Charter 97
The Charter 97 (also Charta'97, Russian Хартия'97 , Belarusian Хартыя'97 , English Charter'97 ) was a manifesto for a democratic Belarus and namesake of the human rights organization that the anti-government news blog charter97.org operates.
The name Charter'97 was based on the Czechoslovak Charter 77 on the anniversary of the controversial referendum of 1996, with which President Aljaksandr Lukashenka obtained approval for his political restoration course, secured an expansion of his powers and created the legal framework for his authoritarian rule. In protest against the vote and the ongoing human rights violations, a group of independent journalists published a declaration on November 10, 1997 against the destruction of the national independence of Belarus, which at the time was printed in almost all free newspapers. The signatories called for support for the principles of independence, freedom and democracy, the protection of human rights and support for those who fight to overcome dictatorship and restore democracy in Belarus.
On the basis of the Charter'97, an opposition alliance was then formed, whose organizing committee at times included well-known politicians such as Andrej Sannikau and Aljaksandr Milinkewitsch . In a short time, the association succeeded in gaining around 100 prominent supporters from the political and cultural life of Belarus and in initiating a signature campaign that gathered around 100,000 signatures for the declaration across the country.
The alliance has been running the website charter97.org since 1998, which makes reports about Belarus available to the foreign press and informs about the activities of the opposition in the country. The site is now one of the last free sources of non-governmental information. Your editorial rooms have repeatedly been the target of break-ins and vandalism in recent years, and not a single one of the respective crimes has been solved, so that it is assumed that the apparatus of power itself is behind the incidents.
In September 2010, Aleh Bjabenin , the website's founder, was found dead in his apartment. While official sources speak of suicide by hanging, Bjabenin's friends and companions suspect a targeted killing by the KGB and a connection with the presidential election on December 19 .
Web links
- charter97.org (engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ charter97.org: Vyzvalenne: Torture is used against political prisoners
- ↑ Net without mesh . SZ-Online . Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- ↑ Alleged suicide: Minsk invites experts to investigate journalist death . RIA Novosti . Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- ↑ Belarus: opponents of the regime found dead . SZ-Online . Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- ↑ Belarusian Colleagues Remember Byabenin As Talented Journalist Who Was 'High On Life' . Radio Free Europe . Retrieved May 16, 2011.