BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

27/04/2006

Belarusian opposition leader sentenced to 15 days in jail

Alexander Milinkevich accused of taking part in 'illegal' political rally

YURAS KARMANAU

MINSK

Belarus' authoritarian government on Thursday jailed the country's most prominent opposition leader and three of his deputies after a protest rally that attracted thousands.

The sentences threw into question the ability of activists to gather a substantial crowd at a demonstration planned for Monday as part of the opposition's campaign to drive President Alexander Lukashenko from power.

Alexander Milinkevich, who has spearheaded the wave of unprecedented protests since Lukashenko's re-election last month, was sentenced to 15 days in jail. The other opposition leaders received similar sentences in connection with Wednesday evening's rally, which drew a crowd of about 10,000.

Lukashenko, who is often described by Western countries as "Europe's last dictator," won a third term in office in the March 19 election, which was deemed fraudulent by the European Union and the United States.

The European Union and United States, as well as the 55-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, condemned Milinkevich's jailing and demanded his release.

The 58-year-old Milinkevich, who ran against Lukashenko, is a compelling and unifying figure for an opposition that incorporates widely diverse forces ranging from pro-Westerners to Communists. He is widely regarded as principled and determined without being didactic or power-hungry.

His jailing could deprive the next protest of its emotional center and increase demonstrators' fear of gathering in defiance of the authorities. It is also possible, however, that it could boost supporters' willingness to gather in the face of official repression.

The authorities think that if they put people in jail ... that new people won't come (to the rally) on May 1," prominent opposition member Anatoly Lebedko told The Associated Press outside the courthouse where Milinkevich was sentenced. "It's a kind of show-trial process." Milinkevich was sentenced on charges of taking part in an unsanctioned rally.

The rally had received official approval, but police declared a march to the rally site to be unsanctioned, and Milinkevich said after his sentencing that he initially thought he was being charged in connection with that march.

But the court told him that police had declared the rally itself to be illegal.

"This is a political sentence. The leaders of political parties are being put behind bars," Milinkevich said.

The jailing appeared to sharply escalate authorities' attempts to repress the opposition. Although an array of opposition figures have been arrested in recent weeks, most of them do not have the wide visibility of Milinkevich either at home or abroad. Milinkevich in recent weeks has made several trips to Western countries to seek support for the opposition.

The European Union this month imposed visa bans on about 30 senior Belarusian officials, including Lukashenko, in response to the election and a violent crackdown by riot police on a protest march.

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner on Thursday denounced the sentencing of Milinkevich and others. "I call for the immediate release of all those arrested and detained because of their opinions," she said.

U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the action as "reprehensible," and said she hoped the government in Minsk would "accept the will of the international community that it act in accordance with accepted international principles." But U.S and E.U pressure is unlikely to have a significant effect on Lukashenko, who openly despises the West and alleges that Western countries are funding the opposition with the aim of overthrowing him.

Wednesday's demonstration, on the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, centered on criticism of the Lukashenko government's response to the consequences of the explosion, which covered about a quarter of Belarus' territory with radioactive fallout.

The other three people sentenced after the rally were Vintsuk Vyachorka, leader of the Belarusian People's Front organization and a former official in Milinkevich's unsuccessful presidential campaign; Alexander Bukhvostov, leader of the opposition Trud Party; and Sergei Kalyakin, Milinkevich's campaign manager.

The jailings put the leaders of all the main parties in the opposition coalition behind bars ahead of Monday's planned demonstration.

Source:

http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?no=288607&rel_no=1