National Leader made an official statement; the most popular Belarusian news portal has lost its media status; those who disagree with the current regime continue to be fired and arrested
3 December 2020 | BYHelp-Mediagroup
Tsikhanouskaya announced her readiness to lead Belarus in the transition period
Today, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya announced that she is ready to lead Belarus in the transition period to hold new presidential elections and reform the Constitution. According to her, the existing regime is falling apart and a stage of dialogue with “people from the system” who understand that it is better to “sit down at the negotiation table, and not fight with our own people” will soon begin. The Coordinating Council and the Cabinet of representatives in various spheres, which includes the best experts in various fields, have already developed programs for overcoming the crisis and providing economic assistance to vulnerable groups of the population and supporting small and medium-sized businesses. Tsikhanouskaya noted that she and her team continue to put pressure on the regime and are working to return power to the people and ease the transition period. This position is supported by countries of the EU and the USA.
The head of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation announced the pressure on athletes and possible sanctions against the head of the FHB Dmitri Baskov
Today at an online press conference, the heads of Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (FSSB) spoke about the future of the World Ice Hockey Championship, which was scheduled to be held in Belarus next year. The FSSB sent applications to the International Ice Hockey Federation and the IOC with a request not to hold matches in Belarus, because the chairman of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation Dmitri Baskov personally participated in the bullying of the protesters and was involved in the murder of Raman Bandarenka.
The head of the fund, Aliaksandra Herasimenia, said that she receives many messages from athletes, who are required to sign a pro-government letter in support of Lukashenko’s regime under threats of dismissal or reduction of scholarships.
About ten athletes who have been oppressed and discriminated for their beliefs are now preparing for the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee is ready to consider the possibility of admitting Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games under a neutral flag or under the flag of a new Belarus outside the application of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus. On 4 December, an online meeting will be held between representatives of the IOC and the FSSB, where, in the presence of Belarusian athletes, all issues related to the statement of the fund will be discussed.
The most read Belarusian news portal TUT.BY has been deprived of its media status
On 18 September, the Ministry of Information filed a lawsuit to deprive TUT.BY of its media status. Today, 3 December, a hearing on this case took place in the Minsk Economic Court. The ministry believes that “false information” in TUT.BY materials harms state interests. TUT.BY pointed out that it is precisely the deprivation of the media status that will limit the right of citizens to access reliable information. Representatives of the publication also claim that all inaccurate information was promptly corrected and thus it could not have caused harm regardless. However, the court sided with the Ministry of Information and ruled to deprive TUT.BY of its media status.
According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, from August to the present, more than 370 arrests of journalists have been recorded, 79 have been sentenced to administrative arrest, many have been fined. About 60 journalists were beaten, their equipment was taken away and their records were deleted.
A girl was severely beaten and repeatedly raped by Lukashenko’s riot police
The Swedish publishing agency ETC, published the story of the Belarusian Christina (name has been changed), who was brutally raped and mutilated by the security forces after being detained at a peaceful rally on 9-11 August 2020. The girl was detained and locked in one of the riot police cars. Afterwards, she ended up in a Minsk prison, in an interrogation room, where riot policemen repeatedly raped her anally, orally and vaginally with batons. The girl then fainted, then came to her senses, but woke up when her teeth were knocked out, pushing the baton into her mouth. She only has five teeth left. When Christina lost consciousness, she was taken to the hospital, where the girl underwent emergency surgery and blood transfusions. According to doctors, she cannot control her intestines and it is not known if she will ever be able to have children. The girl confirmed the veracity of the incident with medical documents.
Catholic priest received 10 days of arrest
Today, Catholic priest Viachaslau Barok from the village of Rossony, Vitsebsk region, was sentenced to 10 days under an article for propaganda or public demonstration of Nazi symbols or attributes. The priest posted a poster of Uladzimir Tsesler, the famous Belarusian artist, on his personal page in social networks in August. The artist personally defended the priest and explained that his poster is in fact anti-fascist. Viachaslau Barok himself stated that the administrative process against him was politicized.
Vicar General of the Minsk-Mahiliou Archdiocese, Bishop Yury Kasabutski, noted the intensification of repressions against the Catholic Church. This is already the second Catholic priest who has been imprisoned during these days – on 30 November, the Greek Catholic priest, Father Vitalii Bystrou received 10 days of detention.
The head of the department of “Naftan” is fired for her active position
Volha Brytsikava, the head of the department at “Naftan”, who is an active participant in the protest movement at the enterprise, is fired.
In August, on behalf of the employees of “Naftan”, Volha voiced demands to the authorities and the company management at a meeting with the head of the State Control Committee. In November, the company amended its collective bargaining agreement and suspended certain rules on dismissal of workers. Now the employer can fire an employee without the consent of the trade union – for absenteeism or two disciplinary reprimands. In September, Volha, for the first time in all her years of work, received a disciplinary sanction in the form of a reprimand and deprivation of bonuses for absenteeism on 20 August, when she, together with a colleague, counted workers’ signatures for the strike. And in October, several “Naftan” workers, including Volha, received summons to the prosecutor’s office for recording a video message in support of Belarusians.
However the official reason for Brytsikava’s dismissal is related to the deprivation of access to state secrets. Volha commented: “I was ready to fight against the fact that they are constantly trying to attribute to us a violation of labor discipline, but in my case it turned out to be different.”
For more information on the events of 3 December 2020, please visit Infocenter Free Belarus 2020:
