Trees Rally, Swamp Campaign, MaeSens – Belarus Civil Society Digest
Cyclists at the border (picture: Virnualny Brest)
Belarusian third sector demonstrates a remarkable diversity of activities – from campaigns to save trees and energy to initiatives against drug abuse and new student organisations.
New student association – BOSS. On October 5, Minsk hosted a conference on student self-government, where students discussed the situation with self-government in the Belarusian universities. The result of the conference was the creation of the Brotherhood of Organizations of Student Self-government (BOSS), aimed to carry out the coordinating work to protect the rights and interests of students.
IT geeks for civil society. Drupal-gathering which to take place on December 15-16, announces a competition for social projects, initiatives and CSOs to create their website for free in one day. The organiser is youth CSO "Falanster".
Cyclists at the border. Group of Belarusians managed to get into Poland on the bikes at the checkpoint Brest – Terespol ("Warsaw Bridge"), which was impossible for cyclists before. The action was held by the Brest youth NGO "Dzedzich" and Minsk Cycling Society, under the campaign "For Cycling Brest!"
MaeSens.by – 1! On November 11, a charity auction of meetings MaeSens.by celebrates its one-year anniversary. The project goal is to raise funds for the treatment of seriously ill children and orphanages. Funds collected through the auction – anyone can put up a meeting with him/her or to buy a lot with a person he/she likes. The reports on the use of funds are available on the website. In 2012, the project was awarded in the category "Best Startup of the Year".
Training for entrepreneurs. On October 23, the Bel.Biz team held a training in Minsk entitled “How to become a more effective manager?” 14 representatives of small and medium enterprises took part in the event. The training was one of 44 trainings available within the international program for representatives of SMEs ‘Business Edge’ (BE). These trainings have been designed by IFC and held in Belarus with USAID support.
Trees rally. Youth activists of "European perspective" held a rally in support of the local residents who are struggling to keep the park of Friendship of Peoples. On October 30, in the park the posters appeared on the trees: "Investors, be friends for the park!", "Officials cut down us!" Activists of the districts Vostok-2 and Uruchcha-2 signed an open letter in which they expressed their "solidarity and support for citizens of the Soviet district, who protect the park "Friendship of Peoples" from trees' cutting". The appeal also calls for the city administration to abandon plans to build a sports center in the Park, "not to provoke social conflicts." The process of negotiations between citizens and authorities is facilitated by civic initiative "European perspective."
"Swamp" campaign launching. On October 25, a public campaign for the preservation of wetlands in protected natural areas has been launched. The initiators of the campaign are APB BirdLife Belarus, Green Alliance, EcoDom, Center for Environmental Solutions. The campaign started with collecting signatures through the website Change.org. Also a public appeal to the relevant government authorities is being prepared.
The Festival of Energy-Saving Ideas starts in Belarus. It is timed to the International Day of energy saving, which is annually celebrated globally on November 11. This year, the Center for Environmental Solutions proposes to hold the Festival under the slogan "Tie Socks – Turn off the Heater!" One of the main Festival's category "Best pair of warm socks" will assess handmade socks of natural materials submitted to the competition. The winners will get e-books, all the socks will be sent to an orphanage.
Belarusian Transport Experts Learn from Lithuanian Experience. On September 24-27, representatives of the Belarusian Union of Transport Workers (BUTW) travelled to Vilnius on a study tour organized by the Brussels-based Office for a Democratic Belarus in cooperation with the Office for European Expertise and Communication (Minsk, Belarus) in the frames of the project “EU and Belarus: Sharing Knowledge”. The Lithuanian National Road Carriers’ Association LINAVA hosted the event in Vilnius. On October 4, the Second National Conference, entitled “Public Transport in the Republic of Belarus: current state and perspectives of development ” took place in Minsk. More than 80 delegates from all six regions of the country, including representatives of the local authorities, transport companies and vehicle manufacturers joined the conference.
