The informational bulletin of the Grodno 

         informational-legal centre

#5 | October | 2000

Why do not we have worthy candidates?

October 15, 2000 the elections to the Chamber of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus are to be held.

The district elective commissions have refused to register independent and democratically adjusted candidates to the deputies to the formal and far-fetched reasons. (the details see in the bulletin NPB ¹5, the bulletin can be booked free of charge by mail having sent the enclosed envelope with your address 230005, Grodno - 5, subscriber box 63). There are no representatives from the independent public in the district commissions. I.e. we with you can not check the results of voting. The authority has deprived the voters of the right to elect. What should we do? How can we make the authority respect those laws which have been created by them? Is there a way out from this situation except for boycott of the election? Certainly, there is. The way out from this situation is in the Electoral Code.

According article 88 if the elections are recognised as failed then the repeated elections are assigned in two month term. The democratically adjusted candidates will be able to take part in this election. The elections will be recognised as failed, if less than 50 % of voters vote. Our spectators will keep up with a number of people who have voted on a site. The preliminary datas says that no more than 30 % of voters will vote. If it happens then the repeated elections will be assigned.

We have closely learnt the programs of the candidates in the deputies who has been allowed to take part in the election by the authority. We have seen only alert phrases and empty promises. According to article 45 of EC we begin the propaganda against all candidates in the deputies and already now we stand for repeated election. We think that the authorities should register all candidates in the deputies and you, voters, would elect your candidate. Below we publish reasons on which people for whom you gave subscripts, thousand subscripts were not registered as the candidates in the deputies. Decide whether it is true to refuse them to be registered as candidates in the deputies and there are more than 100 of such refusals. Therefore Grodno women, mothers of large families and the orphans are going to declare about hunger-strike against an outrage of the authorities and discrimination of mothers of large families and women on 13.10.2000. (tel. 44-14-33, ) Those who want may join the action of the protest.


The chief of the Grodno Municipal centre of protection of the rights of a customer.

The businessman.

The chairman of the Belorussian Trade union of the Businessmen

The organiser of mass local and all-republican actions of the protest against the impoverishment of the citizens

The organiser of a number of the charitable actions «OUR CITY»

Valery Levonevsky 

He was born in 1963, is married, has four children, his parents are workers, 7 years worked as a worker, he is a native citizen of Belarus, he was born and has been brought up in Grodno, he stands for the independent sovereign state, for friendly relations both with Russia and with West. He has the own program of revival of the economics of the Republic of Belarus. He forms the team to move out the candidature on presidential elections of 2001. (phone/fax -).
He was refused in the registration as he had not indicated a wood building at the dacha of the parents (the toilet) in the declaration about the incomes.

 

Marina Alexandrovna Levonevskaya 

She was born in 1963, she is from family of workers. She is married, has four infant children. She has got two higher educations, her speciality is economist. She is the founder of an independent public women's movement in Grodno region. She is one of the main founders of the Grodno public female organisation «The Spring of Mercy». She is the co-ordinator and active participant of the charitable actions spent by the businessmen together with the mothers of large families.

She thinks that active women and mothers of large families should be represented in bodies of the state power and control to protect the rights and legitimate interests of needy families. 

(Tel. 44-14-33, fax )

she was refused in registration as she is ostensibly a member of a party in spite of the fact that the evidences that she is not a party member were shown.

 

Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev

He is a businessman, has got the higher education, he is a leader of the movement «For economical revival of Belarus», he is from peasant family, he has worked since 11, he lost his father very early, he knows what famine and poverty is, he has achieved everything in life by his attempts, he is the father of large family. 

He thinks that the people of Belarus can and should live much better. He is an active supporter of the increase of wage, pensions and children's allowances. The most important thing is that he knows how to do this. He thinks that Belarus should not enter any military units, he is a supporter of neutrality. He stands for the construction of the civil democratic society in Belarus.

Tel. 72-61-19

He was refused in registration as he is ostensibly a party member. He was refused in spite of the fact that he was never a party member and did not write the application to join it.


The Grodno businessmen together with the Grodno branch of the Belorussian Helsinki Committee (BHC) oversee at the election. Those who want to take part in the overseeing at the election, to snap the facts of breaches of the current legislation, which in a consequence can be resulted in the admission of these election as failed, address to BHC up to 12.10.2000, Grodno, Stefan Batory 8-201 (the hotel “Neman”) tel. 44-61-43. 


The open letter 



To the chiefs of bodies of the state authority and management.

To the employees of power and law-enforcement bodies of the Republic of Belarus.

To the civil employees of the Republic of Belarus.


Dear sirs.

