Government Belarus Extensive repression of civil society was carried out, and dozens of organizations were raided and arrested during the “Black Week” known as the country’s NGOs.
The raids that began last week have touched all corners of civil society, from groups fighting for the rights of political prisoners to groups that crowdfund medical services and help medical workers fight the coronavirus.
pressure Mass arrests of opposition politicians and the shutdown and harassment of most independent media in the country, Because long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko tried to eliminate the apolitical efforts of Belarusians to self-organize.
“This is a thorough cleansing of civil society,” said Marina Vorobei, founder of Freeunion.online. Freeunion.online is an online platform for public unions and initiatives that helps self-organization and provides a safe network and Tools for remote work. “NGOs have been under pressure in Belarus… but the non-profit sector has never seen these waves of raids, arrests and seizures.”
Many people are expected to be suppressed. In an interview last month, Valentin Stefanovich of the Viasna Human Rights Center, which provides financial and legal assistance to political prisoners, stated that they have been hit by raids and criminal cases and that further pressure is expected from the government.
“[Everyone] Can be arrested in our country today,” Stefanovic said when asked if he was worried about being detained. “Part of our organization has gone abroad. So they can never completely shut down our event. But personally, it can happen at any time, and I may not be able to escape. That’s the way it is. “
Last Wednesday, the police raided the offices and residences of at least 14 rights groups, media organizations, non-governmental organizations and charities, including 10 members of Viasna. Stefanovich and Chairman Ales Bialiatski, Uladzimir Labkovich and His partner Nina Rabkovic. Raids and arrests continue, with more than 60 searches conducted in the past 10 days.
“These raids and arbitrary arrests are just another example of the ongoing repression of human rights defenders, civil society organizations, and independent media since the widely disputed presidential election in August 2020, when thousands of Belarusians were in general peace. Took to the streets under the circumstances. Protest,” Viasner wrote in a statement.
The crackdown on NGOs has also expanded to groups specializing in charity work, crowdfunding, and organizing medical assistance for vulnerable communities, which are now facing complete disruption.
Last week, the police also raided the offices and homes of senior members of the organization. Imena NGO, An online platform that helps solve social problems in Belarus through crowdfunding.Its projects help fund homes for children with cancer and other terminally ill children, shelters for women and children suffering from domestic violence, assistance for the homeless, search teams, and Support medical staff in the fight against Covid-19.
The founder of the organization Katerina Sinyuk (Katerina Sinyuk) said that she could not discuss the investigation of the organization because she was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. At the same time, the organization’s bank account has been frozen, effectively paralyzing its business.
“We help people in trouble, regardless of their political beliefs. We don’t ask what their views or directions are. This is the point of charity work,” Sinyuk said in an interview, adding that their project has helped. More than 50,000 people.
“Why are we in this situation, what should we tell those we help now?” she continued. “We don’t know. We don’t want to abandon them because they are very vulnerable people.”
“For many people, we are the only source of funding,” she said. “Of course, all these projects are shocking.”
One example is a mobile children’s shelter, which provides care and medicine to dozens of children across the country.
“We need to help take care of these children, because there is really no one other than us to raise funds for this type of project permanently,” she said. “This situation may result in thousands of people not being looked after.”
