are confident that the Commission will have to strictly follow a number of principles — the principles of New Belarus, where law and democracy prevail. Principles Legality: decisions must be made only on the basis and in accordance with the Constitution and the law governing the procedure for rehabilitation, and can be appealed in court. Publicity: meetings should be held openly, except in cases where the victim of repression objects to this or the protection of the rights and freedoms of minors is required. Accountability: The Commission must, at least once every 6 months, publish a report on the work done and the decisions taken, as well as hold public hearings on its activities. Collegiality: decisions must be taken by members of the Commission in an open vote by a simple majority of votes.

Citizen of Belarus Lukashenka wants to use the "referendum" to find legitimacy for himself. But we won’t let him do that with our actions Indeed, the dictator will try to show a pretty picture both inside and outside the country. The quiet "referendum" without our active actions will be presented as a demonstration of citizens' trust, as a sign of our agreement with the fact that Lukashenka is able to lead the country out of the crisis. But the Belarusans already know that this is not so. And not only Belarusians: the Head of the German Foreign Ministry, Heiko Maas, has already called the constitutional reform proposed by Alexander Lukashenko "a farce". Vladzimir Astapenka, responsible for multilateral diplomacy at the NAM, explains why the regime will not be able to mislead anyone. — The intention to hold a "referendum" is yet another attempt of the regime to build a false facade of supposedly legitimate power, which will cover up systematic and massive human rights violations and unprecedented violence against the Belarusian people. World democratic standards, including those accepted in the Council of Europe, state that direct democracy is possible and effective only when the preconditions for the free expression of the will of citizens are created. Obviously, when in a country there is "no time for laws", we cannot speak about the existence of conditions for a meaningful and honest referendum. I am convinced that any attempt by the regime to "construct" a semblance of legitimacy must be fiercely repulsed. To invalidate the ballot is a legal opportunity to show the system and the whole world that the Belarusians do not trust the regime, which illegally keeps the power in the country, and they demand new and fair elections," - says Vladzimir Astapenka. How not to let the illegitimate government deceive everyone: Go to the polling stations. Put crosses in front of all the options on the ballot and take a photo. Put the ballot in the ballot box and send the photo to the "Voice" platform.

Stop calling him "president" — a joint appeal of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office and the National Anti-Crisis Management to foreign politicians, journalists and opinion leaders Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Pavel Latushka, Valery Kovalevsky, Vladimir Astapenka and Lena Zhivoglod called on the world community to stop calling and recognizing Lukashenka as president. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: "You can’t call Lukashenka a president in any context. You can’t endow him with a political subjectivity. You can’t empower his rule, and make the world recon with him. He’s not a president. Not even close. Pavel Latushka: He is an usurper and a dictator. He lost and grossly rigged the presidential election. He has seized and retains power by force, staging the most brutal repressions in the modern history of Belarus. So stop calling him "president" — and de-recognize him as one. Vladzimir Astapenka: Because he’s not a president. Just say it out loud and deprive him and his appointees of every possibility to represent Belarus, to speak and act on behalf of its people. And even sit at the same table with the officials of civilized democracies. Valery Kovalevskiy: He’s not a president. In fact — he is a political zero and a pariah in the international arena. And we need to say it out loud — as The European Parliament did in its resolution. Lena Zhivoglod: So if you are an influential politician, a famous journalist or an opinion leader — you need to stop calling him "president". DO NOT recognize him — but DE-recognize him instead. Do it officially and publicly. Pavel Latushka: And let him get what he deserves — an international isolation, an accusation of terrorism, a criminal prosecution and an equitable punishment for all the horrible crimes his regime committed." ✏️Sign the petition about international de-recognition of Lukashenka and his government (for users from Belarus — only via VPN) Only in the last 2 weeks, German and Lithuanian authorities announced that they do not recognize Lukashenka as president. Earlier this was stated by the European Parliament in its Resolution of 7 October.

