Belarusian authorities tighten grip on opposition during World Hockey Championships
06.05.2014
In preparation for the World Hockey Championships scheduled to take place in Minsk on May 9th - 25th, 2014, new hotels and sport facilities have been built, and visa requirements have been lifted for international fans.
The Championship is an important image-making and political event for President Lukashenko who aims to improve the outer world’s perception of the Belarusian authorities, and boost his own ratings inside the country. The Belarusian authorities count on people’s diplomacy and on impressing foreigners with Minsk’s cleanliness and order, and good event organisation. Meanwhile, the authorities have no plans to relax their grip on the opposition, and continue to ignore EU and US demands. Ahead of the presidential ‘troika’ Summit, Belarusian security forces have detained a few opposition activists. Some will be held in custody until the Championship is over.
http://belarusinfocus.info/p/6272
I should have mention this earlier, because it relates to the CIS meeting and matters that follow. For Belarus this has become as big an event for national image as the Olympics would be elsewhere. The occasion has also become an excuse for rounding up activists. Here are two of them:
State Border Committee: Martin Uggla expelled as “he doesn’t like hockey”
8.05.2014
The State Border Committee revealed why the Swedish human rights activist had been denied entry to the country.
The Swedish human rights activist is in Vilnius now, BelaPAN was told by the spokesperson of the State Border Committee Alyaksandr Tishchanka.
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In January Martin Uggla wrote in his blog that Belarusian visas and accreditation hinder the Ice Hockey World Championship, and specifically that foreign journalists who want to be given accreditation for the championship in Minsk should write about sports only. “All journalists who want to cover the topics not related to the Ice Hockey championship, should seek accreditation from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the host country, and it is a much more complicated and bureaucratic process,” Uggla wrote.
The Swedish human rights organisation Östgruppen is among the initiators of "Don't Play with the Dictator" campaign aimed against holding the Ice-Hockey World Championship in Minsk.
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2014/5/8/97891/
Coordinator of initiative “Stop drinking, you need to live” detained in Homel
The police detained Dzmitry Karashkou, a coordinator of the Homel-based initiative “Stop drinking, you need to live”, on the morning of May 7.
The reasons and details of the detention are unknown. The man told his friend Kanstantsin Zhukouski on the phone that he had been detained by the police, and policemen wanted to take away his cell phone. Dzmitry Karashkou's phone is switched off now. There's no new information about him, Viasna human rights centre reports.
On May 2, he received several phone calls from the men who introduced themselves as officers of Homel's Savetski district police department and insisted on meeting. “I didn't agree to go anywhere without a summons. They then began to threaten that they would find me. Those who introduced themselves as police officers wanted to talk about unsanctioned events I allegedly organise,” Dzmitry Karashkou said on May 2.
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On March 11, Dzmitry Karashkou and Stanislau Bulla were detained in Minsk near the Russian embassy with the posters “Putin is enemy of Ukraine and Russia” and “Putin, hands off Ukraine, no war”. Dzmitry Karashkou was sentenced to 15 days in custody, Stanislau Bulla got 11 days in custody.
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2014/5/7/97692/
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