Journalism for people with disabilities and without. The initiative group "Step Forward" invites to participate in a session for young people of 16-30 years. The workshop is to be held on November 3-4, in Grodno. The participants will not only get the basic knowledge and skills on journalism, but also learn how to properly raise the topic of disability in the media.
Antimak. Coordinator of the public initiative "Antimak" Alexander Shpakovsky and journalist Euroradio Yevgeniy Voloshyn made a ‘raids’ around Minsk and found that finally it became difficult to get "bubki" – poppy seeds mixed with opioids, the most popular raw material for drugs’ producing in Belarus. Activists do not expect that this situation will last for a long time, because the new Law "On Drugs", which came into force at the end of October, contains nothing to prohibit "bubki."
Discussion "Art and new media". On October 25, in Minsk (free cafe "Fisher House") online magazine "New Europe" will conduct a discussion "Contemporary art and new media in Belarus". The event is to be attended by editors of portals 34mag.net, ArtAktivist.com, CityDog.by, Generation.BY, KyKy.org, pARTisanmag.by.
The film "Square. Women". A new documentary "Square. Women" was posted on YouTube portal. The idea of the film belongs to the well-known writer Svetlana Aleksiyevich. The film was shot with a cell phone's video camera. The plot includes a number of ordinary conversations with far from the politics women whose life has changed since the events of December 19, 2010.
Inconvenient films discussion. On October 22, the Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights and the Belarusian Human Rights House invite to a screening of the film “Belarusian Dream” and a discussion "Is it possible to dream in the Island of Stability?" The invited panelists are Freedom House Project Director Vytis Jurkonis, editor of the independent newspaper "Vitebskij Kurier" Oleg Borschevskij, Coordinator of “European Belarus” civic campaign Pavel Marynich, etc.
‘Belarus in Focus 2012’ is the second edition of a competition for journalists writing about Belarus for an international audience. Held by Solidarity with Belarus Information Office in collaboration with Press Club Polska, the competition aims to highlight articles that attempt to present a new, original side to Belarus and explore the country beyond the label of ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’. The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2013.
Viva Belarus! /Жыве Беларусь! The first trailer of movie Viva Belarus! is available on YouTube. The plot is based on the true story and tells about modern Belarus, youth and its struggle for democracy. The screenplay was made by Krzysztof Łukaszewicz and Franak Viachorka. The film is accompanied by music of rock-legend Lavon Volski. Premiere of the film took place at the Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2012.
Belarus Digest prepared this overview on the basis of materials provided by Pact. This digest attempts to give a richer picture of the recent political and civil society events in Belarus. It often goes beyond the hot stories already available in English-language media.
ARCHE under Threat, Sannikau in London – Digest of Belarusian Politics
Valer Bulhakau
The Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies sparked angry opposition reactions with its fresh opinion polls covering recent parliamentary elections. Former presidential candidate Andrej Sannikov was granted political asylum in the UK. Mediakritika published top 10 Belarusian hits on youtube, and Budzma’s animation is among the top. Activists have tried to preserve the integrity of Kurapaty from a new shopping mall.
IISEPS September-October poll. In September-October 2012, the Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS) conducted a public opinion poll covering topical aspects of life in Belarus. The most discussed topic turned out to be the real results of the September parliamentary elections. According to IISEPS 17.4 per cent of respondents had voted early, and 49 per cent on 23 September.
Only 9.6 per cent answered that they had boycotted the elections, and another 24 per cent said they had not participated in voting for other reasons. Some Belarusian politicians expressed distrust in the results of the poll. In their turn IISEPS responded that Belarusian politicians – both opposition and government – see only the figures that favour them.
ARCHE under threat. On 23 October, the evening programme Zona X, broadcast on a Belarusian state TV channel, dedicated a slot to the magazine ARCHE and its editor Valery Bulhakau. Bulhakau was called "the boss of the magazine" and the confiscated books were characterised as "the literature, which smells bad." "The recent events show the commitment to deal with another independent edition," the BAJ Chairwoman Zhanna Litvina commented on the situation.