"Only a strong international response can prevent new crimes against humanity" The situation in Belarus concerns not only its citizens — the regime created an international crisis and commits crimes against humanity every day in an attempt to retain power. Lukashenka has become a problem not only for our people, but also for the world community. Here is what the Polish lawyer Tomasz Wilinsky, one of the initiators of the NAM legal conference in Nuremberg, thinks about this: "Since August 2020, the norms of international law have been regularly violated in Belarus, including damage of the Poland state interests." "The judicial system in Belarus is subordinate to Lukashenka and in fact cannot prosecute these crimes. But the principles of international law, the so-called The Nuremberg Principles state: — statesmen are not exempt from criminal responsibility for international crimes; — acting on the orders of the government or superiors does not exempt from liability". "According to the principle of universal jurisdiction, criminal law applies to a foreigner if he commits a crime abroad that is prosecuted in accordance with international agreements. Such a norm is also contained in the Polish criminal law, which allows us to conclude: Poland has the right to initiate a criminal case in this regard". "The migration crisis on the border between the EU and Belarus is a violation of the Protocol against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air, supplementing the 2000 UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and signed by Belarus. In accordance with this international legal act, if it is impossible to agree on arbitration within 6 months, which is preceded by negotiations, the case can be referred to the International Court of Justice. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are obliged to use this procedure, as it may be important for the activation of international criminal law instruments". "Only a strong international response can prevent new crimes against humanity".

The NAM Head Pavel Latushka sent information to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about the violation of rights in Belarus — and calls on every Belarusian to do so In the spring of 2021, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights announced the creation of a special mission to collect data on human rights violations in Belarus. The Office is collecting information on violations committed in Belarus since May 1, 2020. We Belarusians know that human rights are systematically violated in Belarus. You, your colleagues and loved ones know about it. It did not start in 2020, but has been going on for decades. But since last May, human rights violations in our country have reached unimaginable proportions. It is extremely important for us not only to understand this ourselves, but also to pass on information about violations to international organizations. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has prepared a special appeal template. Send information about any human rights violations in Belarus. Please follow this link for details. Information is accepted until December 15, 2021. Pavel Latushka filled out a questionnaire and sent it to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is important that every Belarusian, whose rights have been violated, do the same. This will help all of us to come closer to our common goal — to bring to justice all those responsible for crimes against the Belarusian people. The Lukashenka regime continues committing crimes against Belarusians. Our task is to document them and hand them over for prosecution of the perpetrators. No one will do it for us!

Strategy of the democratic forces of Belarus at the "Referendum" of Lukashenka We call on all those who disagree with the lawlessness that swept our country to join the strategy of action at the Referendum, which was developed by civil initiatives *Honest People, Zubr and the Voice platform with the participation of the Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Office, the National Anti-Crisis Management and the Coordination Council. The "referendum" is scheduled for early 2022. This event is a crime and deception, which we, citizens of Belarus, will turn into a "vote of no confidence" for Lukashenka and his entourage. We urge you to come to the polling stations and invalidate the ballot. This action means that we do not agree with the Lukashenka regime and are in favor of establishing the rule of law and creating conditions for holding fair elections. How do I invalidate a ballot paper? Come to the polling stations on the voting day. Put crosses in front of all the options proposed in the bulletin. Drop the ballot paper into the ballot box. You will find details in the video with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Pavel Latushka, Volha Kovalkova, Elena Zhivoglod, Pavel Liber and Pavel Marynich. What to do now? Share the video with your friends and family. Discuss, argue, and exchange views on this strategy. Because no strategy can be successful without the application of strength, energy and mind — and without faith in the victory of each of us. Every opinion is important and every experience is unique. And only by combining our forces we can get the result that we are striving for.

