RFE/RL: 'Ethnic Cleansing' in Security in Belarus

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Subject: RFE/RL: 'Ethnic Cleansing' in Security in Belarus 

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RFE/RL: 'Ethnic Cleansing' in Security in Belarus 


RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report
Vol. 2, No. 45, 5 December 2000
 
A Survey of Developments in Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine by the
Regional Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team

BELARUS
 
LUKASHENKA MAKES 'ETHNIC CLEANSING' IN SECURITY. Belarus's
authoritarian president continues to bewilder and mystify the public
both at home and abroad with his highly unconventional behavior in
politics. Last week's developments in Minsk richly justified the
widespread opinion among political analysts that Alyaksandr Lukashenka
belongs among the least predictable leaders in the world.

On 27 November, Lukashenka unexpectedly fired Security Council
Secretary Viktar Sheyman, KGB chief Uladzimir Matskevich, and
Prosecutor-General Aleh Bazhelka. Sheyman was replaced with Foreign
Minister Ural Latypau, whose post in turn was taken by Lukashenka's
aide Mikhail Khvastou. Matskevich's position was filled by Leanid
Yeryn, chief of the presidential security service and Matskevich's
deputy until September. The position of prosecutor-general remained
vacant for two days, after which Lukashenka appointed Sheyman to
assume Bazhelka's job.

In an immediate comment on this shakeup, the Charter-97 website said
Lukashenka has accomplished "yet another state coup." The website
noted that key posts in Belarus are now in the hands of "Russia's open
proteges in Lukashenka's entourage." Belarus's premier, deputy
premiers, power ministers, a number of deputy ministers, and speaker
of the Chamber of Representatives are all Russian-born.

Exiled Supreme Soviet Chairman Syamyon Sharetski commented in the same
key as Charter-97. "[The shakeup] should not leave any doubt in
anybody that, to quote leaders of the Russian Federation, Belarus is
witnessing the completion of a 'cleansing' [Russian: zachistka] of the
regime from Belarusians.... In its ethnic composition, our country's
dictatorial regime is almost completely Russian and, in relation to
Belarus, of an occupational nature," Sharetski wrote in a statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists on 30 November that
he had been unaware about the security shakeup in Minsk until it
actually took place. Putin added that he believes in Lukashenka's
assurance that those replacements were planned "for a long time."

Russian newspapers, however, suggested that there may be Moscow's hand
in at least one sacking. According to some reports, Moscow was
repeatedly insisting on the dismissal of Sheyman, who was in charge of
Belarus's arms trade and allegedly offered Belarusian weapons abroad
at "dumping" prices, to the financial detriment of Russian arms
dealers. This explanation seems plausible, inasmuch as Sheyman is
widely believed to be Lukashenka's most loyal aide and closest pal,
one of the very few of Lukashenka's 1994 election team, who are still
serving the president. Sheyman's appointment as prosecutor-general two
days after his sacking seems to confirm the supposition that
Lukashenka acted under pressure in this reshuffle case.

According to some Belarusian independent newspapers, it is primarily
Sheyman who is responsible for providing Lukashenka with security
reports that maintain the Belarusian president in a continual state of
suspiciousness and distrust of everybody in the government. Sheyman is
also believed to be a strong supporter of continuing Minsk's policy of
confrontation with the West.

Another motive for the security shakeup may be the lack of any
conclusive results in the investigation of the disappearance of
prominent opposition and public figures in Belarus. Incidentally, such
was the reason for the shakeup given by Lukashenka, who said he fired
Matskevich, Sheyman, and Bazhelka for "grave dereliction of duty" in
investigating crimes, including those that "have had a wide public
response."

Independent commentators, however, interpret this motive in a
different way. Human rights activist Hary Pahanyayla commented that in
the runup to the presidential campaign, Lukashenka intends to conceal
the truth about the disappearance of oppositionists in Belarus and has
appointed officials who will help him achieve that goal. Two weeks
ago, a number of Belarusian media outlets have received an e-mail from
an address on the Yahoo free server accusing Belarusian President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka's Security Service of killing Russian Public
Television cameraman Dzmitry Zavadski and opposition politician Viktar
Hanchar. The sender, who identified himself as a KGB officer, said the
KGB arrested nine people, including five officers of the presidential
Security Service, who confessed to killing Zavadski and burying him
near Minsk. According to the sender, the arrested group was also
involved in killing Viktar Hanchar, who disappeared in September 1999.
In light of this disclosure, independent commentators assert that
Lukashenka made the dismissals to prevent further compromising leaks
from the KGB and other law enforcement bodies.

In one point both independent and official commentaries on the shakeup
coincide - namely, that the replacements were accomplished to
strengthen the president's position before next year's presidential
elections. Lukashenka made it explicitly clear on 28 November, during
his televised meeting with the KGB top leadership (see below).
Lukashenka routinely burst out with a lengthy tirade against his
alleged foreign and domestic enemies. This time, however, his public
pronouncement was much more incoherent than on previous occasions. In
tone, it verged on the hysterical, while in content, it presented a
paranoiac picture of a global plot against the Belarusian president,
with NATO as the most mischievous plotter.

"There have left only low values in your pack of cards. No matter how
you shuffle them, they will not become trump cards," Andrey Sannikau,
Lukashenka's former deputy foreign minister, commented on the recent
dismissals and appointments in an open letter to the Belarusian
president. While this statement may be true in the long run, on a
tactical scale Lukashenka appears to have reinforced his ranks through
promoting "foreign legionnaires." It is general feeling in Belarus
that the 2001 presidential elections will be a crucial event in the
country's political history. According to some observers, Lukashenka
distrusts native Belarusians in his government, because they are
likely to show "emotional weakness" in the struggle for power in the
country where they have ethnic and cultural roots. As for Russian-born
politicians, they are apparently more inclined to please the leader
who pays them than to care about Belarus's political future or
economic well-being.

............

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Copyright (c) 2000. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
"RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report" is prepared by Jan
Maksymiuk on the basis of a variety of sources including reporting by
"RFE/RL Newsline" and RFE/RL's broadcast services. It is distributed
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