CCPR/C/122/D/2212/2012
2.4
On 11 December 2010, the head of the presidential administration claimed, in a
statement broadcast on a public television channel, that the opposition was gathering a
group of gunmen and stores of pyrotechnical and explosive devices with the aim of creating
disorder during the demonstration scheduled for 19 December 2010.
2.5
At around 8 p.m. on 19 December 2010, members of the public began gathering in
Oktyabrskaya Square, Minsk, as a part of an unauthorized demonstration. Most of the
opposition candidates, including the author, and about 15,000 of their supporters, took part
in the demonstration to protest against what they believed to be an unfair election,
denouncing major electoral irregularities and fraud. The event was peaceful and none of the
speakers called for disorder or violence. The author made a speech criticizing the
undemocratic character of the regime and pointing out that the results of the unofficial exit
polls differed from the official election results. 6 The author and the other opposition
candidates invited their supporters to proceed to the House of Government on Nezavisimost
Square, in order to start direct negotiations with the authorities, and to ensure that the
Central Electoral Commission did not commit violations during the vote counting process.
Police officers watched the demonstration, but did not interfere. At around 9 p.m. the
majority of the demonstrators, including the opposition candidates, started to peacefully
walk along Nezavisimost Avenue, including in the actual road, 7 towards the House of
Government and the offices of the Central Electoral Commission. The author specifies that,
although he did not initiate the use of the road by the demonstrators, he walked along in the
middle of the column of protestors. Around 40,000 persons gathered in Nezavisimost
Square. Opposition candidates, including the author, made speeches but did not call for
disorder or violence. There were no law enforcement agents or other security arrangements
in front of the House of Government, even though the authorities had sufficient time and
means to organize a security perimeter.
2.6
At around 9.45 p.m. a small, isolated group of unidentified individuals began
throwing stones at the House of Government. They were accompanied by persons filming
the events with video cameras. However, the law enforcement agents on the scene did not
intervene for the first 30 minutes. Several of the opposition candidates, 8 including the
author, tried to approach the House of Government in order to start negotiations with the
authorities. They told the crowd to keep calm and avoid committing acts of vandalism,
stating that the stone-throwing was the work of government agents attempting to provoke
the demonstrators. One of the opposition candidates, Vitaly Rymashevsky, made such an
announcement on a loudspeaker. Special police units moved in after around half an hour
and formed a chain in front of the gates of the House of Government, where they remained
for 10 minutes before leaving. Subsequently, a small group of individuals continued
breaking the windows and doors of the House of Government. At some stage, the
opposition candidates were told that the law enforcement bodies were ready to negotiate,
and the author, his wife and Nikolai Statkevich approached the House of Government. The
author looked through the doors and asked police officers standing inside the building if
they could negotiate. There was no reaction and the candidates returned to the podium. Half
an hour later, police units moved in and started to disperse the crowd in Nezavisimost
Square, using disproportionate force, including such means as riot shields and batons. The
majority of the demonstrators did not resist, but the police proceeded to beat them up. The
author notes that at no point during the demonstration did the authorities call on the crowd
6
7
8
p. 32, and in the report of the Special Rapporteur on the Events of 19 December 2010 of the
Committee on International Control over the Human Rights Situation in Belarus. The Committee on
International Control was created on 27 December 2010, largely as a reaction to the events
immediately following the presidential elections of 19 December 2012. It brings together more than
40 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from 17 participating States of the OSCE.
The President of Belarus, Mr. Aleksandr Lukashenko was declared the winner by the Central
Electoral Commission, with 79.67 per cent of the votes. The author received the second-highest share
of the votes (2.56 per cent).
According to the information available on file, the road was inaccessible for transport for a total of 52
minutes.
The other opposition candidates present were Nikolai Statkevich, Grigory Kostusev and Vitaly
Rymashevsky. The author’s wife, Irina Khalip, was also present.
3