In the beginning of September, 2000, in one of the regional executive committees the chief of the region spent the meeting on which the questions connected with the elective company were considered. As one of the witnesses of this meeting said the chief of the region declared at this meeting addressing to the subordinates: «Do not you see who pretends to be the leaders? Do not you understand that if they come into office, it will be the end for us?»
Further the chief of the region gave the detailed concrete instructions to the chiefs of the local executive committees and chairmen of district elective commissions how to "counteract" to the election of the objectionable candidates. We also know that a special confidential plan on the "elimination" of applicants who are disloyal to the today's authority exists, the list of the persons which should not be the deputies at any circumstances is made. The appropriate officials on the personal responsibility are informed: whom they should not allow to become the deputies. To realise this plan all the departments, all power structures and special services are involved, against many candidates in the deputies who have opposite views “the operative measures” are carried out, there telephone conversations are listened to and they shadowed. Being under the complete control of the president the bodies of the office of the public prosecutor and the courts, obediently carry out ”tasks" not to let the political figures who have the opposite views participate in the elective company instead of the real supervision of the observance of the laws on the realisation of the election. As a result of the confidential «complex of measures» which was spent practically all candidates in the deputies, independent from the authority, have appeared not registered because of the different formal reasons. The executive authority, thus, has deprived the people of the right to choose and it is impossible to call the forthcoming election honour and democratic. Now it is possible with complete reliance to say that it will be not the election but "FARCE".
We disagree with some chiefs of the executive authority and we think that in the Republic of Belarus the principle of the leadership of the right should be established.
The only source of the state authority and bearer of the sovereignty in the Republic of Belarus is the people and it means that all bodies of the state authority are obliged to ensure people with the right to choose when the election are realised.
The state, all its bodies and the officials should work within the limits of the Constitution and legislative acts accepted according to it. Any direct or indirect restriction of the suffrages of the citizens is inadmissible and should be punished according to the law.
Breaking article 49 of the Elective code of the Republic of Belarus the chiefs "of vertical" distribute the obviously false information discrediting the candidate in the deputies of the Chamber of the Representatives who have the opposite points of view. Their applications that after the change of the authority "representatives of the opposition" will punish the present civil employees are the fabrications based on the slogans of the separate considerably adjusted representatives of BNF and their supporters. Such applications are made with the purpose: to frighten you by the forthcoming change of the authority and to force to break the existing legislation (including crimes) to save the present authority.
In this open letter we, the politicians of new generation would like to explain some of these questions.
We struggle for the creation of a civil society based on the democratic principles, on the basis of the division of the authority into legislative, executive and judicial.
Neither me nor my supporters do not assume that in the future it is necessary to call all present civil employees to account. Only the separate considerably adjusted figures of BNF say about "the lustration" but they do not have anything in common with my supporters. We are also against their coming into office.
The officials of all levels will be necessary at any authority. At any authority it will be necessary to protect the legal order, to control the objects of managing and life-support. The majority of the today's employees "of vertical", MIA, CSS, Public prosecutor’s office are the good experts of the business and they successfully cope with the duties assigned on them by the law.
We think that this category of the people are also citizens of the Republic of Belarus and they also have families and a lot of own problems. The serious up-datings in the control system of the state are necessary. Without the qualified state device it cannot be made. Therefore we also hope on your support.
We are not going to dismiss anyone because of our love or dislike for this or that politician or to the party.
Moreover, we think that the professional civil employee should get more money than today from the state to which he serves.
Inevitably there will be a change of the authority, inevitably there will be a necessity to realise the democratic reforms in the society, reforms in the economy and agriculture. That experience of the management which the today's workers of the state device have will be necessary to realise them. They will be necessary for the future reorganisation of our long-suffering state. According to the information we have more than 90 % of the workers - civil employees does not approve the policy spent by the present president but by the virtue of the created state system of the suppression of people who have opposite point of view they are compelled to keep silent about it. I emphasise, that I personally shall act against any reprisals as it will not bring any boons to our people. I think that in the 20th- century we have already exceeded all "limits" of self-destruction.
Our purpose is: to achieve that our parliament would be the legislative body in which our collected problems will be discussed, and in which, really, the search of ways of the exit from the delayed political, economic crisis and international isolation will be carried out discussing the various offers.
I think that the government and the parliament should have all rights to put major state problems for the open discussion. The inadmissible is the fact that "performances" on BT show only one "monologues" of the president and the members of the government and parliament sit having lowered heads. Are the businesses really so good in the country what they have nothing to say? Is the land of Belarus really so "poor" that it born only one politician who “knows" when is necessary to "sow", to “harvest”, when and what to make? Does nobody really "understand" anything? For what then we have the parliament and the government, if it is "forbidden" to express their point of view on the processes occurring in the country?
My supporters and me have what to tell on all sore questions of our state. We do not make secrets of our purpose. We want peace and well-being to our people and we think that it can be achieved by different ways what has been done during last 6 years.
My supporters and me shall further participate in the elective companies in spite of the fact that anybody from my supporters is not registered as the candidate in the deputies. The form of our participation will be changed. The life does not come to an end on October 15, 2000.
I address to you as to the citizens of our republic. We together with you in the near future should find an exit from this uneasy situation in which people of Belarus are. We are not enemies, and we want peace and well-being to our people. Yes, we offer another way of the development of the country than the way chosen by the present president. Yes, we say that the past 6 years are a downtime. Show the civil liability, let people himself make the choice in the conditions of open and honour pre-election struggle, if you really love people and wish them goods. Think, as you can, being at your own places, help the voters express their will free. We are ready to co-operate with you in it.

Yours faithfully Valery Levonevsky.


230005,. Grodno - 5, subscriber box 63 (for the letters)

, http://levonevski.net 

E-mail: Levonevski@newmail.net 



P.S. I ask to acquaint all employees of the ministries, committees, departments, executive committees, departments with this letter.

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