Lena Zhivoglod, the NAM coordinator, on the future of the referendum The main thing from the broadcast of "Euroradio": "There is already a common position on the referendum, it is the position of the three civil initiatives: *Honest People, Zubr, and Voice; as well as the political headquarters: Sviatlana Tsihanouskaya’s Office, the National Anti-Crisis Management, and the Coordination Council. I am eternally glad that we have a common and balanced position. "The referendum is a deception and a crime, that’s how this event should be treated. There are no illusions that Lukashenka is really going to carry out reforms. We propose to come to the polling stations and express our disagreement with the Lukashenka regime. We will definitely not offer to vote for any of the variants of the regime. We will still talk about the algorithm of actions: what to do with the ballot and what will happen next." "We must come to the polling stations and demonstrate our disagreement: with what is happening in the country, with the fact that Lukashenka’s regime has seized power by force. This is an opportunity for every Belarusian to express his attitude. "The year 2020 has caused a lot of trouble for the illegitimate government. The situation is developing more dynamically than it could. Lukashenka cannot forbid us to come to the polls. But he is afraid of the protest turnout, afraid that the Belarusians who do not agree with the regime will come." "We understand that the referendum will offer two options that are beneficial only to Lukashenka. It will be a manipulation and deception. We all, the Belarusans, must not let ourselves be deceived."

Belarusian authorities have no right to convert their SDRs into euros under the mechanism of voluntary conversion at any central bank of a European state or the European Central Bank EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell responded to the letter of the NAM on the situation with the allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to the Lukashenka regime by the IMF. Here is the most important part of the answer: We have received assurances that the EU will not allow the exchange of SDRs for the euro in any central bank of the European Union. The reason for blocking such an exchange is the fact that it would be a violation of the established ban on investment services to Lukashenko’s regime, regulated by the EU sanctions. But even more interesting is the reference to paragraph 16 of the European Parliament Resolution on Belarus, which urges "member states to coordinate their actions with international partners in multilateral organizations, such as the IMF, to limit the allocation of funds to the Lukashenko regime and freeze any cooperation with it. That is, in this matter, the recommendatory nature of the Resolution has become a direct guide to action. This means that there is reason to believe that other paragraphs of the Resolution can work according to the same principle. For example, point 1 — non-recognition of Lukashenka as the President. In the meantime, we continue working on the complete blocking of the SDR account of Belarus in the IMF for the regime. And we expect a similar EU approach from the U.S. Recall that Biden’s executive order of August 9 marked the financial sector of Belarus as one of the sectors against which U.S. sanctions can be imposed. We should also remind you that a package of secondary U.S. sanctions is expected to be adopted in December. If the future sanctions list contains the National Bank and the Ministry of Finance of Belarus, any attempt by a third party to exchange the Belarusian SDR for hard currency will be grounds for falling under the secondary sanctions. But let’s not think ahead.

Quotes from the report by the program director of the International Partnership for Human Rights The crimes of the Lukashenka regime have become obvious to the entire international community — and they no longer affect only citizens of Belarus. Bringing the perpetrators to justice is one of the priorities of our work. Simon Papuashvili, Program Director of the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), spoke about how the International Criminal Court (ICC) can help in this regard at the NAM-organized legal conference in Nuremberg. Below are key quotes from his report. "IPHR, Global Diligence, Truth Hounds and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee have asked the ICC prosecutor to investigate the Lukashenka regime’s crimes against humanity." "Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe or any other mechanism of international justice. Nor is it a party to the ICC, and without a UN Security Council resolution, the ICC is only allowed to investigate and prosecute crimes committed on the territory of ICC member states or their nationals. But in September 2018, the ICC made a precedent — setting exception to this rule — on the situation in Myanmar. If a non-party state to the ICC forces its citizens to flee to the territory of a state party to the organization, it can treat such behavior as a crime against humanity. In the case of Belarus, thousands of civilians were forced to flee to Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine — countries under the jurisdiction of the ICC." "We fear further violence and bloodshed. The international community must do something to hold the regime accountable. With Russia on the UN Security Council, the only prospect left for international justice is the ICC. We ask for support for our efforts to have the ICC prosecutor investigate the case — that at the very least can help contain the escalation of violence. And support from ICC member states in the form of a referral under the Rome Statute would bring the situation to the forefront and give the ICC an additional incentive to act quickly and decisively."