The economic court of Hrodna region fined Valery Bulhakau for five base amounts (almost 50 euros). The court also confiscated all profits from sales of the ARCHE magazine which amounted to BYR 875,000 rubles (almost 80 euros). The editor was found guilty of illegal business activities. Further, on 2 October, the authorities confiscated more than 5000 books that may be subject to criminal charges. Now Valery Bulhakau has resigned as editor of ARCHE to save the magazine from closing.
Andrei Sannikau granted political asylum in Britain. The leader of European Belarus civic campaign, former presidential candidate and political prisoner Sannikau claimed there was a threat of a rearrest. “It was not an easy decision for me. But believe me I did not have any other choice”, – Andrei Sannikau said.
Database on Polish aid to Belarusian opposition leaked to internet. The internal-use database of the Polish foreign ministry which describes the cooperation and funding of the Belarusian opposition appeared on an American website. The database reveals the information on aid to several countries in 2007–2011, including descriptions of the project and funding with NGOs. Now the data has already been removed from free access.
The People's Program of Belarus in Warsaw. The presentation was organised in the framework of the project "European Dialogue for Modernization of Belarus." At the Belarusian House in Warsaw, Yuri Gubarevich and Sergei Chaly presented the People's program of Belarus, a document aimed to develop a new positive vision for the future of Belarus through expert and public discussion of actual issues of the country's development.
Brussels Declaration of Belarusian oppositionists. On 17 October, twelve Belarusian political groups adopted a joint appeal to the European Union and called upon the EU institutions to engage as much as possible with the cause of democratisation in Belarus. The joint appeal was signed by representatives of European Belarus, the For Freedom movement, Young Front, the Tell the Truth! campaign, Fair World party, For Modernization union, etc.
Petition to protect Kurapaty. A group of activists launched a petition through Change.org website to stop the construction of an entertainment complex "Bulbash hall" in Kurapaty where during the years of Stalinist repression tens of thousands of people were shot and buried. The petition has already been signed by about 1200 people and is being directed to relevant government agencies.
Activists discuss possibility of dialogue with authorities. On 16 October, Belarusian human rights activists held a meeting in Minsk to decide whether they should start a dialogue with the authorities on the need to established a national human rights ombudsman. The initiator of the meeting is the Minsk-based Legal Transformation Center (Lawtrend). The activists noted that Belarusian human rights defenders have always been in favour of establishing an ombudsman's office in the country.
Gomel think tank is under threat. According to the founders of the Gomel independent institute Strategic Thought, the tax services have started checking in relation to the institution because it does not bring revenue, which impedes the profit indicators of the region. Strategic Thought is the first regional community of independent experts, established in 2010 in Gomel.
Activists sentenced to 5 days of arrest. The leader of the Alternative youth initiative Aleh Korban and activist Uladzimir Siarheyeu were detained for activity against propaganda on Belarusian TV. They held a flash-mob putting a TV set with the logo of the first National TV channel and noodles atop and around it. “To put noodles on somebody's ears” in Slavonic languages is an idiom meaning “to tell bold lies”.
Top 10 youtube videos for Belarusians. Mediakritika.by analyses a list of 10 videos, which have "entered Belarusian history". Among the top videos are the famous "I am from a village" music video, an historical animation by Budzma! and Russian-produced series Krestnyi Batka (God Father), dedicated to Lukashenko.
Elections in the media monitoring – Final Report. The Monitoring group of Belarusian Association of Journalists summed up the results of the parliamentary elections coverage. According to the report, unlike all the previous elections monitored by BAJ, both state-owned and independent media lost interest in election related subjects pretty soon after the polling.
Ales Bialiatski, the imprisoned leader of the Human Rights Center Viasna was bestowed Honorary Freedom (Citoyen d’honneur) of the City of Paris.
Belarus Digest prepared this overview on the basis of materials provided by Pact. This digest attempts to give a richer picture of the recent political and civil society events in Belarus. It often goes beyond the hot stories already available in English-language media.
