For almost a decade, Belarus has experienced a deterioration of its human
rights. A crackdown against human rights defenders has particularly
intensified in 2003: in the course of the year, more than 10 human rights'
organizations have been shut down by the authorities; the work of others has
been hampered by repeated and unfounded checks by fiscal bodies and the
State Control Committee (1). However, the main target of the crackdown is the large-scale curtailment of the freedom of expression. The nature of attacks on free speech varies from increasingly restrictive amendments to legislation to imprisonment of those who dare openly criticize the authorities.
For these reasons, a Special Action has been designated from November 12th - Dec. 10th to highlight PEN’s concerns
in Belarus and and will:
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Express concern about the growing suppression of free expression in
the country and the closure of independent media outlets;
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Protest against the use of criminal libel to suppress criticism of the authorities;
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Call for the dropping of Arts. 367, 368, and 369 of the Criminal Code, which provide additional protection to the president and state officials from libel and insult so as to bring the Criminal Code in agreement with the Belarusian Constitution that guarantees equality of all before the law;
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Express concern about the draft law on the press, which will further restrict a possibility to express opinions differing from the official ones;
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Remind the Belarus authorities of their commitments to the principles of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Uzbek Constitution, the United Nations International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, to which Belarus is a state party;
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Call upon the international community to strongly condemn the suppression of free expression in Belarus and to call for immediate release of Yury Bandazhevsky.
The following additional materials are also available (CLICK on each to view):
Clampdown on Free Expression
The Case of Yury BANDAZHEVSKY
PEN International's Letter to President Alexander Lukashenko
Sample Appeal Letter
Members and friends of of PEN Centers are asked to
read the materials posted here and write an appeal letter.
If you can send just one letter, that will join the many other appeals and
serve as a source of pressure on the Belarus government.
Please contact ftw@pen.org if you have any questions.
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Footnotes:
1 The State Control Committee is a body that controls the use of the state-owned property; the implementation of the state budget, the implementation of the republic's laws and President's decrees, and decisions made by the Parliament, the Council of Ministers, and other bodies. The Committee has vast powers and is only accountable to the President of Belarus. The SSC is one of the most effective structures in the fight against human rights organizations and newspapers.
